NORTHAMPTON — David Narkewicz is running for a third term as mayor, to serve the city and to keep a job he loves.
“It’s the greatest job I’ve ever had,” he said. “I know it’s the greatest job I’ll ever have.”
An Air Force veteran and graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Narkewicz, 51, enjoyed a long career serving as a congressional staffer. He was elected mayor in 2011 to a two-year term after serving as interim mayor, having taken on that position as president of the City Council after Mayor Clare Higgins stepped down prior to the election to take a job leading a nonprofit. Narkewicz was re-elected in 2013 to a four-year term, following the reform of the city’s charter.
A key focus for Narkewicz in his time as mayor has been maintaining the city’s finances and budget stability, he said. “That’s a job that I took very seriously.”
He noted that he had proposed a tax increase in 2013, when he was running for reelection for the first time, as the city was facing a budget shortfall. He also noted that the city’s bond rating was upgraded to AAA under his administration, and that the city’s willingness to raise revenue was cited as a strength.
Narkewicz highlighted his support for public schools, noting that funding to the schools has increased by more than 20 percent under his watch.
“This is a community that supports and believes in education,” he said.
The mayor noted the city’s commitment to climate change mitigation. He also said Northampton has made an effort to work with local businesses, and said the city’s commercial tax rate remains in the lowest quartile in the state.
Open government is another area that Narkewicz highlighted. He said, “We’ve done a lot of work around just putting information out to the public.”
Narkewicz cited the renovation of Pulaski Park as an example of including the public in the city’s planning process, and as an accomplishment of his administration.
“We … had a great design firm. We called in the community,” he said, noting that the park’s overlook came out of the public process.
One of Narkewicz’s supporters is Ward 6 City Councilor Marianne LaBarge, who has worked with him since his time as a city councilor.
“I feel he has been working tirelessly,” she said.
She also said Narkewicz has met with residents of her ward, helping some of them to stay in their homes and get heat in the winter.
“That is so important to me,” she said, speaking of the mayor’s face-to-face efforts.
One such resident who has directly benefited is Donna Slocombe. In October 2016, an oak tree crashed through the house she shares with her fiance, thanks to a freak snowstorm.
“We were in a real mess,” Slocombe said.
The mayor, however, came through for her.
“Mayor Narkewicz made sure that we got everything that we needed from the city,” said Slocombe, who also thanked LaBarge and Rep. Peter Kocot.
Furthermore, she said, Narkewicz followed up with them.
“David kept checking up on us,” she said.
Narkewicz said he would continue to uphold Northampton’s values, acknowledging that he is dealing with a different world than when he ran for re-election in 2013.
“I don’t think anyone could imagine … the Trump administration (then),” he said.
Northampton became a sanctuary city under Narkewicz, and he noted that the city has stepped forward and said it is willing to take in Syrian refugees.
Narkewicz expressed frustration with the state’s funding structure, saying the Pioneer Valley Transportation Authorityhad suffered when the state didn’t increase its contribution.
“Couple years of level funding, you’re going to be cutting things,” he said, noting that costs go up every year.
At the Oct. 25 debate between him and challenger John Riley, he said this level funding resulted in PVTA cutting back routes this year.
Narkewicz also expressed his horror at the opioid crisis.
“This is now the … number one public health crisis,” he said, noting that it cuts across demographic and regional lines.
It’s also a crisis the city has taken a lead in dealing with, he said, noting that the anti-addiction Hampshire HOPE program was created with help from a state grant during Narkewicz’s tenure. This year, the program won a $1.7 million federal grant to expand its outreach to all of Hampshire County.
“We were the only city (to receive the grant), anywhere,” he said.
The grant funding means that every police department in Hampshire County will acquire opioid overdose reversal drugs and the training to use them.
“It’s an affirmation of the model that we created through Hampshire HOPE,” Narkewicz said at the Oct. 25 debate.
Narkewicz also said that he’s learned from his mistakes, noting the controversy around the city’s removal of benches from downtown during his first term. After a public outcry, the benches were returned.
An issue that has caused recent controversyis the proposal by Police Chief Jody Kasper to install additional permanent, municipally operated security cameras downtown. The plan sparked a strongly negative public reaction, and the City Council recently passed a resolution by a 7-2 margin opposing the idea.
When pressed, Narkewicz didn’t take a firm stand on whether he agreed with the chief that the cameras would improve public safety. He did say that he doesn’t support a ban on new permanent municipally operated cameras downtown, especially given that new cameras would have to be approved and funded by the City Council.
For his part, however, Narkewicz has said that the discussion following the proposal highlighted the strength of democracy in Northampton. So did the city’s decision to bring it to the public first, as opposed to simply putting up the cameras and then waiting for a reaction.
“In Northampton we took a more transparent approach,” he said at the debate.
Narkewicz does not support police body cameras in Northampton at this time, citing cost and a low number of use-of-force complaints in the city, but said his office has looked at them for years and will continue to do so.
Asked if he has plans to run for higher office, Narkewicz had a clear answer.
“I have not and I have no plans to,” he said, although he did say he’s been asked about it a number of times.
As for how long he wants to be mayor, Narkewicz said this could be his last term, but he’s not willing to pronounce himself a lame duck, still feels that he has work to do and is the right person to lead the city.
“I’m still as much devoted to the city and to this job as I was … when I first ran,” he said. “I feel honored to have this job.”
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.