EASTHAMPTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has endorsed Nicole LaChapelle for mayor of Easthampton and David Narkewicz for mayor of Northampton.
“A vote for LaChapelle is a vote for a strong step toward a new era of thoughtful growth and equitable opportunity for Easthampton,” Healey said in a statement released Friday.
“In the Attorney General’s Office, we work every day on issues impacting the people of our state, from workplace fairness to guarding basic civil rights and ensuring everyone has access to economic security, no matter who they are,” Healey wrote in an email. “I need strong partners at the local, state and national level to help us stand up for our shared values.”
LaChapelle told the Gazette she’s proud of Healey’s endorsement. “It means the world to me that she would be looking at Easthampton,” LaChapelle said.
LaChapelle said she met Healey at the Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage in Northampton a few years ago. She said the two of them walked together for about a quarter of a mile and got to know one another.
“Nicole LaChapelle is a strong, passionate and collaborative leader with a deep commitment to Easthampton and the people she will serve,” Healey wrote. “I have been proud to call Nicole my friend and ally in the fights we face as a community.”
When asked if the AG’s civil rights investigation at Easthampton High School played a role in the endorsement, Healey’s campaign committee spokesman David Guarino replied in an email, “The Attorney General endorsed Nicole LaChapelle because she will be the best mayor to move Easthampton forward — period.”
Mayoral candidate Joy Winnie said Friday she has no comment on Healey’s endorsement. At a mayoral debate sponsored by 22News on Wednesday, Winnie said she did not seek endorsements from people outside Easthampton, adding that she has been endorsed by Mayor Karen Cadieux, former mayor Michael Tautznik and Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan.
On Narkewicz’s campaign website, he lists endorsements with a statement from Healey.
“He has been a tremendous partner in our joint efforts to confront the crippling opioid epidemic in Hampshire County, and indeed, across the entire state,” Healey said. “His leadership on protecting the rights of everyone — including women, minorities, people with disabilities, immigrants and our LGBTQ community — are second to none.”
Healey has also endorsed Holyoke mayor Alex Morse for re-election as well as other mayoral candidates across the state.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.