EASTHAMPTON — Lindsey Rothschild, a first-time candidate, former educator and local real estate agent, has announced her campaign for one of the City Council’s at-large seats in November.
Rothschild’s decision comes after current City Council President and At-Large Councilor Joe McCoy announced that he would not seek reelection for another two-year term. Rothschild, 45, pulled papers on July 1, the first possible day, with plans to focus on promoting economic growth and civic engagement if elected.
“I think we’re at this crossroad in Easthampton,” Rothschild said Tuesday.
“I have the time and I feel like I have the skills and I should participate,” she said.
Rothschild, whose resume includes working for 20 years in education, moved to Easthampton with her partner in 2009. Most recently, Rothschild worked on the successful campaign to approve a new kindergarten through eighth grade school.
Rothschild said she was interested in seeking public office following the success of female public figures including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY. She said the City Council’s lack of gender equality — with currently only one women out of nine seats — was a motivating factor in getting involved.
“I’ve realized how important it is to have gender representation on all levels,” she said.
At first, Rothschild considered running for School Committee because of her previous experience. But the City Council’s variety of responsibilities across the city felt more exciting to her, she said.
“I think I’m really good at addressing a breadth of issues,” she said.
Rothschild pointed to growing economic insecurity among senior citizens as an issue that needed to be addressed. According to a report by the city’s Council on Aging, senior citizens make around $10,000 less than the state’s median income and will make up a third of the city’s population within the next 16 years.
The influx of wealthier and younger people to the city could increase the price of living and make it more difficult for seniors to stay in their homes, she said. Though the economic growth new citizens bring is generally positive, she said it was also “complicated.”
“We need to pull people in from the edges [to] make sure we don’t leave people out,” she said.
One way to do this was to look into creating more affordable housing designated solely for senior citizens, she said. The Easthampton Housing Authority currently runs Sunrise Manor, a subsidized senior housing project, but Rothschild believes the city needs more. Easthampton could look toward the example of other towns such as Amherst that have created designated trust funds for affordable housing to fund such a project, she said.
“I think it takes groups of people thinking outside the box and being innovative,” she said.
Rothschild said she was also interested in making the process for citizens to join a committee or board easier. The process currently involves finding a vacancy on the city’s website and sending a letter to the mayor requesting to serve, which she said is intimidating to most citizens.
“The committees should be out and recruiting and explaining what they do and demystifying it,” she said. “Otherwise, you only get a certain type of person who has the time.”
She said the process of joining a committee is reflective of the many barriers citizens face when looking to become active in political life. When the city was debating its new school, the public comment process was extensive, she said.
But many of the meetings happened at night, or during inconvenient times, she said. Though she admits the process was transparent, Rothschild said the city could do better.
“I just think outreach is so important,” she said.
Rothschild plans on having occasional “house parties” during her campaign where constituents can meet and discuss issues such as safer pedestrian crosswalks. The first party is planned for July 25 at 6 p.m. in a location to be determined in Precinct 5, she said.
Though McCoy is not running for reelection, At-Large Councilors Owen Zaret, Margaret “Peg” Conniff and William E. Lynch IV confirmed they have pulled papers.
Prospective candidates in Easthampton have until Sept. 17 to return papers to the city clerk to secure a place on the ballot.
Michael Connors can be reached at mconnors@gazettenet.com.