NORTHAMPTON — After facing no challengers for a decade, longtime Ward 5 City Councilor David Murphy is facing opponent Alex Jarrett for the council seat that represents Florence and part of the city’s downtown.
Murphy, a lifelong Ward 5 resident, has served for nearly 14 years on City Council.
The main reason he’s running for re-election: “There’s going to be at least four new councilors, which is a big turnover,” he said. Mayor David Narkewicz has also talked about a Proposition 2½ override vote, and Murphy is the chairman of the council’s finance committee — the only non-mayor to ever hold the position.
“It really wasn’t a good time for me to walk away,” he said.
Murphy, 64, is the owner of The Murphys Realtors, where he has worked for decades. He sees his business experience as an important perspective to bring to the council.
“As a 40-year realtor, I know more about zoning than anyone on the council,” he said and supports changing the current zon ing to create more housing.
“Zoning is the best tool we have to make housing more affordable,” he said.
In the city, Murphy has served on the Board of Assessors, the Northampton Housing Partnership and the Elm Street Historic District Committee. He also has worked as a broadcast engineer at sporting events including the 2012 Summer Olympics, work that has earned him three Emmy awards from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Commenting on a potential override vote, Murphy said the city’s fiscal stability fund, which has been used to fill budget gaps, is likely to run out in fiscal year 2021. “To maintain the status quo, we need to replace the funds,” he said.
Murphy said he is not sure yet where he stands on creating municipal broadband. The initiative is easier for cities with municipal electricity, and with the development of 5G technology, the need for a municipal network may wane, he said. “I’d take a wait and see on that one,” he said.
Although he’s been on City Council for years, Murphy said he doesn’t consider himself political.
“I’m an apolitical guy, I want to make things work,” he said. “I didn’t drink the red or the blue Kool-Aid.”
Jarrett is a founder and worker-owner of Pedal People, a bicycle-powered hauling and delivery service based in Northampton.
His interest in running for the Ward 5 council seat was first piqued when he was at a friend’s house in Easthampton and Mayor Nicole LaChapelle — then campaigning for her position — knocked on the door.
“I really want to meet every person in my ward,” he remembered thinking.
1,500 doors later, he said, “I met so many more people than I would if I went to a city meeting.” There are barriers like transportation and lack of childcare that prevent residents from attending meetings, he said.
If elected, Jarrett said he wants to knock on everyone’s door again over the two-year term and hold events in the community to talk with people. He aims to be responsive and, as he put it, “to be engaging the community and to be inclusive.”
Jarrett, 44, co-founded Pedal People in 2002, and he is a member of the Northampton Housing Partnership, volunteers at the Pioneer Valley Workers Center and co-founded Valley Time Trade, a website that connects people to trade hours of service.
This is his first time running for public office, but he’s currently the treasurer of Pedal People, an elected position. “My business is a democratic workplace,” he said. “In my position as treasurer, I’m accountable to the workers.” Jarrett is endorsed by the Western Mass Area Labor Federation.
At Pedal People, Jarrett said, “We’re very resourceful and thrifty. I think that’s a valuable perspective to bring to the city.”
Major issues in the city he wants to address include climate change and wealth inequality.
To cut emission, Jarrett suggested designating a person in each city department to oversee its carbon use, replacing city vehicles when they retire with electric ones and increasing efforts to reduce food waste.
He also wants to see the city help the homeless population. “I would love to see us work on a housing first initiative,” he said, referencing an approach that prioritizes giving people housing first. “When people have housing, all these indicators get better.”
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.