Voters interviewed outside polling places in several Hampshire County communities Tuesday morning sounded off on who should lead the Democrat Party against President Donald Trump, whether Northampton should raise property taxes through an override, and even why some think the current president is still the right man for the job.
Massachusetts is one of 14 states, as well as American Samoa, in which residents are making their voices heard on Super Tuesday. Polls are open until 8 p.m. in Massachusetts.
The presidential primary has seen a massive shakeup over the past few days as billionaire Tom Steyer, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg have all exited the race, with Klobuchar and Buttigieg endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden. A recent Boston Globe/Suffolk University Democratic primary poll suggests Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren are neck-and-neck in the commonwealth, with former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Biden trailing.
Walking out of the Ward 2 polling place at Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School on Tuesday morning, Polly Prewitt said she voted for Warren in the primary election because of her “ability to plan things out.”
“I just really admire someone who is willing to put a more detailed set of policies out there and is willing to be criticized for those,” Prewitt said.
Northampton voters are also weighing whether to approve a $2.5 million override to fill a projected shortfall in the city’s budget.
Prewitt voted “yes” on the override.
“I think that our teachers are underpaid compared to most school districts in the state and need more resources to support them and retain them and attract good teachers, and administrators, to the school district,” Prewitt said, standing next to her daughter, Lillie Prewitt, a fourth grader at Jackson Street School.
Outside the Northampton Senior Center, where residents of Wards 3 and 4 vote, Meredith Young and John Chmura of School Street said they voted “no” on the override. Young said they are both retired and live on limited incomes, and that their property taxes went up by $800 when the city reassessed their property values last year. She said she is concerned her taxes will go up even more if the override passes.
“I lived in a really tiny apartment in Northampton for 17 years and saved up all of my money to finally buy a house, and since buying that house, I’ve seen my taxes increase several times through overrides,” Young said.
Young said she voted for Bloomberg in the primary as she believes he can beat Trump in the general election. Chmura said he voted for former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld in the Republican primary.
“Sanders has a lot of great ideas but we don’t think they’re practical to implement — they’re too financially expensive,” Young said. “Bloomberg managed a city and knows how to manage a budget.”
Sarah Mazza and James Dale also voted at Smith Voc and said they supported Sanders in the primary partly because they admired his consistency on the issues. Dale said he believed Medicare for All would help the working class because it would eliminate the need for employers to provide insurance.
“I can really get behind the things he’s been saying,” Mazza said about Sanders. “No one else has been as consistent in their political career.”
In Westhampton, Southmpton and Easthampton, Biden supporters were a notable presence among the morning’s voters.
“I’m hoping he wins and Bloomberg finances him,” said Jim Prickett of Westhampton.
Prickett and Kate Tyler of Easthampton liked the former vice president’s experience.
“Trump has made such a disastrous mess of everything,” Tyler said. “I think you need someone that isn’t on a learning curve, that can go in there and clean it up.”
Another Biden voter, Beverley Carrigan of Easthampton, finds Sanders to be a “kind of a loose leaf.”
“I want somebody calm in there that isn’t an idiot like the one that’s there now,” Carrigan said.
Others support Sanders and Warren.
“I have long supported her policies and I think it’s time we had a woman as president,” Westhampton’s Elizabeth Preston said about Warren.
Carl Woodruff of Easthampton ultimately voted for Sanders, but he said that it was a tough choice between Warren and Sanders.
“I don’t really believe in capitalism,” Woodruff said. “My understanding is that Warren still holds that pretty tight.”
It also came down to Warren and Sanders for Easthampton’s Shannon Mooney, who ended up choosing Warren.
“I think that she is more electable in the general election than Bernie,” Mooney said.
Joanne Fappiano and her partner, Donald Ostroski of Southampton, both voted for Bloomberg. Fappiano said that the former New York City mayor isn’t trying to make friends and “seems to know what he’s talking about.”
“I’ve never seen him smile,” she said.
Harold Darcy voted no preference in the Democratic primary, but he said he would vote for Trump in the general election.
“He is who God put in place to correct the corruption in this country,” said Darcy, of Southampton. “Period.”
There were also Trump supporters who chose to vote for him in the Republican primary.
“We’re in better shape today than we were under the previous administration,” said William Aherin of Southampton, on why he voted for the president.
Disappointment in the outcome of the presidential election four years ago is motivating Aubrey Miller, a junior environmental science major at the University of Massachusetts, to make sure Sanders, her preferred candidate, comes out on top during the presidential primary.
“I voted in the last presidential election and was really unhappy with how it turned out,” Miller said Tuesday morning after voting at the Bangs Community Center in Amherst, adding that she is not alone among her peers who want their voices heard. “I don’t know any friends my age who aren’t voting today.”
Miller said she feels Sanders would do well in a general election match-up with Trump, and that Sanders’ focus on issues like confronting climate change and student debt resonate with students.
“I feel like he’s got a lot of support among the younger crowd,” Miller said.
“We’re saying we want your help and so we’re going to vote for you,” Miller added.
State Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, said she voted for Warren at her polling place at the Munson Memorial Library. Domb describes Warren as having smart and creative ideas that the country needs.
“She’s the candidate who knows how to transform those ideas into policy,” Domb said.
Also voting at the Bangs Center was Louise D’Alessandro, a Clark House resident, who said she voted for Biden, reflecting on her affection for the role he played in the White House alongside President Barack Obama.
“It’s about all of his experience, his personality, his humility and his concern with other people,” D’Alessandro said. “He’s an all-around nice guy.”
“If he were my neighbor, he’d be my friend,” D’Alessandro added.
Michael Connors can be reached at mconnors@gazettenet.com. Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com. Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
