NORTHAMPTON — Candidates in four City Council races are planning to participate Wednesday and Thursday in forums on the topic of racial justice, sponsored by Northampton Abolition Now and Western Mass Showing Up for Racial Justice.
The at-large candidate forum is scheduled for Oct. 27 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and there will be three back-to-back ward councilor forums on Oct. 28 from 6 to 8:30 p.m., featuring candidates from Wards 4, 3, and then 1.
Each ward candidate forum is scheduled to last for 45 minutes. All forums will be held via Zoom and recordings will be made available to the public.
“We will address issues including responding to the Policing Review Commission’s report and recommendations, the Community Care Department, addressing racism in the school system, and more,” organizers said in a social media post.
Northampton Abolition Now has endorsed Jamila Gore for one of two at-large seats. If elected, she would be the first Black woman to serve on the Northampton City Council. She is running against Michael Quinlan, Marissa Elkins and David Murphy.
In online materials, the group also endorsed Lemy Coffin in Ward 1, David Kris in Ward 3 and Jesse Hassinger in Ward 4 as candidates “who support divesting from policing and investing in community-led safety.”
Coffin, a former member of the treasury team at Western Mass Showing Up for Racial Justice, is facing Stanley Moulton for Michael Quinlan’s Ward 1 seat. Quinlan is running at-large instead of seeking reelection to his ward seat.
Kris is challenging incumbent James Nash, while Hassinger and Garrick Perry are running for the seat that John Thorpe, the council’s first Black member, is relinquishing after one term.
The election is less than a week away, on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
To register for Wednesday’s at-large forum, visit https://tinyurl.com/2r4t69mh. To register for the ward candidate forums, visit https://tinyurl.com/2znj6dzy.