NORTHAMPTON — The City Council will ask the state Legislature to end the requirement that two of the city’s three License Commission members are appointed based on their political party affiliation.
Mayor David Narkewicz proposed an order that seeks an exemption from state law, arguing that the party requirement is the product of “a bygone era when we did have partisan local elections.” The council unanimously passed the plan in two consecutive readings on Thursday night.
The License Commission issues liquor, entertainment and common victualer licenses, among others. One seat is currently vacant after the resignation of Brian Campedelli in October, and Narkewicz said he will not fill the seat — or any other vacancy on a board or commission — out of deference to Mayor-elect Gina-Louise Sciarra, who will be sworn in on Jan 3.
Under state law, at least one member of the commission must be appointed from each of the two dominant political parties in a community. In practice, that usually means one Democrat and one Republican, and the third member can have any party affiliation. Campedelli was the commission’s only Republican member.
“That doesn’t really make sense to me in a nonpartisan environment,” Narkewicz told the council. “It’s not really part of the process of issuing liquor licenses.”
Data from the city clerk’s office show that 10,746 people in Northampton are registered Democrats, while 9,870 are unenrolled. Combined, these two blocs account for 96% of voters in the city.
There are only 651 registered Republicans in Northampton, or about 6% of the number of Democrats. About 130 voters use non-party political designations like Socialist, Conservative, Pirate and Pizza Party.
Reached on Friday, Narkewicz said that appointing Republicans to the License Commission is a challenge with so few in the city and no Republican city committee. In years past, he would call the now-defunct GOP city committee for recommendations.
Ward 2 Councilor Karen Foster said eliminating the party affiliation requirement would expand the pool of candidates. She said she had spoken to one of the two commissioners, who agreed with Narkewicz’s perspective that the law is archaic.
Ward 6 Councilor Marianne LaBarge said the request, which will be filed as a home rule petition, “moves us in the right direction” away from partisanship.
“I think that some people were surprised to learn of this requirement” during the council meeting, Narkewicz said Friday. “I know I was when I first became mayor. … There’s no reason for it to be partisan.”
Besides party affiliation, state law Chapter 138 Section 4 lays out two other requirements for appointment to the License Commission: members must have lived in the city for at least two years and they cannot be involved in the manufacture or sale of alcohol at any point during their service.
The Board of Registrars has a similar party affiliation requirement under state law. Narkewicz said he was not asking for an exemption for the board because its work involves overseeing partisan state and federal elections.
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.