NORTHAMPTON — Pioneer Valley voters will get the chance to hear from candidates for attorney general, state auditor and secretary of the commonwealth during a public “meet the candidates” event on Monday, May 2.
The 6 p.m. forum in the Smith Vocational & Agricultural High School cafeteria, sponsored by the Northampton Democratic City Committee, will be livestreamed on YouTube by Northampton Open Media. The event is free, the public is invited and attendees do not have to live in Northampton.
Three candidates for attorney general — Andrea Campbell, Shannon Liss-Riordan and Quentin Palfrey — plan to attend, along with auditor candidates Chris Dempsey and Diana DiZoglio.
Incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin did not respond to invitations to attend, according to Elizabeth Silver, chairwoman of the Democratic City Committee, but organizers are expecting Galvin’s challenger Tanisha Sullivan.
All questions, including the very basics about each office’s responsibilities, are “not just welcome, but encouraged,” Silver said. “I hope people do come and try to flesh out the important functions of the positions.”
Although these races “probably do garner less attention” than contests for governor and lieutenant governor, Silver said, voters can benefit from hearing the candidates detail their visions for each office. At last month’s “meet the candidates” forum, Silver said, the five candidates for lieutenant governor were asked to explain the job and voters got to hear “five different answers.”
The moderator is former Northampton Mayor Clare Higgins and the candidates will be questioned by a panel including Daily Hampshire Gazette Executive Editor Dan Crowley; Bill Newman, a local attorney and WHMP radio host; and Elena Frogameni, a Mount Holyoke College senior and one of only 32 people in the country named Rhodes Scholars this year.
“We’re really excited about having (Frogameni) and adding the student perspective and depth to the questions,” Silver said.
Attendees are asked to wear masks and will be required to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 at the door.
“It’s a very open, big space with doors and windows, and I just hope people feel safe coming in person,” Silver said. “It’s a big room.”
Silver said the secretary of the commonwealth position is “critically important” at a time when voting procedures are in flux due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The secretary’s office has a wide-ranging portfolio, overseeing elections in Massachusetts, maintaining public records, registering corporations, regulating the securities industry and preserving historical sites, among other tasks.
“Especially in this day and age of voter suppression… we in Massachusetts need to assure that voting will continue to be the highest priority in the principles of that person,” Silver said.
Question submissions can be emailed to northamptondemscitycomm@gmail.com no later than Monday.
Smith Voc is located at 80 Locust St. The livestream will be available at https://bit.ly/3xLfaAI.
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.