I recently listened to a radio segment featuring Ward 3 City Council candidate Laurie Loisel. In that segment, Loisel notes that school advocates who highlight the harm occurring to our children in the face of Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra’s staffing cuts are “weird.” When she speaks the word her disgust is palpable. I disagree with her assessment of “weird.” Being weird is a wonderful thing.
Whereas normal might mean more of the same, weird might mean something different. Imagine standing out from the usual — sharing new ideas, listening carefully and eagerly, asking tough questions, speaking your mind even when your opinions stray from the policies of current leadership, staying true to yourself and your values even when under pressure to conform.
In Northampton, the status quo consists of leaders entrenched in their own ideas and unwilling to pivot. Our current norm is starving essential services like schools and sidewalks and funneling our ample city funds toward large projects that most voters are not on board with. We see this with our own eyes. The money is there and voters know it. We know we can make different, financially responsible choices in how we budget. We know we can afford to take care of our community members. Who would like something different? Is being weird really a bad thing at all?
This year is a historic election. Northampton is at a crossroads. Do we want more of the same or a change over to dynamic leadership that is ready to listen and adapt to the needs of the people?
The following quote from the LWV candidate forum is particularly meaningful in our current political climate. Ward 3 City Councilor Quaverly Rothenberg, who routinely puts in 80-hour workweeks fighting for her constituents, was asked along with other candidates “What won’t you sacrifice for this job?” Councilor Rothenberg answered, “The things I won’t sacrifice are my family, my integrity and the interests of my constituents.”
The preliminary election is coming up on Tuesday, Sept. 16, and I would encourage the voters of Northampton to “vote weird.”
Melissa Maciborski
Florence