NORTHAMTPON — Voters will take to the polls on Tuesday for preliminary elections for the mayor and four city council positions, the first round of elections in a crowded candidate field.
Listed on the ballot are four mayoral candidates, six candidates for two at-large seats and three candidates apiece for Ward 1, Ward 3 and Ward 5. The two candidates with the highest number of votes for the three wards and the mayoral race will advance to municipal elections, with the top four candidates for the at-large seats moving on.
In the mayoral race, incumbent Gina-Louise Sciarra is facing three challengers to the position: Jillian Duclos, Dan Breindel, and Dave Dombrowski.
For the at-large seats, Garrick Perry is the only incumbent running, with fellow at-large councilor Marissa Elkins not seeking reelection. The other five candidates are Deborah Henson, Benjamin Spencer, Meg Robbins, Will O’Dwyer and Yakov Kronrod.
Ward 1 has three new candidates, as current Ward 1 Councilor Stanley Moulton is not seeking reelection. The candidates are Michele Ronco, Niko Letendre-Cahillane and Gwen Nabad.
In Ward 3, Quaverly Rothenberg, the incumbent, will try to stave off two challengers to her position. Laurie Loisel and Ace Tayloe are the challengers for the seat against Rothenberg.
Ward 5 also sees three new candidates, with incumbent Alex Jarrett, who also serves as council president, not seeking reelection. The three candidates are David Murphy, Luke Rotello and Aline Davis.
Last month, two separate forums were held at the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity where candidates fielded questions regarding various issues on the minds of voters such as school spending, the Picture Main Street project and the city’s plans for building a “Resilience Hub” near downtown. All candidates with the exception of Ronco participated in the forums.
In addition to individual fundraising campaigns by mayoral candidates, this municipal election season has also seen the formation of the Support Our Schools Political Action Committee, which has pledged to support candidates that support higher school spending after the last two fiscal budget’s saw reductions in staff and services. For the preliminaries, the PAC has endorsed Duclos for mayor, along with Henson, Robbins, Ronco, and Rotello in the council races.
According to data from the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance, the PAC has raised $29,106 in funds since its formation in November 2024 as of Friday. During that same time period, the fundraising totals for mayoral candidates amount to $32,072 for Sciarra, $14,015 for Duclos, $5,555 for Breindel and $2,082 for Dombrowski.
Voting for preliminary elections takes places from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 16. The location where you found depends on the section of the ward you live in (if you’re unsure about your ward, you may look it up on the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website.)
Locations for the polling locations depending on ward is as follows:
- Ward 1: Jackson Street School
- Ward 2: Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School
- Ward 3: Northampton Senior Center
- Ward 4: Northampton Senior Center
- Ward 5: Florence Civic Center or Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School
- Ward 6: Ryan Road Elementary School
- Ward 7: JFK Middle School or Leeds Elementary School
Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.
