EASTHAMPTON — There will be a packed ballot for the city’s municipal election in November, with a total of 24 candidates returning nomination papers by the Wednesday deadline.
The Nov. 4 ballot will likely feature three candidates for mayor, six for four at-large city councilor positions, seven for the five council precincts, and eight for school committee. Mayor, at-large council and school committee candidates had to submit their nomination papers along with signatures from 100 residents, with a maximum of 25 signatures for each precinct, by Tuesday’s deadline at 5 p.m. Precinct councilors needed 50 signatures.
The three mayoral candidates include current mayoral Executive Assistant Lindsi Sekula, City Councilor At-Large Jason “JT” Tirrell and current interim Mayor Salem Derby. Mayoral candidate Robert Laferriere did not submit the correct number of signatures.
Sekula was the first to announce her candidacy followed by Tirrell, Laferriere, then Derby. The next official mayor will be the fourth for Easthampton, following Nicole LaChapelle, who resigned this summer before her term expired at the end of the year, Karen Cadieux and Michael A. Tautznik.
The ballot is not finalized, with the withdrawal deadline set for Oct. 2 at 5 p.m. At that time, the city clerk will draw candidates at random to finalize the order in which candidates will appear on the ballot. There is also a write-in option, where any resident’s name can be written on the ballot at the election.
During the city’s 2019 charter review process, ranked-choice voting was adopted for single-seat municipal elections, including the seat for mayor and precinct councilors.
Ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank as many candidates desired in order of preference. If a candidate gets a majority of the first-choice votes, they win outright. However, if nobody gets a first-place majority, then the candidate with the least amount of votes will be eliminated and another round of voting will begin. Voters who ranked the eliminated candidate first on their ballot will instead have their vote count for the candidate they ranked second, if they listed one. If not, their vote will not be counted.
This process continues until one of the candidates receives the majority of votes, therefore being elected.
Many members of the council, including Precinct 3 Councilor Thomas Peake, have shown support for the ranked-choice voting system that provides voters the opportunity to vote in preference of multiple candidates.
Signature complication
Though he was one of the first people to file for candidacy the day nomination papers became available on July 1, Laferriere did not collect the proper number of signatures from each precinct, according to the city clerk’s office.
Per the city charter, as part of the 100 resident signatures required with the nomination papers, a candidate can only collect a maximum of 25 signatures from each of the five precincts. If that marker is exceeded, additional signatures will not count for that precinct. Laferriere submitted more than 100 total signatures, but he exceeded the 25 signature limit in two precincts. Removing the extra signatures in those precincts brought his total number below the 100 required.
Laferriere feels the 25 signature limit for each precinct was not communicated properly to him when he pulled nomination papers. He is frustrated with the city, specifically the clerk’s office, for not making this more clear particularly for someone who is running in a municipal election for the first time. A major component of his campaign advocates for transparency and openness in Easthampton’s government.
City Clerk Mary Ann Giza said by process when someone pulls nomination papers, everything required is explained verbally to the candidate, including the 25 signature cap.
“We have followed what the clerk has done before and it hasn’t been an issue in the past,” Giza said.
Giza noted there is no way to confirm it was vocalized to Laferriere as it was a “chaotic day” and he ended up “leaving abruptly” after taking nomination papers. Giza noted that the city put out a newsflash online explaining the requirements. The city clerk’s office added they will make sure to make requirements more clear for future elections.
Furthermore, Laferriere returned his papers with signatures on Monday, two days before the Wednesday deadline at 5 p.m. He said he got an email from the clerk’s office on Tuesday morning, informing him that the signatures were incorrect. He feels he was not given enough time to make an adjustment and collect the signatures required, but Giza said they informed him as soon as they reviewed his nomination papers.
Laferriere feels that all information should have been in writing with the nomination papers, but Giza said that alterations can’t be made to nomination papers as they are state documents.
“I come from a business background …” Laferriere explained. “When you collect a bid package all information you need to know is in writing.”
Laferriere is going to make an appeal to the mayor’s office to try and get his name on the ballot. According to the clerk, the city chart forbids this.
Other races
There will be four at-large seats to fill on the council, with Koni Denham being the only incumbent seeking reelection. Denham will run against five challengers including newcomers Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid, Nathan Markee, Jonathan Schmidt, Karl Prahl and Timothy St. John.
Tirrell’s decision to run for mayor will leave his at-large seat on the council open. Besides Tirrell, the two other at-large councilors not running for reelection are Brad Riley and Peg Conniff. Conniff was an interim councilor filling the vacant seat of Owen Zaret, after he resigned.
Incumbents James “JP” Kwiecinski of Precinct 1, Felicia Jadczak of Precinct 2 and Thomas Peake of Precinct 3 are running unchallenged.
There will be a new Precinct 4 councilor, with candidates Robert Peirent and Amanda Newton running for the seat. The seat is currently occupied by Derby, who originally filed for the position until announcing he would run for mayor.
Precinct 5 incumbent Tamara Smith will run against one challenger, Cathy Wauczinski.
There are seven seats on the School Committee, including the mayor. In addition to Derby, current members include Laura Scott, Megan Harvey, Linda Sue Markee, Sam Hunter, Eric Guyette and at-large candidate, St. John.
St. John is the only member not running for reelection, after filling the seat of Ben Hersey, who resigned in May. The new candidates that’ve emerged are Bonnie Atkins, Allison Malinowski and Paul M. McNeil.
Voters will be asked to select six School Committee members on Nov. 4.