As a 36-year resident of this city and Ward 1, the mother of two NPS graduates and a school employee, Michele Ronco will be getting my vote on Nov. 4 as a Ward 1 candidate for City Council. Michele is smart, collaborative and understands budgets. He has experience as a city councilor in Italy, serving on the budget committee and working on affordable housing initiatives, prior to moving here 15 years ago. When he became a citizen he started paying closer attention to our local politics and in light of major staffing cuts in the schools in 2024, he began attending and speaking at School Committee and City Council meetings, becoming a voice for change in Northampton, particularly in how we construct our budget. It is imperative that we not fund capital projects before the operating budget is set.
Michele believes in participatory government and feels that one of the reasons the election this year has seen a dramatic increase in contested races is because the public does not feel heard by the current elected officials and I couldn’t agree more. He recently commented on the Bill Newman show that we need to work together to achieve an outcome (in this case they were discussing state funding) and while supporting a different candidate for mayor, he would work with whoever wins to achieve that goal. He believes in the wisdom of the crowd and says that the more people we can put together, the better the outcome. Mr. Newman then asked him about the “vitriol” aimed towards the establishment and Mr. Ronco replied, “I don’t understand the demonization of half of the population that actually [support change or] came out and ran for office. When you focus on the noise a tree makes falling, you miss the forest that is growing.”
Ward 1 voters, join me on Nov. 4 for change and vote Michele Ronco for Ward 1!
Paula Rigano
Northampton