NORTHAMPTON — It was standing room only outside Roberto’s Restaurant last week, as more than 100 people turned out to meet candidates endorsed by a political group that aims to shake up this year’s municipal election race.
The Support Our Schools group formed as a response to public opposition to reductions in services and staff within Northampton Public Schools over the last two years. The group has endorsed 16 different candidates in this year’s election, including mayoral, city council and school committee races.
Some of the endorsed candidates are unopposed, while others face competitive races in their respective wards, going up against candidates that fall within factions supporting incumbent Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra.
Several of the SOS-backed candidates appeared at the campaign event held at Roberto’s, including mayoral candidate Jillian Duclos, Ward 1 city council candidate Michele Ronco and others. Though the event featured many of their endorsed candidates, it was organized independently of the SOS group.
“I’ve been wanting to run for years. Hearing all the frustrations, I was like, I can help with that,” said School Committee At-Large candidate Tiffany Jewell, a published children’s book author with a long history of collaboration with the school district.
Meg Robbins, a former School Committee member now running for an at-large seat on the council, said candidates had been busy talking to people within the city and said members of the coalition felt “positive” about their chances in the upcoming Nov. 4 election.
“All of these people are family,” Robbins said of her fellow candidates and their supporters. “They want change.”
Speaking to the gathered crowd outside of Roberto’s, Ward 2 City Council candidate Al Simon reminded everyone what brought this coalition of candidates together in the first place: the city’s approach to funding its school district, starting with the school budget last fiscal year that saw an elimination of more than 20 jobs in the district. Several of those jobs were later added back, but the current fiscal budget also saw a reduction in some services provided by the school.
“This group of candidates, who really do think it’s time to change leadership, has a fundamental disagreement [with the city] about who the budget serves,” said Simon, who helped form the Support Our Schools PAC before leaving it to run for City Council. “Financial decisions have been made that have really prioritized something other than the needs of people who live here.”
Duclos told the gathered crowd that it was at the local level where real change could happen for communities, citing her insight into working on Capitol Hill as an intern for U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren.
“We need to be investing in people and not policy and projects,” Duclos said. “If we do that, we can build the strong foundation for our children, for the people who live here, for the people who are deciding to live the rest of their lives here.”
The grassroots SOS group is separate from the Support Our Schools and Services Political Action Committee, which has not endorsed candidates for the election. SOS PAC leaders say that while the committee is making independent expenditures in the race, they were not involved in the endorsement process.
According to the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance, the SOS PAC has raised more than $29,200 since its creation in November. In comparison, Sciarra has raised around $37,600 in that same period.
The SOS group-supported candidates also have received the backing of local labor leaders, many of whom were present at the event at Roberto’s. Representatives present included members of the Northampton Association of School Employees (NASE), the Massachusetts Nurses Association and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1459.
Last Friday, NASE released a list of candidates it was endorsing in the Nov. 4 municipal election, and endorsement that largely matches with the candidates endorsed by SOS.
“The Northampton Association of School Employees is proud to stand behind candidates who share our values and vision for high-quality, equitable public education,” said NASE Vice President Heather Brown in a statement. “These endorsed candidates have demonstrated a deep understanding of the needs of our students, educators, and the broader Northampton community.”
Ronco, who once served as city councilor in his native country of Italy before moving to the United States, spoke of the importance of becoming involved in local politics.
“You can ignore politics, but politics will not ignore you,” Ronco said. “This is what democracy is all about.”