EASTHAMPTON — The three candidates vying to be Easthampton’s fourth mayor faced off at a candidate forum Tuesday night, where they discussed the housing crisis, education, the budget and what is best for citizens of the “little city with a big heart.”
The candidates are mayoral Executive Assistant Lindsi Sekula, City Councilor At-Large Jason “JT” Tirrell and interim Mayor Salem Derby.
The forum drew some 200 people to the Easthampton High School Auditorium, who were hoping the debate would help lock-in or sway their votes toward specific candidates for the Nov. 4 election.
Hosted by the Northampton League of Women Voters, candidates had two minutes for an opening and closing statement, and a minute and a half to respond to each of more than 10 questions asked. Candidates answered in alternating order.
“I loved that they had the forum, very pleased to see the turnout,” said resident Jane Andresen leaving the forum Tuesday night. “I came because I was pretty sure who I wanted to vote for and I think it’s now confirmed.”
Opening statements
Opening statements were read in alphabetical order based on last names.
Derby looked back on his experience in the city government and the more than 20 years he’s served on the City Council. He’s served as the council vice president, president and now as interim mayor and has spent more than 25 years in public education. During his time on the council, Derby said he co-authored the city’s solar ordinance, a “first-of-its-kind in the state,” that allowed panels to be placed on the capped Oliver Street landfill. He referenced his associate degree from Greenfield Community College, bachelor’s from Prescott College and master’s in education from Springfield College.
“I’m a business owner, a parent, an educator, someone who’s been committed to the city for almost 30 years. I’m ready to leave my career that I was planning to retire from so I can continue to serve the city I love,” Derby said.
Sekula said she has served city for the last seven years working inside the mayor’s office, experience that sets her apart in the race. She has helped draft budgets while working hand-in-hand with each department every day. Raising children in Easthampton, she lives the challenges facing families by navigating schools, balancing budgets and planning for the future. During “scary and divided times” in the country, she said she will fight for marginalized communities by standing up for the city’s values and wants everyone in Easthampton to feel safe.
“I can stand up for the community when it matters and I can deliver the everyday results that keep our city running. I’m ready to bring both courage and competence to this job, and I will never lose sight of who I’m fighting for — the people of Easthampton,” she said.
Tirrell said he will be a mayor for the people. Born and raised in Easthampton, Tirrell is shaped by the streets, struggles and spirit through many roles including as a father, husband, city councilor and volunteer. Additionally, he is a strong supporter of youth sports as the city’s Little League baseball president and serves as the chair of the Public Safety Committee. He said Easthampton deserves a mayor who hears those that feel silenced, hoping to increase accessibility to city hall. He’s also running to change “skyrocketing rents and a budget crisis that’s pricing out young families and seniors.”
“I’m here to be your mayor. A mayor for the people, a leader who puts people over politics, unity over division and action over empty promises. I may not dazzle you with words. I’m a listener, a worker, a doer, born and raised in Easthampton,” he said.
The budget
Candidates were asked about the projects they prioritize and how they would balance the budget while maintaining staff.
Tirrell said the budget would be one of the first things he looks at as mayor, noting that the city’s financial blueprint needs to be a top priority. He said he would collaborate with department heads to gather input on their budget priorities.
“We are starting off behind the eight-ball after last year’s budget I believe, and that needs to be at the forefront of what is taken care of once office is taken,” he said.
Derby said the budget has been one of the big things he has managed since becoming interim mayor. He made it clear that there is no financial crisis at City Hall and he sees a new senior center on the horizon, if desired by the citizens. Additionally, there are many infrastructure improvements he finds necessary in the future, referencing the wastewater treatment plant.
“We need to make sure that things like that not only get the preventative maintenance they need, but that we’re looking at the entire system and that we’re prioritizing with a systematic approach, to make sure that we’re taking care of the things that need to be taken care of,” he said about the budget.
Sekula said she is proud to have been a member of the hiring board for the city’s new treasurer and made it clear there is no fiscal crisis in Easthampton. She is proud of the city’s AA bond-rating and said the city needs prudent, long-term planning which ties into her new master plans.
“That ties into my new master plans, where we strategically plan our priorities and funding moving forward, and we no longer do that behind closed doors,” she said. “We have a charter that writes that out — we’re supposed to bring capital improvement plans to city council for approval, which I have not seen happen in my time at City Hall.”
Transparency, employee morale
The moderator said the morale among city employees is reportedly low, asking how the candidates would address this issue and make government more accessible to all.
“Seven years inside of City Hall, working side-by-side with department heads, department staff and supporting our unions and how we move forward through challenging times. I helped navigate COVID with our employees,” Sekula said.
She said the previous administration didn’t have the best relationships because it avoided tough conversations, but she will not avoid conflict. She feels over the last few weeks there has been a steady decline in morale because there’s uncertainty in city hall, but she is committed to navigating change.
“Accessibility, availability and transparency,” were the first three words Tirrell said in response to the question. Low morale is a problem he has heard from constituents but feels it is solvable. He would want to open City Hall five days a week to boost accessibility to the city. He said he is not naive and understands this may be a challenging shift, but feels it will pay off for citizens.
“I’ve only been a city councilor for two years, but I’ve done my best to pop into City Hall as often as possible. I’d like to think I’m known by many, if not all the department heads … I think that’s important, that’s very important to keep those communication lines open.”
Derby said when he became interim mayor, he got all department heads together and met with them.
“The response that I got was amazing. And that is when I started to hear and see the cloud start to lift. This is one of the skills that I have, is being able to communicate and listen,” Derby said.
While working two jobs as interim mayor and a high school teacher, he said it is still in City Hall as much as possible connecting with employees, feeling it is critical to show he cares.
Housing, affordability
Candidates were asked about the housing crisis and affordability in two different questions.
“Housing is a national crisis we’re facing right now,” Sekula said. “This is not unique to Easthampton and it’s not something unique to me. I spent more than 10 years in federal subsidized housing, wondering how I was going to pay my rent. I am now a proud homeowner in Easthampton, wondering how I’m going to pay my mortgage.”
Sekula emphasized the need for long-term planning, noting that by 2030 the city plans to have 450 new mix-income housing units. This new housing will provide opportunity for first-time homeowners, young families and seniors wanting to downsize.
She said the best long-term tax relief comes from responsibly growing the economy and as mayor, she would not make empty promises about the budget.
Tirrell said he would like to see the current housing projects finished before the city starts any larger housing projects. Current projects are going to add hundreds of new dwellings and he would first like to evaluate what impact that will have on infrastructure, public safety and education before planning new developments.
“We can’t just keep building to build. We need to build with a purpose, and we need to build with a vision for the future,” said Tirrell.
Tirrell supports rent stabilization to keep out-of-state landlords out of Easthampton and is a proponent of local landlords, recognizing the concern of people on fixed incomes and Social Security whose stipends are raised when rents are too.
Derby said housing affordability has been an issue during his entire career on the city council.
He referenced multiple housing projects he has worked on including the Ferry Street housing development and his time on the school reuse committee. “It takes somebody that understands these complicated things to be able to help them across the finish line.”
He wants to increase the housing stock to help dilute inflation that has been growing over the last 20 years. He said part of that is creating mixed-use housing and commercial units that are close to town, referencing the school reuse project. Additionally, he said more tools like the senior tax work-off program need to be implemented to help residents.
Past decisions
The candidates were asked about a recent city council decisions they agree or disagree with.
Sekula opened. “Everyone in this room is dying to know how I’m different from Nicole (LaChapelle) … Working for an administration does not mean I agreed with everything that happened in that office … I’m here to be a voice for everyone in Easthampton as well and I have my own opinion and my own ideas and my own visions.”
She acknowledged that the council and mayor have done amazing work in the past. She spoke about the American flag that was removed over Nashawannuck Pond and did not agree with how the decision was made, feeling the city did not hear from enough the community prior to the decision.
Similarly, Tirrell strongly disagreed with the removal of the flag over the pond, saying that would not have happened if he was mayor. A decision he agreed with — an idea he put forward as a councilor — was for the council to say the Pledge of Allegiance and have a moment of silence at the beginning of each meeting. One councilor proposed that they remove the pledge with a moment of silence.
“A lot of back and forth went on and I proposed, why not do both? Why not make everybody happy, do a moment of silence and then the Pledge of Allegiance, that way everybody gets what they want,” he said.
Derby also did not agree with the flag decision, but brought up another topic that he disagreed with. He said that the city had the opportunity to avoid a lot interactions with lawyers when previously hiring a new superintendent.
“I’m not going to armchair quarterback this, but I think that things probably could have been done differently and if I was mayor, I know that we wouldn’t have ended up in lawsuits over that,” he said.
Additionally, he also supported the creation of the senior building ad-hoc committee to explore the building of a new senior center, he sees as a possibility for inter-generational connection.
Education
The candidates were asked how they would help provide high-quality education and keep schools safe.
Tirrell feels Easthampton public schools are in a great spot right now, recently hiring a new superintendent after having a temporary replacement. He said although it is a hot-button topic, he supports bringing back a school resource officer.
“I really strongly feel that we need resource officers in the schools again. A lot of times when there’s calls for either school — Mountain View or the high school — when an officer is needed, an officer is called off of doing something else,” he said.
Derby started by saying he has been a high school teacher for 20 years in Northampton and feels public education is the foundation of the democracy. He said as a councilor, he fought for building the new schools because Easthampton was “bleeding students to other districts.”
“With our beautiful schools, our amazing staff, our great teachers, our new superintendent who’s wonderful, Easthampton can become an education destination,” he said.
Sekula said she is the candidate with children in public schools. She said Easthampton is receiving opioid funding and wants to use that to prioritize education and health care.
“I also have education and early childhood background and I have kids with special needs, so I’ve navigated 504s and IEPs in our school district and I walk these hallways … we need to support our educators, prioritize safety, maintain communication between schools and city and ensure facilities meet student needs,” she said.
