NORTHAMPTON — With its municipal election now less than two weeks away, the city’s two mayoral candidates have begun garnering various endorsements in their respective campaigns to hold the city’s highest office.
On Thursday, incumbent Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra’s campaign announced it had won the endorsement of Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll in her bid for reelection to the office.
“Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra is delivering for Northampton,” Healey and Driscoll said in a joint statement endorsing her candidacy. “We’re proud to support her reelection so that she can continue to move her city forward and help us make Massachusetts stronger, more affordable and accessible for everyone who lives here.”
Sciarra’s campaign also announced on Wednesday it had received an endorsement from the Massachusetts chapter of the Sierra Club, a volunteer-led environmental and preservation organization. Celia Doremus, chair of Mass Sierra Club Political Committee, cited Sciarra’s commitment to projects like the planned Picture Main Street development in the city’s downtown.
“Her focus on green energy and environmental quality, her concern for the low-income residents in Northampton and nearby communities, has led to improved health conditions for disadvantaged residents,” Doremus said in a statement. “In addition, throughout her public service, she has never wavered on the importance of providing community education, government energy efficiency incentives.”
A week ago, Driscoll joined Sciarra and supporter at a community service meet up. At the event, Driscoll said that Sciarra’s experience as mayor was necessary to fight against disruption at the federal level under President Donald Trump.
While an endorsement’s from the state’s top political figures can provide significant help, it does not guarantee a victory. Two years ago in Greenfield, incumbent Roxann Wedegartner received an endorsement from the state’s governor — only to lose to challenger Ginny Desorgher by a margin of nearly 50%.
Sciarra’s challenger in the mayoral race for Northampton, Jillian Duclos, has managed to garner a few endorsements of her own in her quest to unseat that incumbent.
Duclos, the former executive director of the Downtown Northampton Association, has earned the backing of Support Our Schools, a local advocacy group pledging to support candidates dedicated to higher school spending.
Also endorsing Duclos is the Northampton Association of School Employees (NASE) the union representing staff within the Northampton Public Schools. NASE endorsed Duclos along with 16 other candidates for City Council and School Committee in an Oct. 10 press release.
“The Northampton Association of School Employees is proud to stand behind candidates who share our values and vision for high-quality, equitable public education,” NASE Vice President Heather Brown said in the statement. “These endorsed candidates have demonstrated a deep understanding of the needs of our students, educators and the broader Northampton community.”
Duclos also shared with the Gazette she had received an endorsement from the Western Massachusetts Area Labor Federation, a coalition of more than 60 labor unions across western Massachusetts. The WMALF endorsed candidates in municipal elections across the western part of the state, including in Amherst, Chicopee and Holyoke.
The winner of the mayoral contest in Northampton will be determined following the municipal election set to take place on Nov. 4.
