EASTHAMPTON — Voters reelected incumbent Koni Denham as an at-large councilor and Tamara Smith for Precinct 5, while welcoming four new members including Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid, Nathan Markee and Jonathan Schmidt for at-large seats, and Amanda Newton for Precinct 4.
For the Nov. 4 election, Denham got the most votes out of the at-large candidates with 3,740, followed by Schmidt with 3,258, Jamrog-McQuaid with 2,923 and Markee with 2,647. Karl Prahl, the one out of the five that was not elected, received 1,924 votes.
In the race for Precinct 4, Newton received 575 votes, narrowly beating out Robert “Bob” Peirent with 535 votes.
Since Salem Derby was elected mayor, the council will decide in the coming weeks if Newton will take the Precinct 4 seat on the council as soon as results are official, or wait until the new year.
In the race for Precinct 5, the incumbent Smith received 760 votes, defeating Cathy Wauczinski who had 431 votes.
Incumbents James “JP” Kwiecinski of Precinct 1, Felicia Jadczak of Precinct 2 and Thomas Peake of Precinct 3 retained their seats, running unopposed.
Since at-large member of the council Peg Conniff is filling an interim role, she will leave her seat after the council’s Nov. 5 meeting. Schmidt will replace Conniff as soon as results are official and he is sworn in, because he was the at-large candidate to receive the most votes who was not an incumbent.
City Councilor At-Large Jason “JT” Tirrell, who lost a bid for mayor, will finish his term on the council. At-Large Councilor Brad Riley decided not to run for reelection.
Denham has served as a city councilor for the past four years and will enter her third term. She is currently on the finance and ordinance committees, and has served a stint on the rules and government relations committee. She has been an educator for the last 30 years, having taught English as a foreign language with the Peace Crops, supporting the development of student advocates and preparing them for college. She remains committed to ensuring residents have their needs met, while supporting municipal employees to deliver services to the community.
Smith has been an Easthampton resident for the past 18 years and is entering her fourth term on the council; the first two as an at-large member and third and now fourth as a Precinct 5 councilor. Smith is a professor at Westfield State University teaching gerontology, health science and sociology. She has five children who grew up attending Easthampton Public Schools.
Schmidt works at Easthampton’s Public Library in the youth department. For more than a decade, he has developed connections with community members through all walks of life. He is committed to public education, having been elected to the School Committee twice, serving from 2018 to 2021, giving him direct experience working in the city government.
Markee has lived in Easthampton for more than six years and is the chair of the Easthampton Democratic Committee (EDC), while serving on the board of directors for Easthampton Media, or E-Media.
Jamrog-McQuaid is a lifelong Easthampton resident, an economic and public policy researcher and affordable housing advocate. Entering his first term on the council, one of the pillars of Jamrog-McQuaid’s campaign is his advocacy for affordable housing. For the past four years, he has served on the city’s Affordable and Fair Housing Partnership. Professionally, he works at the UMass Donahue Institute conducting mixed-methods, policy research and data analysis related to housing, workforce and economic development.
Newton, a lifelong resident of Easthampton, graduated from Easthampton High School as a valedictorian and currently works as a third-grade teacher at the Smith College Laboratory School. After graduating Mount Holyoke College, she began a career as a public school teacher in Springfield while completing a master’s degree in education at Westfield State University.
As a mother to a second grader, Newton said she has balanced her career with the challenge of raising a child in a changing world. As a city councilor, she hopes to bring an intergenerational perspective to local government and to represent the voice of families, women balancing careers, parenthood, caregiving and community life.
Voting numbers were updated on Nov. 19, after results became official.