EASTHAMPTON — A new era is underway in Easthampton’s city government, as members of the 2026-2027 City Council were sworn in and took their respective seats for the first time on Friday.
In their first order of business shortly after their inauguration ceremony, councilors tapped two women to lead them for the next two years — Koni Denham as president and Felicia Jadczak as vice president.
Newcomers to the nine-member legislative body include at-large members Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid, Nathan Markee, Jonathan Schmidt and Amanda Newton of Precinct 4 were sworn in in front of 35 people in the Easthampton City Hall to kick-start their two-year terms. They took the oath of office with incumbents James “JP” Kwiecinski of Precinct 1, Jadczak of Precinct 2, Thomas Peake of Precinct 3, Tamara Smith of Precinct 5 and at-large Councilor Denham.
Also on Friday afternoon, six School Committee members were sworn in. They include incumbents Laura Scott, Megan Ward Harvey, Sam Hunter, Eric Guyette and Linda Markee welcomed newcomer Bonnie Atkins. The seven-member committee also includes Mayor Salem Derby. After the swearing-in, Scott was selected to chair the committee again.
On the City Council, Denham replaces Kwiecinski as president, and before power was transferred he gave his last address in the role. In it, he asked those on the council to “step outside themselves” by bringing open-mindedness and an open ear to the table.
“Nobody here wants to herd cats — we want to have people who can talk to one another, who can share ideas, who can believe in each other, and we can only only do that by reaching out of ourselves,” he said.
After being voted in as president, Denham took her place at the head of the table. She thanked Kwiecinski for his service to the council.
“I think that last year was a very challenging time for this council, and I know I looked to you to step up into a leadership role in order to guide us through what I felt was a very difficult time to step into that,” she said to Kwiecinski. “So I just want to acknowledge that I very much appreciate you.”
In interviews outside of the meeting, several councilors, especially its new members, indicated that rent prices will be top-of-mind this year.
“Housing is a particularly pressing issue right now, and I think that there’s some tools that Easthampton hasn’t employed to address the affordability crisis,” Jamrog-McQuaid said.
Newton also said that rent spikes have been a primary issue residents have spoken with her about, and she looks forward to finding solutions driven by the question, “what is possible?”
Markee, a renter himself, said that affordability will be a focus, as well as transportation. “I’d like to see the city become walkable,” he said.
Schmidt, who has been appointed to the Public Safety Committee, has a few “bigger picture” items he’d like to work on this coming year, including focusing on the potential for climate disasters like flooding.
He also wants to “give a shout out to reducing plastic in our world.” While Easthampton has taken some measures to reduce plastics, like eliminating single-use plastic bags in stores, he hopes to take additional steps.
Denham said maneuvering financial uncertainty at the municipal level will be something to tackle to ensure residents continue to receive the services they need.
New energy
All nine members said they were excited to have new energy on the council, a thought that new Mayor Salem Derby expressed during an ad-libbed address before the swearing-ins took place.
“It’s great to have this moment to acknowledge the willingness of people in our community to step up,” said Derby, emphasizing that Easthampton has gone from being an “up and coming” community to a city that’s on the map due to the willingness of community members to pitch in.
“One of the things that’s always been amazing about living in Easthampton and being part of politics in Easthampton is being able to see how many people it takes to be able to step forward and create a community that’s not just thriving, but has so much forward momentum,” he said.
Appointments
The City Council and School Committee got to work in their first meetings of 2026.
Denham came prepared with a list of appointees for City Council committee assignments. On the Finance Committee, she appointed Peake, Schmidt and herself. Kwiecinski, Newton, and Jadczak will sit on the Rules Committee.
Jadzak, Smith and Markee will have seats on the Appointments Committee, and Smith, Denham and Jamrog-McQuiad will be on the Ordinance Committee. Newton, Schmidt and Markee have been appointed to the Public Safety Committee, and Kwiecinski, Peake and Jamrog-McQuaid will have seats on the Property Committee.
As for School Committee appointments, Scott tapped Guyette as secretary.
Harvey, Atkins, and Scott will serve on the Finance Subcommittee. Hunter, Markee, and Guyette will sit on the Policy Subcommittee. Hunter and Markee were chosen as members of the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) Board, and Atkins will represent the School Committee on the city’s Senior Center Building Committee.
