Northampton’s 2025 municipal election was remarkable, with 42.9% of the city turning out to vote. Lawn signs covered yards, constituents attended debates and forums, and the election was the talk of the town.
After the election, the Northampton Youth Commission had the unique opportunity to speak with Northampton’s newly elected at-large city councilors, at-large School Committee members, and mayor. While many important issues were discussed, the conversation centered around the officials’ thoughts on the political climate in Northampton: what aspects of the outpouring of interest in civic engagement are beneficial to the community, and what they thought could be improved.
Northampton is often united around core beliefs. “There were so many people standing there saying, it’s not OK. […] We need to have our voices heard,” Councilor At-Large Elect Meg Robbins said, recalling the No Kings Day protests against the Trump administration. “I know that feeling of disempowerment; of people meeting at the national level, making decisions that impact us right now.”
Powerlessness is a feeling felt especially by youth, who lack the right to vote or make direct policy decisions. It is a feeling that can become a driving force behind meaningful collaboration. But it can also be turned into divisiveness, as has been the case in Northampton in recent years. Disagreement over policy is natural. However, for our local democracy to yield tangible results for all interests, community members must be able to have productive conversations with one another — not dissolve into personalized attacks.
Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra has faced fierce personal criticism during her first term as Northampton’s mayor. She has been dubbed a “tyrant,” and her supporters “goons,” both online and during public comment in city meetings. Mayor Sciarra reflected upon her own experience with the responsibility of holding local office under the current federal administration. “Local politics are where things actually happen. We can be super frustrated with the federal government, we can be frustrated with the state, and I think we often take it out on local [government]: but this is where we live our lives.”
Newly elected At-Large School Committee member Robbie Saner Sullivan directly criticized the political discourse of the city during the election. “People were having a hard time disagreeing while hanging on to productivity […] we’ve gotten so far away from how we should be treating each other. […] It needs to come back to a real basic community level, person to person.”
Councilor At-Large Garrick Perry added: “One of the best things is everyone who runs, you might see them in the grocery store … this is what we believe is so often forgotten and overlooked when it comes to local politics.”
Mayor Sciarra added to this imperative desire, sharing, “We have a lot of work in the next few months to come back together.” However, she then elaborated, saying, “There’s a lot of things that people may think that we disagree on, that aren’t really things that we disagree on.” This point neglects to acknowledge the urgent change that people want to see. While much of our community does indeed agree on basic principals, such as the vitality of public education, this election has proved that there are strong differences in how people need to see these values executed. Much of the community, including youth, feel the very deep dissatisfaction and pain that is a result of Northampton’s inadequate public school funding. The city of Northampton must clearly communicate a strong understanding of concerns that the community shares, and is a vital step in opening the door for further conversations about how to address those concerns. But these conversations should be about policy, not tearing down our public officials.
Tiffany Jewell, elected an at-large School Committee member, highlights the opportunity of this moment in Northampton: “I think it is really exciting that we have so many people that are engaged.” This engagement is what is crucial to our democracy.
We must remember that our tight, local communities, which make our city great, result in our lives and actions being intertwined with one another. Thus, in order to counter the hate perpetuated on a national level, people in this city should want the best for one another. Disagreement is vital to democracy, but as a community, we have seemingly forgotten how to disagree. It becomes significantly harder to argue productively when you feel as though others intend to harm you. While this may be the case at the national level, it is important to remember that most people, especially in our Northampton community, have good intentions. Our neighbors are our neighbors above all else.
Henry Daggett is writing on behalf of the Northampton Youth Commission.