NORTHAMPTON – Stanley W. Moulton, a retired editor at the Daily Hampshire Gazette who chaired the city’s Charter Review Committee in 2019, announced Monday that he is running for City Council in Ward 1.
Moulton, 68, is running against social worker Emily L. Coffin for the position that City Councilor Michael Quinlan is vacating. Quinlan is certified to appear on the Nov. 2 ballot for an at-large seat on the council.
As of Monday, races are shaping up in three wards – 1, 3 and 4 – with two candidates running in each. The councilors in wards 2, 5, 6 and 7 are all running for reelection unopposed. Candidates have until July 30 at 5 p.m. to submit their nomination papers to the Board of Registrars. There is also a five-way race for the council’s two at-large seats.
Moulton worked at the Gazette for 42 years as a reporter and editor before retiring in 2018. He serves on the board of Northampton Open Media – a position to which Mayor David Narkewicz appointed him in January 2020 – and spent 10 years as chair of the Citizens Scholarship Foundation of Northampton.
“I have a long history of observing city government in Northampton, although my participation is very recent,” said Moulton, by phone while he was collecting voter signatures. “There’s a certain level of knowledge I have that would be useful to the council.”
Moulton has lived in Northampton for 45 years; his two adult daughters graduated from Northampton High School. He is a graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst.
With Moulton as chairman, the Charter Review Committee recommended lowering the minimum voting age for municipal elections to 16, adopting ranked-choice voting and permanently requiring that ballots be mailed to all registered voters for every election.
Those recommendations were unanimously approved by the City Council and by Narkewicz, and they are now before a state legislative committee awaiting further action.
Moulton said he wants to work with the next mayor to provide adequate funding for the new Department of Community Care, which will send unarmed peer responders to some emergencies that are currently handled by police, like threats of suicide and minor traffic incidents. The department was recommended by the Policing Review Commission in its report issued this spring.
“That was an important and necessary recommendation,” Moulton said. “It’s a question of available resources and how you allocate them so that it is effective. (The department) has to have the financial backing and the staffing to work effectively.”
In a statement outlining his priorities, Moulton said the city needs to think “creatively” about increasing housing access and affordability, provide “robust support for public schools as they emerge from the pandemic,” and make sure all residents have a say in the ongoing redesign of Main Street.
“Northampton is a great community to live in, to work in, and to raise a family in, and I’ve always felt that, if you have an opportunity, you should give back using the skills you have,” Moulton said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have the time, and what I think is a good background and temperament, to contribute.”
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.