NORTHAMPTON — Summer has yet to officially begin, but municipal elections in the city continue to heat up as 28 candidates have already pulled nomination papers to run for positions on the City Council or School Committee.
Many incumbents also have announced they will not seek reelection this fall, meaning the two political bodies will have several new faces regardless of the outcome.
That’s a far cry from the municipal election in 2023, where many candidates ran unopposed.
With the deadline for pulling nomination papers still seven weeks away, here are some of the latest updates regarding the candidates and elections.
A four-way race is shaping up for two at-large positions on the City Council, after two new candidates — Benjamin Spencer and Meg Robbins — announced their intention to run in the last few weeks.
Spencer and Robbins are joining incumbent Garrick Perry and challenger Deborah Henson, who had previously announced plans their plans seek the positions. Meanwhile, the other incumbent, Marissa Elkins, is not seeking reelection.
Spencer, who held a kickoff event for his campaign at the Florence Civic Center on Monday, said he hoped to provide the public with greater understanding of how the city functions with his candidacy.
“I want to help the City of Northampton live up to its potential. This means planning for both the present and the future at the same time,” Spencer wrote in a guest column in the Gazette. “Like every other city and town, Northampton has to balance the needs of our community with the realities of the budget.”
Spencer also expressed support for several city projects sponsored by Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, such as the planned Resiliency Hub and Picture Main Street.
Robbins, who formerly served on the School Committee before losing her spot in 2023, has been critical of Sciarra’s administration regarding the school budget, speaking at several council and school committee meetings in support of higher school spending.
On her official campaign website, Robbins said part of her decision to run was also in part a reaction against the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, and for the city to recommit to its progressive values.
“I believe strongly that resistance starts at home and Northampton acting locally is integral to systemic nationwide change,” Robbins wrote. “Education is the foundational building block to ensuring all of this.”
The race for Ward 3 on the council now stands at four candidates after incumbent Quaverly Rothenberg announced her intention to seek a second term.
Also seeking the position are Laurie Loisel, Ace Tayloe and Lyle Labarge.
In announcing her reelection bid, Rothenberg said that her first term has been a “learning experience filled with some inspiring victories on behalf of the residents as well as a few punches thrown my way by the people now in power. All elected officials need to learn the ropes. As the incumbent, I have that experience.”
Rothenberg’s first term on the council was not without controversy, as she is a frequent critic of the mayor and often invokes charter objections to delay legislation she opposes. The controversy culminated in Rothenberg’s censure by the rest of the council after she placed a dispatch call following a winter ice storm where she tried to obtain emergency contact numbers for the city’s Department of Public Works, and claimed that the department’s director had resigned.
Rothenberg has defended her actions that led to the censure, and continued to do so in announcing her reelection.
“Every candidate promises to fight for their constituents, but I already have a proven track record of doing so — to the point where it has landed me in disfavor with the powers that be,” Rothenberg said in the statement.
Here’s how other council races are shaping up as of Tuesday.
â In Ward 1, Michele Ronco is the only candidate to pull papers to replace current councilor Stanley Moulton, who is not seeking reelection.
â Ward 2’s Deborah Klemer has announced her intention to seek reelection. To date, she faces no challengers.
â Ward 4’s Jeremy Dubs is seeking reelection, and currently has no challengers.
â Ward 5 is a three-person race between David Murphy, Vincent Rotello IV and Aline Davis. Incumbent Alex Jarrett is not seeking reelection.
â Ward 6’s Marianne Labarge is seeking reelection and faces a challenger in Kate Hamel.
â Ward 7’s Rachel Maiore is seeking reelection, and is currently unopposed.
After seven of the nine incumbent School Committee members announced they would not seek reelection for an upcoming term, at least one new candidate has now pulled nomination papers to run for each seat.
Running for the two at-large seats to replace the departing Gwen Agna and Aline Davis are Tiffany Jewell and Emily Serafy-Cox.
Jewell is a children’s book author, activist and educator, while Serafy-Cox is currently the incumbent Ward 3 committee member who will look to move to an at-large seat.
Serafy-Cox’s Ward 3 seat has had one candidate who has pulled papers, Renika Montgomery-Tamakloe, who also serves on the city’s Northampton Reparations Study Commission.
Two candidates have filed for Ward 5, Amy Martyn and Julie Anne Graham, in hopes of replacing Ann Hennessey.
Wards 1, 6 and 7 all have one candidate, respectively, in Alena Bartoli, Cynthia Mahoney and R. Downey Meyer.
Running for Ward 4 is Michael Stein, the only incumbent from last election running for reelection of the same seat.
Ward 2 member Anat Weisenfreund, who was appointed to fill the position vacated by Karen Foster, has announced she intends to run for the seat this fall. Weisenfreund will face off against at least one other candidate, Angela Wack, for the Ward 2 position seat.
Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.
