2 long-term Springfield City Councilors ousted, one returned after 2-year hiaitus
Voters ousted an experienced city councilor in favor of a 25-year-old newcomer and returned a former councilor to office in Tuesday's election.
The election was not easy on incumbents. Six-year City Councilor Sean Curran also lost his bid for reelection as did two School Committee incumbents who had served 15 or more years on the board.
Four other ward City Councilors were reelected in margins of less than 50 votes.
Candidates and supporters who stood outside polling places in last-minute campaigning bids described the turnout mostly as "slow but steady." With no high-profile mayor's race to draw people, turnout was reported at 10.2%.
One of the most stunning upsets was in the Ward 7 City Council race where Timothy Allen, who has served on the council for 16 years and is the chairman of its finance committee, was ousted by Gerry Martin, a 25-year-old who has never served in office, 2,042 to 1,045 votes.
Martin campaigned hard, canvassing neighborhoods in the ward and talking to more than 2,500 voters, some of them as much as three times.
"It was very hard work. Tim Allen is a hard worker and a class act who has brought a lot to the council," he said.
But Martin said he feels nationwide there is a call for new and younger leaders and he benefited from that sentiment.
"The voters agreed it was time for new energy and new ideas," he said.
All five incumbents were running for reelection in the at-large race, Curran came in sixth place with 4,918 votes. He was ousted by Justin Hurst, who had been off the City Council for two years after unsuccessfully running for mayor in 2023.
Hurst, who was accused of trying to buy votes in the 2023 race, came in second in the slate of candidates with 5,442 votes. Incumbent Jose Delgado finished first in a wide margin with 6,656 votes.
The other at-large winners were close behind Hurst. Tracye Whitfield came in third with 5,253 ballots, Kateri Walsh followed with 5,135 votes and Brian Santaniello rounded out the winners with 5,004 votes. Challengers Juan Latorre III and Nicole Coakley were not reelected, receiving 4,574 votes and 4,291 votes respectively.
One of the most talked-about races was for Ward 1 City Council, where incumbent Maria Perez bested her opponent, School Committee member Joesiah Gonzalez, by 32 votes, 550 to 518.
At the Worthington Fire Department, several residents declined to talk about the controversy over that race where Gonzalez is accused of a politically-based attack on Perez, his former coworker, and orchestrating her firing from her 40-year job at the New North Citizens Council. Perez has denied any charges of wrongdoing and is suing over wrongful termination.
Iris Roman said she did vote for Gonzalez, showing the anti-incumbent sentiment seen in the election.
"He is a new face, new thinking and new ideas," she said.
Other incumbents also faced tough challenges. Ward 6 incumbent Victor Davila squeaked by winning his fourth term by just 18 votes over newcomer and lawyer Mary Johnson.
"Yes, it was a close race but I'm grateful for my constituents who decided to send me back," he said.
Davila acknowledged that the longer people serve in office the more often they make decisions that are unpopular with constituents and can cause them to lose some votes.
Other tight races were in Ward 4 where Malo Brown bested his opponent Willie J. Naylor, 705 to 676, and in Ward 5 where Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce fended off a challenge from real estate executive Edward Nunez, 1,072 to 1,023.
City Councilors Melvin Edwards in Ward 3, Zaida Govan in Ward 8 and President Michael Fenton in Ward 2 ran unopposed for reelection.
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