Northampton’s preliminary election is Sept. 16. Here’s what to know
Northampton residents are gearing up for a historic municipal election with a surge in candidates and heightened public interest shaping the races.
The preliminary election is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 16 before the final municipal election which is set for Tuesday, Nov. 4.
The preliminary election will narrow the field of candidates in certain races so that there are only two candidates for each available seat that will advance to the ballot on Nov. 4. The winners on Nov. 4 will be the winners of their respective races.
A lot of candidates
According to the city’s spreadsheet of finalized candidates , a total of 45 candidate are vying for various offices, including mayor, city councilor, school committee and other positions.
City Clerk Pamela Powers said that is the most number of candidates since 2011, when she began working in the clerk’s office.
“I think a lot of folks are very vocal in the city’s budget this year, more so than I’ve seen in the past,” Powers told MassLive. “That has brought a lot of people to the table to discuss potential opportunities for how to spend the city’s money.”
Controversies around the budget have largely focused on the Northampton Public School budget.
While some money has been restored into the district, groups including Support Our Schools and Services Political Action Committee have been advocating for greater school spending to help restore staff positions and service cuts.
Debate over Northampton’s Picture Main Street may also be a motivator for voters and candidates alike. The project aims to redesign the community’s downtown business district.
How to vote
Early voting has already begun in the city and will continue through Sept. 12. Voters can go to City Hall at 210 Main St. and vote between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Sept. 8-12.
On the day of the preliminary election on Tuesday, Sept. 16, voters will go to one of seven polling places in the city to vote. A list of which ward goes to which polling place can be found here , along with a tool to look up your polling place by address.
Who is running
The mayoral race features four contenders:
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one-term incumbent mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra
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former Northampton Police officer David Dombrowski
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former Downtown Northampton Association Executive Director Jillian Duclos
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former radio broadcaster Daniel Breindel
The top two candidates will move on to November’s general election.
The race for City Council at-large is also drawing attention with six candidates competing for two seats. Voters will choose from:
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incumbent Garrick Perry
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Deb Henson
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Benjamin Spencer
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Meg Robbins
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William O’Dwyer
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Yakov Kronrod
Incumbent, Marissa Elkins is not seeking reelection.
Another closely watched race is for the Ward 3 Councilor seat, where controversial incumbent Quaverly Rothenberg is facing two challengers: Laurie Loisel and Ace Reinhardt Tayloe. Rothenberg was censured earlier this year by the City Council over a 17-minute call to dispatchers during a weather event, during which she attempted to coerce city employees to violate department rules.
The censure can be read here .
Voters in other wards also have the following choices:
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Ward 1:Nikolas Letendre-Cahillane, Michele Ronco and Gwenevra Nabad
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Ward 5:Vincent Rotello IV, David Murphy and Aline Davis.
A full list of the municipal candidates for this year can be found here .
Videos of candidate forums during which candidates stated positions on various topics can be viewed here and here .
More northampton
Read the original article on MassLive .
