Springfield elections: 4 candidates to vie for Ward 4 City Council seat

SPRINGFIELD – Four people are competing to become the next Ward 4 city councilor in the most-contested preliminary race in this year's elections.

On Tuesday, voters in the ward that includes Mason Square and the McKnight neighborhoods will narrow the slate of candidates from four to two for November's election. There are also preliminary races for City Council and School Committee in Ward 6 and School Committee in Ward 7.

Incumbent Malo Brown, who is hoping to be reelected to a fourth two-year term, is facing off against Kenneth Barnett, Willie James Naylor and Beverly L. Savage.

Brown, 52, chief of staff for state Rep. Bud L. Williams, said he feels there is still a lot more work to do, especially in improving public safety and lowering taxes and he believes he has the experience to get it done.

While he said he continues to lobby the mayor to set aside money to reduce the amount that must be raised from real estate taxes, Brown said he wants to explore another idea on how to make it easier for retirees to remain in their homes.

"I still try to talk about a tax scale, having a tax rate that is also based on income and ages instead of paying a flat rate," he said. "When you are 28, 30, 31, you pay higher taxes than when you become a senior."

In the police department, where his father retired as a captain, Brown said he wants to bring in as much technology as possible and would like to post signs in problem places to tell people there are surveillance cameras to deter illegal dumping and drug dealing.

Beverly Savage and Kenneth Barnett are running for City Council in Ward 4.republican

Naylor, 68, has never served in public office but is a well-known member of the Ward 4 community as a long-term Marlboro Street resident, senior minister with Holy Redeemer Cathedral, an organizer of Harambee and volunteer for other organizations.

"I look at it (serving on the City Council) as an extension of helping and caring. I've always been a practitioner of the healing arts and this is an extension of that," he said. "I want to be a voice for the people."

Naylor, a program developer for workforce development and a mental health clinician for New North Citizens Council, said he sees it as a priority to tackle the problems of opioid abuse and gun violence as well as the lack of affordable housing, which he called intertwined problems that all come out of persistent poverty and a lack of education.

One of his long-term goals is to work with colleges and universities to offer more programs in artificial intelligence and computer skills to keep young people in the city by preparing them for good-paying jobs.

Barnett, 58, who is running for office for the first time, said he has a long family history in the Mason Square neighborhood and has honed his leadership serving on neighborhood councils.

"I see a great need for better representation in the ward. We need to work on infant mortality and drug addiction," said Barnett, who is a corrections officer for the Hampden Sheriff's Department.

One of his concerns is he feels the small businesses in Mason Square are short-changed when it comes to accessing funds that can help them thrive and expand, mainly because they don't have the information they need about what is available.

"I want to educate the community about the money and what we need," he said. "People are not aware of all the health services that are available to them and we need to make that known."

He said he also wants in the short-term to focus on basic quality of life issues like cleaning and repairing streets, adding signs and improving lighting.

Barnett has served as president of the Bay Area Neighborhood Council. He said he is a team player and would like to get all the neighborhood associations in the ward working together so they can serve as a strong voice for the ward.

Savage, 62, works in human resources and is the mother of eight. She said she would like to create an economic development council just for the ward to help small businesses.

"I need to know the pulse of small businesses," she said. "Why are we struggling in Mason Square."

She said she would also support improving police technology but only after carefully researching it to ensure it did not discriminate or target certain people.

During a recent candidate forum, she talked about her leadership skills.

"I believe we need someone who can navigate strategically to progress," Savage said. "I know we don't like to mention the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' that President Trump passed, but there are secrets inside that bill that we can extract from and bring money to our communities and I believe I am the candidate to do that."

Read the original article on MassLive .