Springfield incumbents come out on top in preliminary elections marked by low voter turnout
Incumbents held onto their seats in Tuesday's preliminary election that narrowed down the field of candidates in two City Council wards and one School Committee race.
Winners were incumbent Victor Davila and lawyer Mary Johnson in Ward 6. Incumbent Malo Brown came in first, followed by Willie James Naylor in the four-way race for City Council in Ward 4.
In the District 3 School Committee race, 16-year member Christopher Collins finished first, followed by educator Rosa Valentin. Newcomer Steven Carosello was knocked out of the race.
Although most candidates worked hard on grassroots campaigning, going door-to-door to talk individually to voters, the preliminary race was marked by an exceptionally low turnout of 3.4% of eligible voters.
A total of 1,508 of the 44,407 registered voters in the four wards where there were contested races cast ballots.
"I definitely want to get out and thank the voters for supporting me. I appreciate the support from the community," said Brown, who received 210 votes to finish first.
Naylor followed in second place with 154 ballots. The other candidates who will not move on to November's general election are Kenneth Barnett, who received 58 votes, and Beverly L. Savage, who finished with 51 votes.
Brown said he was a little disappointed to see Savage's totals, saying he would have liked to see a woman get a better chance to serve on the City Council. He said he will reach out to her to talk about her ideas.
"This is where the second level of engagement begins to expand on my platform and to listen to what the major issues are in the community," Naylor said, thanking his family, his church family and the community for their support.
In Ward 6, Davila received 267 votes while Johnson received 205 to move forward to November's election. First-time candidate Charles Whitaker Battle finished third with 60 votes.
"I'm so grateful for all the supporters and volunteers. It shows where we can get when we work together," Johnson said. "I'm excited to get out the word that we have a new message and new ideas for Ward 6."
She said she and her volunteers have a lot of hard work ahead of them to try to unseat Davila, a three-term councilor, but she said she "wouldn't have it any other way."
Davila also thanked all his volunteers and his constituents who continue to believe in him.
"We will continue to work hard to make Springfield better," he said, adding at the same time that he will continue the work he has been pursuing for more than a year to push non-profits to boost the tax base by making in-lieu-of-tax payments.
In the School Committee District 3 race, which combines Wards 6 and 7, Collins came out on top with 553 votes while Valentin received 343 ballots. Steven Carosello finished third with 94 votes.
November's race will leave voters to decide between two experienced educators. Collins, who is now retired, was a Springfield teacher and principal, while Valentin has 35 years as an educator serving in different roles.
"I will redouble my efforts to get my message out and especially to try to get people to get out and vote," Collins said. "This has got to be the worst voter turnout in the city of Springfield."
Valentin agreed and pledged to work harder, especially to make sure the Hispanic voters come out in the general election since roughly 70% of the students in the schools are Latino.
"My next move is to work harder and smarter to make sure we have our Hispanic community come out and vote," she said. "I will work for every kid in the district."
Ward 4 polling station at the Rebecca M. Johnson School. Sept. 9, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Caroline Herrera spent all day holding signs in front of Forest Park Middle School, holding signs to show her support for Valentin. She said she was impressed with her long experience as an educator and said she knows Valentin personally.
Herrera said when she first moved from Puerto Rico, Valentin stepped in and helped her and her son with some school issues. "Now she is helping my grandchildren."
"I'm glad to see new people are getting involved and there is some active campaigning both for City Council and School Committee," said Jan Burdewik, who voted at Forest Park Middle School in Ward 6.
She said Davila and Johnson both knocked on her door and wanted to talk about issues. She also attended Johnson's kick-off party held in a restaurant in Ward 6.
"I think I appreciate when people understand the complexity of issues and the time it takes to get things accomplished," Burdewik said.
At least six members of the Carpenters Union Local 336 came to the polls after work to hold signs to show support for Davila.
"We are supporting Victor. He stands behind the working class and the legislation we are trying to get passed," said Arthur Cook.
The bill is to prevent salary theft and ensure the union members are paid prevailing wages on the job, Cook said.
Jynai McDonald cast a ballot with her son, Ruben Sullivan, a seventh-grader who has developed an interest in politics and is running for class president. McDonald said she never misses an election, but the Ward 4 City Council race is especially important to her since she unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2019 and again in 2021.
"I'm always happy to see the status quo challenged," McDonald said. But she admitted the three challengers all seemed like good people, but their platforms didn't excite her.
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