A father will replace his son on the City Council in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Veterans advocate and Puerto Rican community leader Gumersindo Gomez has been chosen to represent Ward 1 on the City Council, filling a vacancy caused by the mid-term resignation of Adam Gomez, who became a State Senator in January.
In a roll call vote by the City Council during a remote public meeting Monday night, Gomez received nine votes. There were three abstentions.
" I promise you guys that I will do the best I can to continue the legacy that Councilor Adam (Gomez) left behind," said Gomez after the vote.
Two other people sought to fill the vacancy: Maria Perez, who is a member of the Springfield School Committee, and Blake Grandon, a former food and beverage manager at MGM Springfield. Two people who submitted letters of interest in the position later withdrew from consideration.
Perez has taken out nomination papers to run for the Ward 1 seat in this year’s municipal election. Asked about their intentions, Gomez and Grandon both said they were keeping their options open.
The task of appointing someone to fill the vacant Ward 1 seat fell to the other 12 Councilors because there was no runner-up in the 2019 election.
There is no provision in the City Charter for a special election, which is something City Councilor Mike Fenton said he is determined to change.
" I do believe that going foward we should take steps to assure that the Council is not playing this very uncomfortable role of filling the vacancy," said Fenton. He and Councilor Victor Davila plan to co-sponsor a home rule bill that would require a special election to fill council vacancies.
After being elected last year to the Massachusetts House, Orlando Ramos said he chose to complete his current term on the City Council because there was no runner-up in the last election to replace him.
"I wanted the voters to select my replacement once I leave office," said Ramos. "The voters of Ward 1 should select who the Ward 1 representative should be, not 12 city councilors."
To fill the vacancy in Ward 1, Councilors agreed to follow a step-by-step process that was proposed by Council President Marcus Williams.
"I wanted to insure a process that was both fully public, transparent and fair to those partcipating," said Williams. "This was not a decision anyone of the council members took lightly."
The process was endorsed at a meeting last week of the General Government Committee, where a suggestion to vote to fill the vacancy by secret ballot was rejected.
