Voters face an untypically crowded ballot for today’s preliminary election in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Mayor Domenic Sarno faces three prominent challengers as he looks to extend his already-historic tenure as Springfield’s chief executive with the top two vote-getters in the preliminary advancing to the November 7th municipal election.
First elected in 2007 and now the city’s longest-serving mayor, Sarno is engaged in his first real election contest in a dozen years.
“We have a good story to tell and we’re going to continue to tell that story,” Sarno said.
Aided greatly by a campaign war chest and fundraising that has far outpaced his challengers, Sarno has blanketed the city with lawn signs, sent flyers to the mailboxes of voters, and with $160,000 spent on TV ads since July, tried to drown-out his opponents on the air.
Using incumbency to his full advantage, he’s maintained throughout the summer a very busy schedule of public appearances.
The message? Experience counts.
“I have a proven track record,” Sarno said, highlighting his administration’s response to natural and manmade disasters including a tornado in 2011 and a natural gas explosion downtown later the same year.
“I have a good team on the field and we are going to continue to produce,” Sarno said.
The other mayoral hopefuls, Justin Hurst, Jesse Lederman, and Orlando Ramos, are all former or current (as in Lederman’s case) Springfield City Council presidents.
Hurst, on Tuesday, said his message has been the same since he became the first candidate in the race back in November 2022.
“It’s time for a change,” he said. “Sixteen years is too long.”
In his bid to unseat the incumbent, Hurst has stressed pocketbook issues.
“If you want someone who is going to invest in our young people, you should vote for me,” Hurst said. He has also said he will work to lower property taxes and eliminate the trash fee.
Lederman says he will bring a “fresh perspective” to the mayor’s office.
“As we’ve spoken with residents across the city of Springfield, we’ve heard a clear demand for that,” Lederman said.
First elected to the City Council six years ago at the age of 23, Lederman said his political strength lies in coalition-building.
“Certainly when you are running against a political machine it is a challenge, but my campaigns have always focused on a grassroots effort, so we’ve been knocking on doors and making phone calls connecting with people one-on-one.”
Although he spent four terms on the Springfield City Council and is now in his second term as a state legislator, Ramos has sought to portray himself as an outsider.
“No disrespect to my fellow candidates, but I did not grow up wanting to be mayor of the city of Springfield,” Ramos said. “I’m a carpenter, not a politician. I’m someone who saw a need in my community and decided to run for office.”
His campaign has benefited from the emergence last month of a new political action committee created to elect more Latinos to office. The Hispanic Latino Leaders Now PAC put $15,000 into mailers, social media ads, and robocalls promoting Ramos.
“Of course anything that helps get the message out that I am the right candidate for the job is very helpful,” Ramos said.
Also on the mayoral ballot is David Ciampi, a therapist. His self-funded, low-budget campaign has promoted bringing an annual Rio-style carnival to Springfield as a way to foster civic pride and build community.
The decisions by Hurst and Lederman to give up their seats on the City Council to pursue the mayoralty resulted in a crush of 20 candidates for City Council At-large on the preliminary election ballot. Voters will cut the field in half to set up a November contest for five seats.
