Municipal races and campaigns are starting to take shape across western Massachusetts – including a challenge to the mayor of Northampton.
David Dombrowski – a Northampton native and retired police patrolman – tells WAMC it was about six years ago when the idea of running for mayor started to take shape.
Rising prices, a lack of affordability, and other factors played a role. Two years later, with then-Mayor David Narkewicz opting not to run again, he ventured to city hall to get things rolling – only to feel the time wasn’t quite right.
Now, Dombrowski has been collecting signatures and mounting an independent run, hoping to build on experiences he had living and working in the city over the years.
“It's a diverse city, which is great - a lot of interesting things going on in the city of Northampton with the people,” he said. “… if you're talking about government things, it's sort of a double-edged sword, I mean, of course, you can't please everybody all the time, but … there’s good and bad.”
A Smith Vocational graduate who’s also worked in real estate and sales, Dombrowski hopes to challenge Mayor Gina Louise-Sciarra, who recently kicked off her own reelection bid.
Sciarra doesn’t appear much on Dombrowski’s campaign site, save for a news clipping headline mentioning her name. For the most part, the former officer’s campaign focuses more on a “No Waste, Real Results” platform that emphasizes reducing taxes, "removing unnecessary regulation" to encourage business, and conducting an audit of city finances.
“… the first thing I'd really want to do is have a forensic audit performed on the city's accounting and financial records and find out where everything is, and know what things are doing well and other things that might not be doing well,” Dombrowski said, adding that once the audit’s done, his administration would have a more solid foundation to build on.
Northampton found itself with a budget surplus last year, certified in 2024 to be over $11 million, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette – a majority coming from revenue, as well as “money carried over from the prior year,” the city stated in a Facebook post.
It’s something advocates for restoring cut school district jobs have brought up, emphasized as the district continues to face steep budget shortfalls.
Dombrowski says he's aware of the budget issues in Northampton Public Schools, adding that with millions going into NPS as is, he’s interested in learning more.
“I think there's a lot of taxpayer money that goes into that school budget, I think it's top heavy,” he told WAMC. “I think that some of the [education/learning] models need to be looked at and, perhaps, adjusted to sort of this day and age - not so much the Industrial Revolution: more towards what's going on with technology.”
He adds it’s a big topic to tackle – acknowledging every student learns differently, as well.
Speaking of big undertakings, one of the largest projects coming together during Sciarra’s administration also has the candidate’s attention: the "Picture Main Street" project - a three-year effort to redesign a downtown artery, likely to start in 2026.
The $29 million effort is being funded by MassDOT – one that would see bike lanes, pedestrian crossing infrastructure and traffic pattern upgrades in one of the state’s top “crash clusters for bike and pedestrian accidents” Sciarra has said.
It would also significantly change and narrow the broad, heavily-trafficked roadway numerous businesses call home – which Dombrowski’s not a huge fan of.
“It's tough enough to navigate downtown when it's busy as it is and for the businesses to be interrupted for around three years, things are tough now for businesses,” he said of the project. “You know, large chains are closing, and these are local folks for the most part. "
Dombrowski says he’s hoping to have a formal campaign kickoff in May. According to the state’s Office of Campaign & Political Finance, the candidate organized his mayoral committee in January - with about 10 dollars reportedly on hand.
That's likely to change as his campaign continues, though for now, he faces an incumbent with at least $24,500 on hand, according to recent filings.
Sciarra has said she welcomes the hard conversations that come with topics like the Main Street redesign and school funding. She's also told WAMC she's happy to have the conversations bound to come with facing a challenger, just as she did during her initial run.
This year’s election is slated for November 4.
