Two years after saying she wouldn’t seek re-election, Easthampton, Mass. Mayor Nicole LaChapelle now plans to vacate 50 Payson Ave early. Ahead of her departure next week, she spoke with WAMC about her next role.
First elected in 2017 and serving three terms, LaChapelle made it clear in 2023 she would not seek a fourth.
It set the stage for what’s already a three-candidate mayoral race this year, plus questions of what was next for the longtime mayor.
That move was revealed Wednesday, when the Healey administration announced LaChappelle would serve as Commissioner of the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The mayor spoke with WAMC about the switch from leading a city of 16,000 to a department that oversees almost a half million acres.
“A key priority for me is making sure that there is a DCR for all, that there's space, that everybody can enjoy the properties… feeling safe, at home, regardless of who they are and where they live,” she said in a phone interview.
The mayor says conversations over the role have been ongoing for the last few months, with current-Commissioner Brian Arrigo preparing to leave for a job at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Stating she’s a fan of the former Revere mayor’s work, LaChapelle says her last day as mayor of Easthampton will be Tuesday, July 15.
After that, per the city’s home rule charter, “the president of the city council, or another councilor elected by the council” will serve as acting mayor until the November election.
LaChapelle tells WAMC that the final stretch of her mayoral tenure has included ensuring a smooth handoff to whoever takes the reins next.
She hopes to see the next mayor build on a host of city accomplishments, ranging from maintaining the city’s historic AA+ bond rating to downtown improvements to, coincidentally, open space and land-conservation work.
“… the forward work of our open space planning … the downtown strategy, re-envisioning Main Street … I could go on and on,” she said. “That work doesn't happen in a silo, it doesn't come out of the mayor's office: it is the responsibility of the mayor to be a steward of making and bringing the community's values into reality and I am so proud to have been the steward during this time and including more and more voices into where Easthampton’s going next.”
The mayor has made no formal endorsement so far. Her chief of staff, Lindsi Sekula, City Councilor At-Large JT Tirrell and resident Robert Laferriere have all taken out papers to run in November.
LaChappelle notes Sekula’s work record speaks for itself, as do the records of the other candidates.
“I expect a robust campaign season and… Easthampton voters … we vote. We come out and we scrutinize and push all of our candidates to speak to what they have and can do for Easthampton and that's going to happen this time around for mayor, but also for city council and school committee,” she said.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that Easthampton Council President Salem Derby will soon decide whether to serve as mayor in the interim. In a statement, Councilor At-Large Tirrell says, in the event Derby turns the role down, he, himself, would not seek the acting mayor post ahead of this year’s municipal elections.
Said elections are on November 4. Meanwhile, LaChapelle’s first day as commissioner is July 21.
Eager to help with the rollout of the state’s Summer Nights program providing activities for Massachusetts youth, LaChappelle says she plans on doing a lot of learning during her opening weeks as commissioner of the department sporting at least 1,000 employees.
“It's about mouth-shut, ears-open, eyes-open and really getting to know the portfolio and the DCR team, which is amazing, and looking at what they're doing, what they started, what they're excited about, and also how I can, down the road, facilitate their very best work, again, as a steward of one of the greatest, most-diverse portfolios of conservation and recreational land in the country.”
According to the DCR’s Stewardship Map, that portfolio includes 328,000 acres of state park land, 42 ice rinks, 46 pools, 74 playgrounds and almost 4,200 miles of road and trails.
As LaChapelle points out, that includes the Mount Tom State Reservation and its 22 miles of trails that overlook Easthampton.
