Four months before residents cast their ballots, there’s already plenty of layers to the mayoral race in Easthampton, Mass. The current mayor is departing well in advance, her chief of staff and two others are seeking the job and the city’s getting an interim mayor. WAMC spoke with one of the candidates looking to take on the role come November – Councilor At-Large Jason “JT” Tirrell.
Joined by family members and supporters, Tirrell formally announced his intention to run back in May – declaring his candidacy downtown, in front of Nashawannuck Pond.
The decision came about two years after Mayor Nicole LaChapelle announced in 2023 that she would not be seeking a fourth term – the same year Tirrell would run for and join the city council.
With his first term wrapping up, Tirrell, who has also served on the city’s Parks & Recreation Commission, tells WAMC he’s looking to lead his hometown – and not go further than that.
“I don't look at myself as a typical politician - I do not have pie in the sky aspirations of being a senator or anything like that,” he said during a sit-down with the station. “I want to do what's best for the city I grew up in and I want to do everything I can to help progress into the future.”
A Williston Northampton School alum, Tirrell’s previously worked on the Easthampton campus, overseeing the equipment of its expansive athletic department. He’s also served as president of the local little league board of directors, with other past roles including stints in “various college admissions departments,” according to The Willistonian.
Tirrell says he’s proud of his time on the council – a short tenure that’s given all manner of insight into the city of 16,000’s inner-workings. This, even as the council rode a few waves of change, like the departure of former Council President Homar Gomez, who ran for state representative, and At-Large Councilor Owen Zaret, who resigned.
“With that unrest, I still think we've done a pretty good job at staying cohesive and trying to further the agenda of the council and work with the mayor – the budget got passed” he says. “I think we've done a real good job of trying to steer the ship in the right direction. I think a lot of that's come from Councilor Derby, when he took over for Gomez when he stepped aside.”
Of course, there’s been further changes in the body – Council President Salem Derby is set to become interim mayor as Mayor LaChapelle departs Tuesday to become the state’s next Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioner.
It was a move that caught many by surprise – Tirrell included. Still, the councilor says the mayor leaves behind a lot of progress to build on.
“She’s done a good job for the city. We revitalized Cottage Street, revitalized Union Street. Down the road, in another year or two, we're going to start the third phase of that, which is going to be Main Street, the rotary, which I personally can't wait for - I hate driving around the rotary,” Tirrell says. “I think that's going to be a huge step and she started that ball rolling: she was able to help secure federal funding and couple it with state funding. I think she's done a real good job with some infrastructure issues.”
Tirrell adds he does not envy Derby taking on the role temporarily. As the council president weighed doing so, the councilor at-large announced he would not seek the office in an interim capacity if Derby balked and the council was left to nominate one of their own to serve, per charter rules.
Wishing to serve only if elected, he says he’s focused on meeting with constituents as his campaign goes on. Among the most pressing issues they bring up, he says; senior care.
“Our elderly population is increasing every year, and we need to plan for that increase,” he says, noting that a committee is looking into bringing a new, “sorely needed” senior center to the city. “We need to plan in regards to what those needs are going to be and how we're going to support that population as it grows and grows. It's just something we have to be proactive about – we can’t wait until after it happens.”
He also says he wants to be proactive on housing. As property values rise, he adds there’s real concern over the city’s most vulnerable residents being priced out.
“I think it's great that people want to live here, but I don't want more people coming to the city because people had to leave because they got priced out or because you're a senior on a fixed income and your rent went up so much and you can't afford your medication, your food and your rent,” he explains. “I don't want the people who are here, whether they're seniors or whether they're people in their 30s or 40s or whether they’re people in their 20s - I don't want people to be priced out of Easthampton and I want to look into what I can do to try and retain the population that we do have. I want to focus on the people that are here now.”
As for who he is running against, Tirrell says he’s enjoyed “cordial” and productive conversations with LaChapelle’s chief of staff, Lindsi Sekula, over the past two years. Tirrell also concedes he is not familiar with the other resident vying for the mayor’s office, Rob Laferriere.
This year’s elections are Nov. 4.
