With primaries fast approaching, voters in Springfield have until Friday to register for the city’s preliminary election. Residents got a chance to meet some of the candidates running during a special kind of forum this week.
Focus Springfield and White Lion Brewery mixed politics with beer this week.
Hearkening back to the days of candidates gathering in the town square to make their pitches on soap boxes, the community television network and brewery hosted an outdoor forum for about 20 candidates seeking seats on the city council and school committee.
Moderating the event at White Lion’s “Pridelands” space in Tower Square Park, journalist and Focus Springfield Host Michael Dobbs said it was a fresh, public-engaging take on the forums held in previous years.
“It gives them a chance to meet candidates one-on-one. You're putting a lot of candidates for all over the city in one place,” he said after the forum wrapped up, shifting into a candidate meet-and-greet. “As you can see behind us, a lot of these candidates are hanging out, talking to the folks who have sat and watched them.”
With the exception of a few council seats and a school committee role, virtually all races feature a contest this year.
The race for Springfield's Ward 4 council seat is one of them. Currently held by Malo Brown, the incumbent is being challenged by enough contestants to warrant a preliminary vote in September.
Those challengers include Beverley Savage, Kenneth Barnett Jr., and Will Naylor. All three sat for a “lightning round” question and answer segment. Brown himself did not attend.
“I feel inspired to bring new leadership to Ward 4: it's time for new leadership,” Naylor said when asked why he was running for the seat.
Speaking with WAMC, Barnett touched on his work with multiple neighborhood councils in the city – partly inspiring a run that’s featured listening to the needs of those living in some of the Springfield’s core neighborhoods.
“What people want to see is housing... affordable housing. Also, finances - opportunities, if you will,” he said. “There's a lot of empty buildings that we could be using for incubated space for up-and-coming businesses.”
Savage said there’s a need for a candidate who can strategically navigate federal headwinds and find ways to secure funding for the community – a task she said she is up for.
Preliminary elections are also being held for the Ward 6 council seat. In the three-way race, Charles Battle and Mary Johnson are challenging Councilor Victor Davila.
In the race for the District 3 school committee seat, committee member Christopher Collins is being challenged by Steven Carosello and Rosa Valentin.
On Sept. 9, each field will be narrowed down to two candidates ahead of the municipal election on Nov. 4.
Sample ballots can be found here. Early voting also gets underway Friday, Aug. 29.
