LUCAS WILLARD: Earlier this month, the head of Springfield’s City Council found herself at the center of a conflict of interest review/investigation, stemming from an agenda item the council voted on and approved. Because of undisclosed ties and other issues, the vote was considered “tainted,” and on Friday morning, it was rescinded.
But, a new wave of alleged violations has now come to light, with some violations stretching back five years.
Joining us now with the latest information is WAMC Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief James Paleologopoulos. James, hello!
JAMES PALEOLOGOPOULOS: Hi, Lucas.
WILLARD: So James, you’ve been reporting on Council President Tracye Whitfield and the city’s initial findings. What can you tell us about we got here?
PALEO: So, the first batch of issues first came about after a Feb. 2 City Council meeting. One of the agenda items was a “discontinuance” order. These requests come up from time to time – Springfield is very big, and the city owns parcels that it occasionally surrenders without much of a sale.
A limited liability company, JETS Property Development, was requesting a 6,000-square-foot lot in a neighborhood be abandoned by the city. JETS is an abutter and would be entitled to at least some of that property.
The council approved the measure, but Whitfield failed to disclose she had a stake in the company and that it was actually her son, Jelani Bland, who presented that night on the matter.
Whitfield did recuse herself and didn’t vote, but because she presided over some of the order’s presentation and discussion, and councilors were not aware of her ties, plus other factors, City Solicitor Stephen Buoniconti says the vote was “tainted” — leading to today’s unanimous vote to rescind it.
WILLARD: As you’ve reported, though, Whitfield is now the subject of another legal memorandum from the solicitor’s office.
PALEO: That’s right. The night of the recusal, Whitfield reached out to Buoniconti and other legal officials within hours.
The law department reviewed the case, as well as a number of emails and other instances in which Whitfield appeared to represent JETS Property and its interests — [at] planning board meetings, at city auctions and in correspondence with city officials.
That first review featured the legal department saying outright that Whitfield is “prohibited from acting as an agent for JETS in any matter where the city has a direct and substantial interest.”
Mass General Laws were cited and multiple occasions of Whitfield failing to disclose conflicts of interest with the city clerk’s office were listed.
Now, Buoniconti contends those kinds of violations go back years, at least until 2021. They touch on Whitfield's participation in city auctions, the purchase of city property, improper communications with city staff members and using "her official position in furtherance of securing a benefit for a third-party individual."
One example: in 2022, Whitfield allegedly tried to set up a meeting between the city's director of housing and chief development officer, herself and JETS to discuss city-owned property. A similar case with the Director of Housing happened again in 2025.
It’s enough to get Ward 6 Councilor Victor Davila to call for Whitfield to step down [from her role as president]. He said as much during Friday’s meeting, carried by Focus Springfield.
“I have lost faith in the city council president's ability to lead this body. Therefore, I ask that the city council president step down from the presidency. If the City Council President refuses, I do intend, Mr. Vice President, to place a vote of no confidence for the next scheduled city council meeting.”
*NOTE: Davila’s comments were addressed to the other ten councilors gathered in the chambers and remotely, including Vice President Jose Delgado, who presided in place of Whitfield, who was not present*
HOST: So James, how has Whitfield been responding to all of this?
PALEO: Regarding that first wave of issues, the council president has taken responsibility for tainting the vote. Whitfield said she intended to recuse herself that night, though she [admitted] mistakes were made regarding the timing.
She also contends training [regarding] conflict of interest [laws and] violations is limited, but she's looking to fix that.
Regarding the full extent of the legal memorandums, she has been refuting some of the allegations. She told WAMC she plans to address everything on Tuesday. In the meantime, she has told the Springfield Republican newspaper at least some of the information provided by Buoniconti was inaccurate.
Also, as of last week, Whitfield has resigned from her [role] at JETS – that was reported by Western Mass Politics & Insight. Whitfield later confirmed that for WAMC.
When asked how things got to this point, with some five years’ worth of non-filed conflicts of interest piling up, Buoniconti had this to say to reporters Friday.
“Unless you start having one agency take a whole look at everything that's happening… there's a little of this and a little of that and it gets confusing as to the involvement. And so it just happened that a lot of things were happening, but people either weren't really catching it, or it was so diverse that it wasn't into a central view, and that's what the law department did… we're able to bring all the emails into it and get a full picture, because it was diverse. It was in the planning board, it was in the DPW, it's in the community development area… Springfield is of such a size that a lot of the departments are siloed, and there isn't as much interaction with those departments because there's so much work, and so, I think … people weren't aware ... until you put all the pieces of the puzzle together."
PALEO: Both Buoniconti and Whitfield have reached out to the State Ethics Commission for guidance.
WILLARD: That was Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief James Paleologopoulos. James, thank you!
PALEO: Thanks for having me!
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Some audio provided by Focus Springfield was used in this piece.
Both the Feb. 12 memorandum and correspondence between Solicitor Buoniconti and the city council summarizing the law department's finding can be found here.
