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KATHLEEN DUNCAN

Easthampton Mayor Michael Tautznik in his office Wednesday after winning re-election to his seventh term as mayor.

EASTHAMPTON - Still a tad bleary-eyed 12 hours after winning a seventh term in the most competitive political race of his career, Mayor Michael A. Tautznik vowed Wednesday that he will work harder to make more people feel included in city government.

That was just one of the lessons the 56-year-old lifelong city resident took from the recent political election in which he received 49 percent of the votes cast in the four-way race that drew a nearly 50 percent voter turnout.

Interviewed Wednesday morning in his Payson Avenue office, Tautznik said the race taught him a few lessons. He said he plans to include more "political activity" in his coming term and make an effort to be more visible to residents, in addition to his daily mayoral duties.

"The message is to figure out a way to be more inclusive - 49 percent is not a mandate at all," he said, though it is, he allowed, "pretty significant" for a four-way race.

In a 45-minute interview in which he reflected on the election season, Tautznik also talked about projects he hopes to tackle in the coming months - among them building a boardwalk around Nashawannuck Pond, making improvements to the Manhan Rail Trail and continuing to scout for investors for the Dye Works Building on Cottage Street, where Tautznik said he would like to see housing built.

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Tautznik also hopes to find funding to bring back two police officers laid off early this year and beef up the Fire Department staff, which has been reduced through attrition over the past several years.

But Tautznik said he is also reflecting on the 51 percent of voters who did not cast their votes for him. Tautznik's three opponents - Albert J. DiCarlo, James P. Kwiecinski and Margaret M. Prendergast - hammered at themes of better communication and openness during the campaign.

"People seemed to think they have no voice," Tautznik said, noting that people who aren't supportive of him have the same right to be heard as those who support him.

But the mayor, who has been known to speak bluntly, is aware that he has some rough edges. For example, some of his comments have rubbed city councilors the wrong way in recent years, as when several councilors urged Tautznik earlier this year to keep the city offices open on Fridays until June, after Tautznik had announced a shorter work week in February. Tautznik eventually agreed, but he also said after the meeting that the measure entailed "borrowing money we don't have so the councilors can feel they did something."

Tautznik said Wednesday that he worries he may not be able to become "a better wordsmith" and said he certainly cannot change who he is.

"I'm pretty plainspoken," he said. "I think there are people out there who are a better salesman than I am. They say what people want to hear."

After learning of the election results Tuesday, Kwiecinski said he plans to keep a close eye on the mayor's work and hinted that he may run for mayor again in two years.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Kwiecinski said he still has two months remaining in his council term and he plans to make good use of it. He said he hopes to urge the council to take up the master plan for the city, which other councilors have proposed putting on hold until the next council session.

He also noted that the council will debate proposed solar energy and smart growth zoning changes, saying he hopes to take a leadership role in those discussions.

And he said, elected official or not, he plans to fight any proposed expansion of the Northampton Landfill.

Meanwhile, with several city councilors talking up a review of the city's charter and hoping to create a provision for primary elections, 2011 could be an interesting campaign year.

Tautznik said he knows that means he will have to remain on his toes and think about reaching out to voters at the same time that he manages the city and its budget and many departments.

He said he is not used to campaigning, and indeed, before this year, he hadn't faced any competition since 1999.

When three challengers emerged this year, Tautznik said he was forced to create a campaign team "almost from nothing."

Tautznik said in retrospect he was so busy with the nuts and bolts of being a small-city mayor that he neglected to any kind of regular campaign-style activities during the past 10 years.

"We allowed our political side to take a back seat," he said. "I've focused on the job with having the luxury of the voters being satisfied."

That said, Tautznik sill showed considerable strength in fundraising and organizing. He employed the volunteer services of a campaign manager who is a professional union organizer for health care workers and garnered an endorsement visit from Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray.

But the fact that his three competitors together received more votes than he did was sobering, and Tautznik said it showed him that he cannot ignore the campaign side of his job during his term.

"Clearly that's a necessary component," he said.

For example, he said, his re-election committee will not dissolve this time around, and they will plan political events throughout his next term.

The mayor hopes to walk more to relate more to city residents and develop a stronger presence with voters.

He feels he is already a visible presence in the city, but Tautznik said he realizes now he needs to be even more visible.

"Maybe it means taking a bit longer lunch hour," he said. "Maybe I'll walk to the Silver Spoon for lunch instead of driving."

Looking ahead

With the vote count behind him, Tautznik said he is happy to get back to "the meat and potatoes" of his job.

First on his agenda is to deal with the city's budget needs. He is now gathering capital requests from departments and will then start planning the operating budget for fiscal 2011.

He said he can't yet make many predictions for that budget or any capital projects. Free cash has not yet been certified and the state's fiscal situation is still unclear.

"It's still going to be tight," Tautznik said. "The election didn't change any of that."

But Tautznik vowed that residents can expect "conservative decision making" in his coming term.

But concrete things are happening, Tautznik said. He noted that voters will also see progress on the Manhan Rail Trail in the coming year, as the Environmental Protection Agency gears up to clean up asbestos contamination off Wemelco Way. The cleanup will allow the extension of the trail over the Southampton border as well as the installation of a bigger sewer line. That development could open up nearby industrially zoned property for development, Tautznik said.

An extension of the trail to Northampton, paid for with federal stimulus money, is under way.

Matt Pilon can be reached at mpilon@gazettenet.com.