Northampton mayoral, at-large city council candidates sound off in Ward 3
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NORTHAMPTON - With three weeks to go before voters elect a new mayor, candidates David J. Narkewicz and Michael R. Bardsley met up in a polite, almost staid, forum Wednesday night, answering questions about city budgeting, the balance of power, and whether they support plowing bike paths.
Bardsley, 62, a former longtime city councilor and council president who lives at 50 Union St., is running for the second time for the city's top job.
Narkewicz, 45, of 31 South Park Terrace, an at-large city councilor, council president and former Ward 4 councilor, is running for the first time.
The two men are smack in the middle of a bruising public appearance marathon, with at least five faceoffs behind them and about five more to go before the Nov. 8 election.
Wednesday's forum sponsored by the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association, and held in the cafeteria of the Bridge Street School, drew a crowd of between 100 and 120 people.
The evening lineup also included an hour-long session involving the four candidates seeking election to two at-large council seats: incumbent Jesse M. Adams, 33, of 187 Main St.; M.J. Adams-Pullan, 54, of 60 Norwood Ave.; William Dwight, 55, of 39 Myrtle St.; and Michael Janik, 52, of 44 Pencasal Drive.
The mayor's race
Bardsley, a former longtime guidance counselor for the Amherst public schools, cited the "enormous challenges facing the nation," specifically the declining economy and threats to the environment, and said Northampton "is uniquely positioned to address them" as long as all its residents are engaged.
He said the Occupy Wall Street protests sweeping the nation from New York City to small cities and towns are instructive.
"Let the 99 percent and the 1 percent here in Northampton take the opportunity to understand how these issues of class are being played out here," said Bardsley. "This is the most significant issue underlying this municipal election."
Narkewicz offered his own working-class credentials: He is one of nine children in a family from western Massachusetts who put himself through the University of Massachusetts by working as many as three part-time jobs some semesters.
He said he values public service, and said, "At the end of the day, city government is really about community."
He noted his prior work as a staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives, including a stint as U.S. Rep. John Olver's district economic development staffer.
But, Narkewicz said, "the best groundwork for the position of mayor might have been my next job, as stay-at-home dad." That experience, he said, led him to get involved in the Bridge Street School community, and then prompted him to join numerous other committees to serve the city, and eventually to run for city council.
Here's where the candidates came down on other issues at Wednesday's forum:
Plowing the bike path in the winter: Both said they would prioritize plowing the streets and sidewalks of the city. Both also said they would try to find the money to do so without burdening taxpayers.
Jobs and tax revenue: Narkewicz said he would establish an economic advisory commission to create a plan to bring more jobs to the city. He said he would also look for greater efficiencies in city government, and actively court prospective businesses to come to Northampton.
"The mayor has to be very active," he said.
Bardsley criticized the administration of former Mayor Clare Higgins on that score.
"Our local businesses don't feel supported by the local government here," Bardsley said.
He said he's been stopping by Main Street businesses where some shopkeepers have told him they have never seen the mayor or the economic development coordinator in their stores. "That's a problem," Bardsley said.
Balance of power: Bardsley said he believes relations between the mayor's office and the city council "got very much out of balance" at the end of Higgins' tenure. He said he supports term limits.
Narkewicz said there is a natural check and balance in city government because the mayor proposes and the council has final approval over many matters.
The key, he contends, is to have strong leadership on the city council, and he suggested problems arose in the past under Bardsley's tenure as council president. He suggested Bardsley had a "passive-aggressive approach," and faulted him for lacking leadership.
At-large race
Adams cited his qualifications as a "proven incumbent," a longtime city resident who both lives and practices law on Main Street, and who proved his mettle as a first-term councilor.
"I am deeply rooted here and I love our community," he said.
Adams-Pullan also cited her love for the city. She said she was born and raised in Northampton and joked that she "couldn't wait to get out of here as a teenager, and I couldn't wait to get back here as a mother."
She said she is running for the council because she wants to see the city remain a vibrant place for generations to come: "I want to step up to the plate."
Dwight, who grew up in Holyoke, said he has lived in Northampton for 25 years, served as a Ward 1 city councilor for eight years and continued his civic involvement through his work on a talk radio show on WHMP. He said he wants to serve the entire city as an at-large councilor in part to be a unifier.
"The things we cherish about Northampton are the fruits of community devotion that is the envy of the state," he said. "I worry that if we succumb to what separates us, we'll lose the things that are precious to us."
Janik said his work life has always been service-oriented, including his job as a school paraprofessional, and also when he worked at Big Y, and years ago for the late U.S. Rep. Silvio Conte.
"I have run an honest campaign, walking every ward, including this one," said Janik.
He said he wants to see greater citizen participation so residents have more influence on city decisions.
"I want to be part of the solution," Janik said.
