EASTHAMPTON — Candidates vying for positions in the upcoming Nov. 4 municipal election will have several chances to woo voters over the next couple weeks at multiple forums featuring those running for mayor, for at large and precinct positions on the city council, and for school committee.
Two mayoral forums are confirmed for candidates Lindsi Sekula, Jason “JT” Tirrell and Salem Derby. Additional forums are still being planned by multiple organizations.
The Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce will host a forum on Monday, Oct. 13, from from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Williston Northampton School Theater, 18 Payson Ave.
Questions will be submitted from Easthampton business owners and members of the chamber. Each candidate will take turns responding, each having a limited amount of time to respond. Additionally, attendees can write questions on an index card when they arrive at the forum. Some of those questions will be asked in the last 15 minutes by moderator Dave Madsen.
The next night, on Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Northampton League of Women Voters will host a forum from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Easthampton High School (EHS) Auditorium. All questions will come from members of the public that can be submitted online.
Candidates will have time for an opening statement and then have a limited amount of time to answer each question.
Meanwhile, School Committee Chair Laura Scott organized a forum for each of the remaining elections — at-large and precinct council, and school committee.
Each forum will be held at the EHS Auditorium from 6 to 8 p.m. on different dates, with different moderators. In the first hour, each candidate will have a limited amount of time, responding to questions submitted from the public. The second hour will consist of a meet-and-greet outside the auditorium where people can speak with the candidates individually.
The at-large councilor forum is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 20. Candidates include incumbent Koni Denham, and newcomers Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid, Nathan Markee, Jonathan Schmidt and Karl Prahl. Timothy St. John withdrew his name from the ballot. It will be moderated by Kelly Fahey Brown and Patrick Brough.
Precinct 4 and 5 forums will are scheduled on the same night of Monday, Oct. 27. Robert Peirent and Amanda Newton are running to replace Salem Derby in Precinct 4, while Cathy Wauczinski is challenging incumbent Tamara Smith in Precinct 5. It will be moderated by state Rep. Homar Gomez and Jean Pao.
The School Committee forum is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 26. Current School Committee members running for reelection include Laura Scott, Megan Harvey, Linda Sue Markee, Sam Hunter and Eric Guyette, challenged by newcomers Bonnie Atkins, Allison Malinowski and Paul M. McNeil. It will be moderated by Dan Rist and Katya Schapiro.
Questions can be submitted through an online form that will be put on the Open Easthampton website and multiple Facebook pages. A paper copy to submit can be picked up at the Easthampton Public Library, Senior Center, Community Center and Big E’s Supermarket, and be returned to the library or the Municipal Building at 50 Payson Ave.
The online form and paper copies are planned to be released by Wednesday.
Ballot order
The order that candidates will be listed on the ballot for the municipal elections was determined on Oct. 2 through a randomized drawing by the city clerk. Precincts without a challenger will only have the incumbent councilor’s name listed. There is still a write-in option, where any resident’s name can be written on the ballot at the election.
The ballot order for the municipal elections is as follows:
- Mayor’s race: Lindsi Sekula, Jason “JT” Tirrell and Salem Derby.
- City councilor at-large: Koni Denham, Jonathan Schmidt, Karl Prahl, Nathan Markee and Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid.
- Precinct 4: Robert Peirent and Amanda Newton.
- Precinct 5: Tamara Smith and Cathy Wauczinski.
- School Committee: Paul McNeil, Linda Sue Markee, Megan Harvey, Laura Scott, Sam Hunter, Allison Malinowski, Bonnie Atkins and Eric Guyette.
During the city’s 2019 charter review process, ranked-choice voting was adopted for single-seat municipal elections, including the seat for mayor and precinct councilors. Voters will be asked to rank candidates in choice of preference for these positions.
Endorsements
The Easthampton Democratic Committee (EDC) voted to endorse Democratic candidates for each municipal election. Secretary of the EDC, C. Baxter Chandler, said there were about 18 members who participated in the vote. Candidates interested were asked to provide a brief written statement on their candidacy and were given two minutes to speak directly to the EDC.
Of the 12 candidates endorsed, the eight who are also members of the EDC were not involved in the creation or planning of the endorsement, but they were allowed to vote.
The Easthampton Republican Committee has not endorsed any candidates at this time.
Here are the candidates endorsed by the EDC: Lindsi Sekula, mayor; Koni Denham, Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid, Nathan Markee and Jonathan Schmidt, city councilor at-large; Felicia Jadczak, Precinct 2; Amanda Newton, Precinct 4; and Tamara Smith, Precinct 5; Bonnie Atkins, Megan Harvey, Allison Malinowski and Linda Sue Markee, School Committee.