NORTHAMPTON — Days after filing a lawsuit in federal court against the city and three city councilors, Quaverly Rothenberg addressed the suit during her final in-person meeting as a member of the Northampton City Council.
Rothenberg, who has represented Ward 3 on the council since 2024, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts on Monday, alleging that her censure by the council in March constituted defamation and a violation of her civil right to free speech.
Speaking at Thursday’s council meeting during the announcements period, Rothenberg described the censure as a punishment for providing a different perspective and challenging the council and Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra.
“I have been met with scorn for seeing things differently and expressing myself in ways that don’t conform to the social expectations of Northampton’s political establishment,” she said. “Unfortunately, some of those people went beyond ordinary disdain and took extraordinary measures to attack my character and reputation during an election year.”
Rothenberg’s censure came following a call she made to dispatch services following an ice storm in February that left side streets frozen and in dangerous condition. In her call to dispatch, Rothenberg demanded an emergency contact number for the Department of Public Works. When the dispatcher declined to provide that number, Rothenberg replied that “the City Council outranks the mayor” and related an unsubstantiated rumor that DPW Director Donna LaScaleia had resigned.
The resolution to censure Rothenberg, sponsored by Councilors Alex Jarrett, Stanley Moulton and Marissa Elkins, said Rothenberg had “used her position in an improper way in an attempt to coerce city employees to violate protocols of their employment,” and that Rothenberg potentially violated Massachusetts law regarding governing standards for public officials.
Rothenberg’s lawsuit, against both the city and the three councilors who sponsored the censure, said the evocation of Massachusetts General Law meant the resolution amounted to a false accusation of public corruption and its allegations were made with a reckless disregard for the truth.
“The use of the resolution process to accuse a City Councilor of crimes is unprecedented in Northampton’s history,” the lawsuit states. “The publication, endorsement, and repetition of the baseless and false allegations by the Defendants caused significant harm to Councilor Rothenberg’s reputation and emotional well being.”
In a joint statement on Thursday, Jarrett, Moulton and Elkins denied the charges brought in the suit.
“Councilor Rothenberg’s claims have no merit and the City will vigorously defend this lawsuit. The resolution censuring Councilor Rothenberg’s conduct was passed by the council by a vote of 7 to 1,” the statement said. “We regret that valuable City resources must be dedicated to this matter.”
Prior to filing her lawsuit, Rothenberg and her attorney, Dana Goldblatt, had previously sent a cease-and-desist letter to the city and to the council, demanding a retraction of the censure. A copy of the letter, obtained by the Gazette, said the allegations in the censure were untrue and likely to cause harm to Rothenberg’s well-being and reputation.
“The resolution had no other effect than to accuse Quaverly Rothenberg of crimes, constitutional violations, and harassment. It was not part of any other Council business or integrated into any other City project,” the letter states.
A response to the cease-and-desist letter from City Solictor Alan Seewald states that local legislators are not liable for the actions their legislation produces, and also challenged the characterization of the censure.
“First and foremost, nothing stated in the Resolution is false, notwithstanding your conclusory allegations to the contrary. Your letters fail to identify a single false statement of fact,” Seewald wrote in the response. “Moreover, only through creative editing and unwarranted imputation do you conclude that the City Councilors accused Councilor Rothenberg of criminal and/or civil infractions.”
With the city rejecting her demand, Rothenberg told the council on Thursday she was taking the matter to court.
“I look forward to a fair trial in a court of law to show that I’ve done nothing wrong,” she said. “My hope is that going forward, we can all remember that disagreeing is part of our jobs, not a crime.”
First elected to the council in 2023, Rothenberg emerged as one of the strongest critics of the mayor, frequently raising charter objections to delay votes on legislation she disagreed with. In November’s municipal election, Rothenberg was defeated by Laurie Loisel, who will take over her position when the new City Council is seated next year.
During the City Council’s public comments period, several residents spoke in support of Rothenberg, some wearing a “Q” sticker as a sign of support. Michael Bardsley, a former city councilor, was one such supporter to speak in support of Rothenberg.
“The debate of this council regarding the censure of Quaverly was in my opinion, personality politics at its worst,” Bardsley said. “It seemed intended to damage the personal reputation of one who dared to challenge the political establishment. It was not the council’s finest hour.”
During official business of Thursday’s council meeting, Rothenberg raised one final charter objection, delaying the vote on an order to amend temporary and permanent easements on 27 Crafts Ave., the site of a future affordable housing development by Valley CDC. Rothenberg accused former Planning and Sustainability Director Wayne Feiden of changing the assessment value to avoid triggering a bid for the property.
“This whole project is tainted,” Rothenberg said. “I don’t want to have anything to do with it.”
With the charter objection, the council will meet for the last time on Dec. 23 to vote again on the order.