HADLEY — A four-way race for a seat on the Select Board at Saturday’s town election is featuring what is likely the most expensive campaign ever launched in Hadley.
Candidate Brenda Fydenkevez has spent nearly $20,000 thus far, according to a campaign finance report filed with the town clerk eight days prior to the election. The figure is raising eyebrows in a town where the five board members receive no stipends or benefits.
“If I didn’t think Hadley was worth it, I wouldn’t have spent that,” Fydenkevez said in an interview.
The reports, filed eight days before the election by the four candidates, show that Fydenkevez has spent $19,336 on the campaign trail, all out of pocket.
That is more than seven times as much as the other three candidates, whose spending, likewise self-funded, totals $2,693 collectively.
The campaign finance reports show that Jane Nevinsmith has spent $1,181, Amy Parsons has spent $950 and Nicole Bercume has spent $563.
More than half of the spending by Fydenkevez, or $11,000, has gone to Darby O’Brien Associates of South Hadley for consulting services. Fydenkevez said she has not received any financial backing from others.
“I don’t want anyone to think that this person or that person gave to her,” Fydenkevez said. “I’m not swayed by anyone, I’m not tied to anyone. I am independent. I am here for residents of Hadley.”
Some town residents have raised concerns about Fydenkevez’s campaign spending, however.
“This seems either outrageous or a huge mistake,” Lynne Edwards of Hawks Meadow Drive wrote in an email to the Gazette on Tuesday.
Molly Keegan, the Select Board member whose term is expiring and who is not running for reelection, said there has been a lot of conversation among residents about the level of spending to win a position on the board.
“I’ve had multiple calls from current and former officials who were quite surprised at the amount of money being spent on this particular campaign,” Keegan said.
Keegan added that it’s possible such spending could trigger discussions about whether the town will need to adopt some sort of campaign finance bylaw.
Nevinsmith described the amount Fydenkevez has poured into her campaign as “obscene for a small-town election.” Bercume and Parsons both declined to comment about the campaign finance reports.
In Amherst in 2018, where the first election for Town Council was held, the most expensive campaign among 26 candidates running to become at-large and district councilors was the $3,333 spent by Darcy DuMont in District 5.
Spending has been substantially higher when people are seeking paid elected positions, such as state representative or city mayor.
Running to become state representative for the 3rd Hampshire District in 2018, Mindy Domb spent $28,825 against Eric Nakajima, who spent $29,334.
Eashampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle in 2017 spent $9,226 on her campaign, with an additional $7,315 used for consulting services in a contested election in that city.
In addition to consultants, Fydenkevez spent money for campaign signs from Big Daddy Signs in Laconia, New Hampshire, hand-out cards from Hadley Printing in Holyoke, newspaper advertisements, meet and greets at the North Hadley Sugar Shack and campaign photos by Greg Bernier Photo of Amherst.
All of Bercume’s spending was for signs from Sunraise Printing of Hadley. Parson’s spending was for signs from Sunraise Printing and newspaper advertisements. Nevinsmith’s spending was for signs from Sunraise Printing and Sign Outfitters in Wyandotte, Michigan, brochures and postcards from Paradise Copies in Northampton and postage stamps.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
