Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 3/9/2023
LONGMEADOW — Vineeth Hemavathi received 782 votes in the March 7 Special Town Election, besting his opponent Walter Gunn, who had the support of 354 voters. A total of 1,139 voters went to the polls, 9.1 percent of the electorate. A handful of provisional ballots had not been counted as of press time.
“I’ve always done the hard work, fought for the overlooked and gave back to the country that gave my family and me so much,” Hemavathi said. “The people of Longmeadow know that I will work hard for them.”
Hemavathi added, “We had record turnout for a Special Election. The last Special Election for Select Board had 344 total voters. Today’s Special Election had almost 4 times the amount.” He said the town should be proud.
The election asked voters to choose between candidates with different backgrounds and skill sets.
Gunn has years of experience in municipal government, serving on the Longmeadow Planning Board and the Executive Committee of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. He emphasized his “institutional knowledge” and “lifelong experience” as reasons to vote for him.
Hemavathi focused his message on bringing new perspectives and life experiences to the board. He has worked as a teacher, national security analyst and attorney for under-represented groups and non-profit organizations.
His position as the first person of color to sit on the Select Board is something he said would provide a new frame of reference to the board. He also viewed his fatherhood to young children gives him “a stake” in the success of the new middle school project.
“The Select Board is made up of five members, and we should be taking advantage of this team structure, by having members with different perspectives, expertise and skill sets in order to make the best decisions,” said Hemavathi.
While three candidates had originally run for the position, Hemavathi and Gunn garnered the most votes in the Preliminary Special Town Election on Feb. 7. Longmeadow’s bylaws require a preliminary election to narrow the field of election candidates to two if there are three or more contenders.
The Special Town Election filled a seat left vacant in July 2022, after a member of the board relocated out of town. The remaining four members of the board decided to keep the post vacant until the annual Town Election in June, rather than use taxpayer money to conduct an election for a term that would last less than a year. However, a citizen’s petition was filed in November, which triggered a mandatory election.
Hemavathi will serve in the position until June when the position is on the ballot for the Annual Town Election.