Sarno makes emotional bid for re-election
Date: 9/12/2011
Sept. 12, 2011By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
NEWS ANALYSISSPRINGFIELD — Four years ago, then-City Councilor Domenic Sarno used half of the event’s hall at The Cedars to make his announcement he would run for mayor.
Last week, the crowd that attended his official announcement for re-election filled the entire hall to standing room only.
It was not just ordinary citizens who attended, but also State. Sen. Gale Candaras, State Rep. Angelo Puppolo Jr., HAP Housing executive director Peter Gagliardi, Basketball Hall of Fame President and CEO John Doleva, Spirit of Springfield President Judith Matt, former District Attorney William Bennett, Baystate Health Vice President of government and community relations, Steven Bradley and former Springfield Mayor William Sullivan, among others.
Before Sarno took to the lectern to speak, there were two reoccurring themes among the speakers: Sarno’s dedication and the need to take the primary election on Sept. 20 seriously.
Former School Committee member Marjorie Hurst — whose daughter-in-law sits on the School Committee and whose son is running for City Council — said, “I thought no one could be as good as Domenic Sarno. It had to be an act.”
She assured the crowd that Sarno’s passion for Springfield and its residents was real.
She urged the audience to “not take anything for granted. Send a resounding message to Domenic’s opponents that he is our man.”
State Rep. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera, who has publicly clashed with Sarno on several issues, thanked his family for their sacrifice and called Sarno “a visionary.”
In a speech often filled with emotion, Sarno once again made the pledge to keep public safety concerns on the top of his list.
“I refuse to relinquish this city to gangs and violence,” he declared.
Noting his administration’s record on the city’s finances, he stressed he has delivered a balanced budget three times, the city’s bond rating has been upgraded and there is a reserve of $34.9 million.
He said the Union Station redevelopment is moving forward and promised there will be an announcement soon on the 31 Elm St. block.
While he discussed the city’s efforts to rebuild its schools — the renovation of Roger L. Putnam Technical High School and the Forest Park Middle School — he did not mention the contract controversy that has swirled about him and School Superintendent Dr. Alan Ingram.
Citing the steady weather challenges that have faced the city in 2011, Sarno said, “I pledge to those residents the city of Springfield is still with you and is going to rebuild your neighborhoods.”
Making his way to members of the press after his speech took a little while as well-wishers mobbed Sarno. When he did come over, he noted that while the city has made strides in attacking crime — such as the removal of 160 guns off the streets this year — he said, “Still that’s not good enough. We have to do more. What drives me nuts is the parental non-involvement.”
During his speech he spoke on the need to have a good educational system that would help job development. He said, despite disappointing graduation rates and other markers, there have been “pockets of success” in the city’s schools.
“The education of children is paramount in my mind. We need to do more. This [the problems facing the city’s schools] didn’t happen over night and they are not going to be solved overnight,” he asserted.
Speaking of a search for new superintendent of schools, Sarno vowed to look for the “best possible candidate from afar or right here.”
On the issue of a school superintendent having a residency requirement, Sarno said that issue would be a “definite” in his search.
Describing his passion for his role as mayor, Sarno said, “My job’s not through. I live this job 24/7, many times to the detriment of my own family.”
