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Date: 12/15/2021
NORTHAMPTON – David Narkewicz’s 10-year run as mayor of Northampton will officially come to an end on Jan. 3, 2022, when City Council President Gina-Louise Sciarra will be sworn in as the newest mayor of the city.
Narkewicz leaves the position as a key benefactor within Northampton’s last 20 years, having served as the City Council president and member of various other Northampton boards for 10-plus years prior to becoming the city’s mayor in 2011. Beyond the mayoral role, he has served in several public service positions, including while part of the military.
Before becoming the full-time mayor, Narkewicz was the acting mayor for four months after previous Mayor Clare Higgins announced in the spring of 2011 that she was not going to run for re-election having accepted the position as the executive director of Community Action Pioneer Valley.
Since that time a decade ago, Narkewicz has worked on improving the fiscal health and stability of the city. “I got elected during a time when were still coming off the Great Recession,” said Narkewicz. “We had done a lot to try and weather the recession.”
During this difficult period, Narkewicz spearheaded the Fiscal Stability Plan, which allowed the city to identify ways to stabilize its finances and rebuild its reserves. He acknowledged during a discussion with Reminder Publishing that fiscal cuts were going to be made and the passing of an override budget was going to be necessary to improve the municipal landscape. In the end, Narkewicz asked the community for a bigger override so he could mend the effects left over from the recession and use the extra money to stabilize the budget in the outyears.
“The override was adopted in 2013, and we were able to make that plan work for seven years,” said Narkewicz. “In seven years, we accomplished a lot. We rebuilt our reserves, and our bond rating went from a single A to a triple A.”
Beyond that, Narkewicz said that the city was able raise school funding by 40 percent and make historic investments in infrastructure including roads, bridges, water infrastructure and rail trails.
Aside from fiscal stability, Narkewicz is also very proud of the Pulaski Park renovations that occurred in the mid-2010s for the first time since 1976. These changes included the hiring of an award-winning firm to help, which then lead to a completed multi-year investment and renovation of the park.
“I think it was an example of how public investment can really help support the private economy and the public space downtown,” said Narkewicz, regarding the park project.
Narkewicz also emphasized Northampton’s perpetual tradition of being a welcoming and progressive city through heavy support of transgender and LGBTQIA+ rights, as well as supporting the Black Lives Matter movement years before it became a worldwide movement. “We’ve been pioneers on so many fronts,” said Narkewicz. “Going back to abolition times right up to equal marriage and LGBTQIA+ rights. I’ve tried to represent that value that the city holds.”
Coming from a family of immigrants, Narkewicz is a big proponent of immigration rights, which showed throughout his tenure. Under his watch, Northampton prioritized welcoming everyone into their city over assuming the role of immigration task force. “I’m proud of continuing that tradition of Northampton being a welcoming city that tries to protect the rights of everyone,” said Narkewicz.
At the time of Narkewicz’s first official term, Northampton was only one of two communities in Massachusetts following an outdated 1800s charter where the mayor would chair the City Council. A new charter in 2012 was voted on where a structural change was made so there could be a clearer separation between the executive and legislative branch, and the mayor could not chair the council anymore. The mayoral term also extended from two years to four during this vote.
“I think change is inevitable, and I think it’s natural,” said Narkewicz, when thinking about Northampton over the past 20 years he has been involved. “I just think Northampton has always been very resilient. For a city, it’s always had that small-town community feel. We have a really engaged community with groups working on a ton of issues.”
Narkewicz credits Northampton for being a resilient community particularly in the downtown area and during COVID-19, where the cannabis industry and other types of niche businesses influenced an increase in foot traffic to this part of the area, thus helping to always renew the energy of Northampton.
When asked if he thinks he could have changed anything about his tenure, Narkewicz noted that mistakes will always be made, but he does not regret any decision because they were all part of a learning process. “I’ve made plenty of mistakes,” said Narkewicz. “I always try to get as much information, to talk to as many people, to engage the community…but at the end of the day, you have to make a decision knowing not everybody’s going to agree with that decision.”
With his tenure on the cusp of ending, Narkewicz said that he is unsure what is next for him, but he said that he does want to stay involved in public policy. “In terms of Northampton … I love the city, but I want to step back and let other people lead,” said Narkewicz. “I think it’s important for a former mayor to really step back and not be a shadow. I’m going to take a little bit of time and find ways to help the community, but not through some of the elected or appointed positions. Now I’ll find a new way to help the community.”