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Date: 9/15/2021
NORTHAMPTON – With the election just under two months away, candidates for the Northampton City Council Ward seats answered questions about their candidacy. Last week, Reminder Publishing published questions answered by candidates in contested races. This week, incumbent Ward 2 Councilor Karen Foster, Incumbent Ward 5 Councilor Alex Jarrett and Incumbent Ward 7 Councilor Rachel Maiore, who are all running unopposed, answer questions about the race and the upcoming term.
Reminder Publishing (RP): What made you want to run for City Council again?
Karen Foster: My first term has been a steep learning curve and a tremendous experience. I have been proud to work with my colleagues on council to hear the community call for alternatives to policing, to support constituents through the pandemic, and to continue to take up the necessary work – such as financial orders, appointments to boards and commissions, examining the city’s budget – that it takes to keep the city moving forward.
Alex Jarrett: I’ve loved representing Ward 5 – listening to so many viewpoints and trying to find the best path forward. Having my first term be in a pandemic is not what I expected, and I’m hopeful for the option to have different priorities in the next one.
Rachel Maiore: What an honor this past term has been; serving on City Council has allowed me to plug into our community in a special way. It’s been a privilege to have this connection and feel so engaged with my neighbors, especially in light of an isolating pandemic. I believe the independent voice and leadership I’ve shown on council are serving my constituents and the city well and I want to continue to lend it.
I showed up to my councilor’s seat with a lot of ideas; and now, with my first term under my belt, I’ve accrued the knowledge and experience to be able to really run with them. I’m now able to turn ideas into plans.
RP: What are some issues you hope to tackle in this upcoming term?
Foster: I have several issues that I look forward to tackling in the upcoming term. First, I am exploring some environmental and animal rights initiatives that could have a positive impact on our city. Additionally, I look forward to being involved in the public hearings and process for our Main Street redesign project, and working with constituents and the city to move toward a Main Street that will help our businesses thrive while promoting accessibility as well as improved cycling and pedestrian infrastructure. Finally, I find immense satisfaction in communicating with constituents and in helping them to navigate our government to advocate for their needs, important improvements, or to get their questions answered and look forward to continuing those relationships.
Jarrett: My priorities for next term include working to engage more people in city government – I’d like to explore participatory budgeting, stipends for civic participation for those who need it, and to get out to more in-person events than I could during the height of COVID. I’ll continue the work on climate change issues through zoning for better buildings and development patterns, limiting new fossil fuel infrastructure and improving the heating and cooling systems in our city’s infrastructure. I want to keep working toward more affordable and attainable housing in the city, and making our streets safer and more livable through traffic calming, infrastructure changes, and better messaging around speed and safety.
Maiore: During my first term I gravitated toward advocating and working on the issues that I heard time and again from residents are the most pressing; the climate emergency, affordability and a local government that is accessible to all.
I plan to continue to prioritize doing all we can at the municipal level to mitigate and protect us from the impact of the climate crisis, as well as finding creative solutions to making Northampton more affordable and inviting to a wider range of community members. At every turn, I will keep finding opportunities to have local governance be more accessible and responsive -and bring in new voices along the way.
RP: What are you looking forward to in the upcoming term?
Foster: As I near completion of my first term I have a far deeper understanding of how our government works and how to get things done than I did when I ran for the first time, and I am excited about the prospect of beginning a second term from this richer place of understanding. I have built strong relationships with my current colleagues, despite most of our term being remote, and I look forward to building new relationships in the upcoming term and working with my new colleagues and our executive branch to make the best decisions we can on behalf of Northampton.
Jarrett: I’m looking forward to the establishment of the new Community Care Department to provide civilian emergency response to mental health crises and substance use issues, among others. Also working with a new mayor and council, and taking on more leadership.
Maiore: The pandemic hit two months into my first term, forcing us all to pivot in order to find new ways to connect and communicate. I hope for us all that sometime in this new term it will be safe enough for us to spend more time in person together. Regardless, after a year and half, we’re all becoming quite savvy at reaching each other through the challenges of pandemic protocols.
This year we’re having a fairly high turnover in the City Council. I look forward to that new councilor energy and the new possibilities for collaboration that it brings with it.
This is an exciting time in Northampton. There’s a lot of political will for positive change. As we continue to adapt and heal from the pandemic, I look forward to seeing how far Northampton can go in being the region’s forward-thinking leader.