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Date: 11/9/2021
NORTHAMPTON – Gina-Louise Sciarra will become Northampton’s new mayor after defeating contender and transportation analyst Marc Warner on the Nov. 2 Election Day.
Sciarra, who will become Northampton’s 45th mayor in the city’s history, defeated Warner handily with 5,842 votes compared to his 2,510. Sciarra has served on the Northampton City Council over the past eight years, acting as the City Council president over the past term and the vice president prior to that. She is also currently working full time at a regional nonprofit called Pathlight.
Supporters and family members of Sciarra’s were in attendance for a party at Spoleto on election night to celebrate her victory. Outgoing mayor David Narkewicz, who announced at the beginning of this year that he would not seek reelection for a fourth term, was also in attendance to congratulate the new mayor.
“I’m very excited and grateful for the people of Northampton, and I’m very excited to work with everyone,” Sciarra told Reminder Publishing. “A truly progressive city is a city for everybody.”
During the celebration, Sciarra gave a speech thanking everyone involved in her campaign, and briefly emphasized the issues she wishes to tackle in her first term as mayor, which is set to be a four-year term that offers $92,500 a year.
“There should be no barrier to entry; it should be affordable to live here,” said Sciarra. “We need a sustainable city for the present and for the future. Our downtowns and our open spaces should be welcoming to everybody. Our school should have the resources to educate all children … everyone should feel like they can safely and equitably access our city services.”
The September primary election established Sciarra as a front runner, as she received 60 percent of the vote – triple that of the second place Warner. Social worker Shanna Fischel and Roy Martin were eliminated from contention during the primary race. Only 25 percent of registered voters came out to vote during the primaries compared to around 40 percent who turned out to vote at the Nov. 2 election.
In a comment to Reminder Publishing, Warner said that he appreciated the 2,500-plus votes he did receive, but he suspected that many non-voters share his same vision for a good and sensible city government. He said that he is not convinced that the city is not as “adamantly progressive and woke as the 39 percent of registered voters who did cast a ballot.”
“I really have no regrets about running. Gina-Louise Sciarra’s vote last year to cut the police budget at a single City Council meeting did call for a serious electoral challenger,” said Warner. “I was happy to take on that role and to say – often – that this council vote was a response to loud voices and was a breach of the trust we place in our elected officials. I sought to convey this message along with a more general appeal for a less ideological approach to city governance throughout the campaign.”
Sciarra received the most votes Wards 1B and 2A with 555 and 529 respectively, while Warner received his most votes in Wards 6A and 6B with 326 and 319 respectively.
With Northampton voters widely approving a ballot question that would allow the city to pursue a municipal broadband network, Sciarra will be using her first term to move this project forward. Prior to the Tuesday vote-which saw 7,426 voters in support of municipal broadband compared to 705 who voted no-the city conducted a broadband survey that found 98 percent of respondents in support of better and more affordable internet service.
Outside of the mayoral race and the municipal broadband question, Northampton residents voted in political activist Jamila Gore as the one of the two new At-Large City Council members. As of press time, only 20 votes separate lawyer Marissa Elkins and Ward 1 City Councilor Michael Quinlan for the other seat on the At-Large City Council. While Elkins is the leader, the city clerk still needs to count some ballots that could potentially swing the race. According to the Northampton website, certified results from Election night will be available Nov. 12.
Gwen Agna, former principal of Jackson Street Elementary School, and Longmeadow Public Schools teacher Aline Davis ran for two at-large seats on the School Committee. Three incumbents, Emily Serafy-Cox of Ward 3, Dina Levi of Ward 5, and Kaia Goleman of Ward 7 ran unopposed. Holly Ghazey beat Remiel Baskin in Ward 2, while Margaret Miller beat out Edwin Burlingame in Ward 6. Meanwhile, Meg Robbins ran unopposed in Ward 1, while Michael Stein ran unopposed in Ward 4.