Sciarra officially sworn in as 45th Northampton mayor

Date: 1/11/2022

NORTHAMPTON – Gina-Louise Sciarra was officially sworn in as the 45th mayor of Northampton on Jan. 3 in front of a limited crowd due to COVID-19 at the Academy of Music.

Along with Sciarra, who officially succeeded longtime Mayor David Narkewicz, five reelected members of the City Council including, James Nash of Ward 3, Karen Foster of Ward 2, Alexander Jarrett of Ward 5, Marianne LaBarge of Ward 6, and Rachel Maiore of Ward 7, were also inaugurated. Additionally, four newcomers on the council were sworn in including, at-large councilors Jamila Gore and Marissa Elkins, as well as Stanley Moulton of Ward 1 and Garrick Perry of Ward 4.

Seven of the nine elected to the School Committee were also sworn in, and the two who did not attend – at large member Aline Davis and Ward 4 member Michael Stein – took the oath later at City Hall. Eight of the nine elected seats on the School Committee are women, in addition to Sciarra, who will chair the board.

The inauguration was conducted at 25 percent capacity, and only closest family and friends were invited in person for the ceremony, which was emceed by Dr. Andrea Ayvazian. Sciarra, who represented Northampton for eight years within the City Council serving as part of Ward 4, and then at-large as vice president and president, becomes the third woman in Northampton’s history to become mayor. She also recently left her full-time day job as the communications manager for Pathlight.

Prior to the inauguration, Ayvazian went around the city and asked people how they would describe Sciarra as a leader in one word. Constituents described Sciarra as compassionate, trustworthy, committed, devoted, expansive, and a “visionary,” among other descriptions.

“We know that as mayor, you will experience hard days, probably hard weeks; we hope not hard months,” said Ayvazian, when speaking about Sciarra. “We are cheering you on … You will be a wildly successful mayor,” she added.

During her speech, Sciarra thanked Narkewicz for all the hard work he put into the city over his 20-plus years.

“Mayor Narkewicz’s dedication and love for the city is undeniable,” said Sciarra. “I especially want to thank him for his steady and compassionate leadership through one of the biggest and sustained challenges we have faced-these last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Sciarra also explained how there should be no barriers to entry for living in Northampton, adding that more affordable housing will be a major initiative during her term. She also spoke of improving education, so it is open to all students, and searching for ways to become more equitable within city services.

“We can be expansive in our acknowledgment of each other, and work to broaden representation, and we can be respectful and kind to each other in the process,” said Sciarra. “There are some resources that are finite or constrained, and we need to work towards equity in their distribution, but there are other resources that are infinite, like compassion, understanding, and a desire to do better.”

Additionally, Sciarra talked about Northampton leaving fossil fuels for good while transitioning to municipal net carbon neutrality by 2030, and citywide carbon neutrality by 2050. Developing the next steps for a municipal broadband network, as well as accommodating the homeless with a new Community Resilience Hub – thus providing resources and a welcoming place for the houseless population, especially during climate change-related emergencies – were other initiatives she highlighted. She also noted the management of the Fiscal Stability Plan and the allocation of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds as major goals for the next term.

“We have more to do on all of these fronts,” said Sciarra. “As mayor, I am committed to fulfilling the goals of these initiatives, but this is not the work of just one person, or just within city hall. These have been and will continue to be city initiatives.”

The inauguration comes after a election chock full of milestones. With Gore and Elkins elected as at-large city councilors, the gender balance is now tilted with more females on the City Council than men – making this the first time something like that has happened in over 20 years. The only other time the council was majority female was in 1998. Gore also becomes the first African American woman ever elected to the council. Her and Perry will be the second and third African American councilors ever in Northampton.