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Date: 11/16/2023
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Everyone on the Town Council who wanted to be reelected was a winner on Nov. 7, as voters backed a slate of five at-large candidates who are all current councilors.
Current at-large Councilor Brian Clune led the tally with 2,165 votes, followed by fellow incumbents Sean Powers (2,142 votes) and Brian Griffin (2,141). Next was current District 4 Councilor Daniel O’Brien, who took 2,089 votes in the town-wide race. Rounding out the winners was incumbent Councilor Jaime Smith with 2,082 votes. Elisa Olivo, the only newcomer in the race, received 1,334 votes and did not win one of the five available seats.
A similar dynamic played out on the School Committee, where the five current committee members who were on the ballot were all winners. The six elected members who will begin a new term in January 2024 are incumbents Diana Coyne (2,179 votes), Colleen Marcus (2,174), Kathleen Alevras (2,108) and Kira Thompson (2,066); challenger Julie Wise (2,040); and Robert Mancini (1,750), who currently serves as a midterm appointee on the committee. One additional newcomer finished seventh, Mustafa Thompson, with 1,529 votes.
Wise will replace current School Committee member Nancy Farrell, who chose not to run for reelection.
The Town Council will see some new faces in 2024. With the decisions by current Town Council President Edward Sullivan and current District 1 Councilor Michael Eger not to seek reelection, and O’Brien’s decision to run at large rather than in District 4, two of the district seats had no incumbent on the ballot. William Forfa was the only candidate in District 1 and Frederick Connor was unopposed in District 4. Incumbent councilors were reelected with no opposition in District 2 (Michael LaFlamme) and District 3 (Anthony DiStefano).
The current officeholders will remain until the end of the calendar year. Because of Sullivan’s departure, the Town Council in January will have to select a new council president.
Mayor William Reichelt was not on the ballot, as he is in the middle of a four-year term. The mayor serves ex-officio as chair of the School Committee. His seat is up for reelection in 2025, along with all the Town Council and School Committee seats, which have two-year terms.
According to the town clerk, there were 3,388 ballots cast in the town election, representing a 16.8% turnout among the town’s registered voters.