Voters have choices for at-large council, school board

Date: 11/2/2023

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Voters in West Springfield will decide contested races for Town Council and School Committee on their Nov. 7 ballots.

Six candidates are running for the five available at-large seats on the Town Council. In ballot order, they are Elisa Olivo, Daniel O’Brien, Sean Powers, Brian Griffin, Jaime Smith and Brian Clune. In this group, Olivo is the only newcomer to the council. O’Brien currently serves as District 4’s councilor, and the other four are incumbent at-large councilors. Edward Sullivan, a current at-large councilor and current council president, is not running for reelection.

In each of the town’s four council districts, only one candidate is on the ballot. For District 1 (precincts 1 and 2), it’s William Forfa, running for the seat vacated by Michael Eger, who chose not to run for reelection. District 2 (precincts 3 and 4), represented by Michael LaFlamme, and District 3 (precincts 5 and 6), represented by Anthony DiStefano, have incumbents running for reelection with no opposition. In District 4 (precincts 7 and 8), where O’Brien is giving up his seat to run in the at-large race, Frederick Connor is the only candidate.

For School Committee, seven candidates are on the ballot for six available seats. In ballot order, they are Colleen Marcus, Julie Wise, Diana Coyne, Mustafa Thompson, Kathleen Alevras, Robert Mancini and Kira Thompson. Alevras, Coyne, Marcus and Kira Thompson are incumbents. Mancini is also a current School Committee member, having been appointed to fill a midterm vacancy. Incumbent Nancy Farrell chose not to run for reelection.

All of the positions on the ballot are for two-year terms. There is no race for mayor, as incumbent William Reichelt is in the middle of a four-year term.

Residents of all precincts can participate in early voting at the town library, 200 Park St., West Springfield. Remaining early voting times are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on both Nov. 2 and 3.

On election day, voting will be in the same two polling places as other recent elections. Precincts 1 and 2, which include the downtown, Merrick and Memorial Avenue neighborhoods, will vote at the West Springfield Senior Center, 128 Park St. Precincts 3 through 8, which cover the rest of the town, will vote at West Springfield High School, 425 Piper Rd. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. Residents may check their voter status and find their assigned polling place at www.sec.state.ma.us/VoterRegistrationSearch.

The candidates were profiled in The Reminder editions of Oct. 12, 19 and 26.