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Date: 10/26/2023
AGAWAM — In a 12-way race for 11 seats on the City Council in November’s election, four of the candidates are hoping to be elected to their first-ever terms on the council. Three of them spoke with Reminder Publishing about how the campaign has been going and what they see as their top issues. Peter Smus did not respond to a request for comment.
Edward Borgatti
Edward Borgatti said his campaign has been going well so far, with a “really great response” from residents. He’s lived in Agawam his entire life, graduated from local schools and has a bachelor’s degree in business. The owner of E.B.’s Restaurant, he gets his name out with signs, stand-outs and by attending events. Borgatti said Agawam has had a lot of the same people and a lot of the same ideas.
“‘A new voice for Agawam’ is kind of my slogan, and I think that’s kind of resonating with people,” he said.
His top issues include safety, education, and maintaining Agawam’s “small town charm.” He said the town already has a good police force and Fire Department, and he wants to maintain those. He said he will be very engaged with the high school project, making sure it’s economically feasible.
“We don’t want to cost the taxpayer an exorbitant amount of money,” he said.
Borgatti believes the town needs a new high school. Education, he said, is “number one” for attracting people to Agawam. He said that a successful community maintains a balance between small businesses, residential buildings, and public safety.
There is no one issue where Borgatti said he would’ve voted differently than the incumbent councilors.
“Agawam, I feel, is in a good place with the way the majority of elected officials vote,” he said. “I hope we can maintain that type of majority.”
Nonetheless, he said he would not have voted in favor of the Way Finders affordable housing project being built on Mill Street. While he does support affordable housing for residents and seniors, he said he is against outsiders and the state telling Agawam what it needs to do.
Susan Dawson
Susan Dawson moved to Agawam around 40 years ago, after graduating from college. She ran for School Committee in 1999, prompted by concerns over how her son’s muscular dystrophy was handled by the Middle School, and served for four years. She was mayor of Agawam for one term, 2008 to 2010, after having run because of “misleading statements being made by the current mayor at the time” and a lawsuit involving Tennessee Gas she believed she knew how to fix.
Dawson said her city councilor campaign is going well, with positive feedback coming from the community.
“I personally have had more signs asked for than I know what to do with,” she said.
The theme of her campaign, and her pitch for voters, is to “make good choices,” a phrase on the headstone of her deceased son Andy.
“If you vote for me, you’re sending me to be your mouthpiece on the City Council. If I’m not making a good choice for you, don’t vote for me,” she said.
Her top issue is the new high school. She is concerned if the town does not take this opportunity to use state building assistance money, it could be decades before the state offers a reimbursement again.
“I don’t think the high school we have currently can last another 40 years,” she said.
Dawson said she would not criticize what the incumbent councilors have done in the past, because she only moves forward. She said she tries not to look back because she would have to deal with a lot of sadness, citing her deceased son.
“If I was always looking back and never into the future, I would never be able to accomplish anything,” she said.
Maria Valego
Maria Valego was born and raised in Agawam, graduating from local schools. She works in the probation office at Holyoke District Court, and was appointed a justice of the peace in Agawam in August. She is a certified private investigator and paralegal. She also runs a small business part-time, selling soaps and flowers, and is a licenced nail technician.
Valego said her campaign has been going well. She has been knocking on doors, meeting people, and getting feedback. She said people are concerned about the cost of a new high school, increased taxes, and utility costs.
“I take all of those thoughts into strong consideration as a homeowner myself,” she said.
Valego envisions the town owning its own utilities for gas and electric, or working with a provider of solar electricity. She would work with the owners of vacant buildings in the town industrial park to repurpose them. Alternatively, she believes the town could use homes it has seized, or even tear them down to build solar arrays.
On education, Valego is concerned about Agawam losing high schoolers to neighboring communities that have renovated or replaced their schools. She said a new school would move education in a positive direction.
Nonetheless, she is concerned about the cost to taxpayers, especially combined with the police station being built and the proposed purchase of a fire truck. She wants to know the final figures of these projects, when the taxpayers will see increases, and if the projects will have any rebates.
“That can make a difference in someone who’s not making that much or making paycheck to paycheck,” she said.
Valego said she would not have voted for property tax increases. She said the council increases property taxes and says they’re increasing “assessments.”
“How can property go up in value if I haven’t done anything to increase the value? But your property tax goes up, and they’ll call it assessments,” she said.