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Date: 8/29/2023
Editor's note: This story is part of Reminder Publishing's special section dedicated to the upcoming Springfield preliminary and city elections on Sept. 12 and Nov. 7, respectively. This section is included in the Aug. 31 issue of the Springfield North and Springfield South editions of The Reminder.
SPRINGFIELD — Although there is a record-breaking number of candidates running for at large seats on the City Council, there are only two wards in the city with contested races: Ward 6 and Ward 4.
Ward 4 is in the center of the city, with the Mason Square and the Hill McKnight neighborhoods while Ward 6 is the Forest Park area.
For Ward 4, Councilor Malo Brown is seeking reelection and is being challenged by Abdul-Kareem Kibodya.
For Ward 6, Councilor Victor Davila is facing two opponents, Shanequa Fryar and Humberto Caro.
Ward 4
Incumbent City Councilor Malo Brown counts several accomplishments of his as significant in his effort for reelection: his involvement in the Deberry-Swan Elementary School; the renovation of the former Firestone building at Mason Square and the development and relocation of Sam Bolden Park.
Despite a “few horrible incidents lately,” Brown said crime has dropped 80 percent in his ward.
“Now that the area is looking good, I want to emphasize public safety,” Brown told Reminder Publishing. He supports the hiring of more police officers. He called for more cameras, better street lighting and more foot patrols.
He also said he would like to promote more activities for seniors.
Speaking of the allocation of ARPA funds, Brown said he “aggressively lobbied for my area.” He added the process was difficult for people to understand.
“I feel it [the allocations to his ward] was OK. Of course, I would want more,” he said, adding “I don’t want to point blame at anyone.”
He said Mason Square is “the heart of the city” with many people driving through the area daily.
Unfortunately, he added the area is “burdened with a lot of speeding.” His solution would the installation of speed bumps.
To learn more go to Brown’s campaign website at malobrown123.wixsite.com/website.
Kibodya was born in Springfield of immigrant parents and told Reminder Publishing this is his first run for office, but not the first time he has been involved in politics.
He is running at this time because “it’s a promise I made 10 years ago to myself.” He has worked as an organizer for Sen. Elizabeth Warren and as an aide to U.S. Rep. Richard Neal.
Part of the reason he is running is to support Black-owned businesses in the city. He noted that Ward 4 has the lowest income levels as well as acts of violence, “but we have potential.”
“The city is at a crossroads, we must make investments,” he added.
In terms of the uptick in violence, Kibodya said the solution must be one from the federal, state governments as well as local.
“We need to create opportunities in the community,” he stated and added, “How can we work as a community to prevent violence? Prevention starts long before police are called.”
He is advocating to the attorney general for greater state action on ghost guns and supports universal background checks.
He is also advocating for infrastructure repairs in his ward, which include broken street lights and sidewalks in disrepair. Infrastructure concerns are “one of the most frequent thing residents say to me,” he noted.
He said he had hoped ARPA funds would have been used to redevelop the neighborhoods and added that utility charges seen by homeowners are increasing but not with better service.
His website is voteabdulkareem.com and his candidate statement can be seen on Focus Springfield at youtube.com/watch?v=1GodVMoQsr8.
Ward 6
Incumbent Victor Davila said the reason for his run is because “we are not done yet.”
Davila said that when he first came to Springfield, he didn’t understand English and he was homeless. “Springfield has been good to me … I want to see a better city,” he said.
Speaking of crime prevention he said, “In my opinion what has been done is no longer working.” He supports cultivating relationships at the grassroots level and opening up additional drug treatment programs. “You can’t arrest your way out of the problem,” he added.
Davila has been leading an effort to clean of his ward of litter and trash and said Mayor Domenic Sarno has accepted some of the recommendations he and a committee made earlier this year.
He has been critical of the allocation process for ARPA funds stating, “There are more questions than answers. The process has not been clear … A lot of money went out very quickly to large institutions.”
He acknowledges there has been an increase in property expenses and believes the city can do more to help residents. “All quality of life is declining,” he asserted.
He said the city should allocate more money to repair sidewalks and roads.
Because his ward has more than half of its housing stock as rental owned by absentee landlords, Davilla is calling for “good robust code enforcement.”
His campaign website is victorforward6.com and his candidate statement on Focus Springfield can be found at youtube.com/watch?v=tm2CFb7Oe3s.
This is also the first run for public office for Caro who said he has lived in the neighborhood for the past 12 years. A youth center to provide activities for at-risk youth is one of his main priorities. “Not much has changed and we don’t have many options,” he said.
He said that housing for everyone is a human right and would like to see property trusts established to redevelop abandoned buildings in the ward. Her added he would work to ensure that every rental property would be inspected before a tenant moves in and after a tenant leaves.
He said his conversations with people living in senior housing have shown a concern about crime. He noted many told him they can’t sit outside after 5 or 6 p.m. because of the threats of violence.
He has been in customer relations for more than 30 years and he believes in open conversation to identifying and solving problems. If elected he would establish office hours and be accessible in the library in the neighborhood.
Caro would advocate for additional funding to the Springfield Police Department and would like the officers to work hand-in-hand with social workers.
“Every crime is different and we should address it as it is,” he said.
He would like to see a greater police patrol presence in the ward.
His website is caroforcouncil.com and his Focus Springfield candidate statement can be found at youtube.com/watch?v=zCfdMuH_XlM.
Springfield native Fryar said that her motivation to run for city council in 2023 was how she felt about the city. She explained after military service she wanted to return to the hometown because she “wanted to part of the city I grew up; raise my kids in the city I grew up to love and developed as a young person.”
Talking to fellow Ward 6 residents, she said there are concerns about blighted properties in the neighborhood and “how do we maintain the integrity of the Forest Park Historic District.”
Public safety is also on minds of residents, she said, citing home invasions, car theft and panhandling as three of the issues.
In any ward there are issues that require attention and Fryar noted that while funds have gone to downtown development there are buildings in the neighborhood that could be redeveloped. “Housing is a huge issue. How to we put money into those buildings?” she asked.
Fryar doesn’t agree with all of the decisions made about the allocation of ARPA funds. She asked, “Are the businesses in need receiving that money?” She noted there are two businesses in Ward 6 that are still waiting for funds awarded to them and she would like to know why.
“That’s a huge issue, a large question about where we put our money,” she said. Fryar said ARPA funds should have been used to give a “huge boost to our city in different ways and different areas and we’re really not seeing the fruit of that.”
With a historically large field of candidates this election Fryar said the number of candidates show people in the city “are paying attention.” She added, “They want to see change. They want to be part of it. It’s time for that.”
Her campaign website is poplme.co/hash/HkRmOBkH/1/s and her Focus Springfield candidate profile can be seen at youtube.com/watch?v=RdSUmXbkebQ&t=21s.