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Date: 12/29/2021
SPRINGFIELD – An informal voting secession decided the president and vice president positions of the 2022 Springfield City Council during their Dec. 20. meeting.
Before the vote took place, current President and Ward 5 Councilor Marcus Williams relayed the rules of the caucus. With Ward 1 Councilor Gumersindo Gomez and Ward 8 Councilor Orlando Ramos leaving office in January, newly elected councilors Maria Perez of Ward 1 and Zaida Govan of Ward 8 joined the session to take place in the informal vote. The results of the vote itself will not be confirmed until the 2022 inauguration ceremony in January, according to Williams.
Williams took time reflect on 2021 and thank his colleagues for aiding him during a year dominated by the pandemic. “Thank you for helping me maintain the work of the city during this unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic, which I think has affected a lot of us. Our ability to remain functional is a testament to [the councilors] showing up and also caring for those we all serve,” said Williams.
When the nomination period for the 2022 City Council president position arose, City Councilor At-Large Jesse Lederman emphatically nominated Williams to retain his leadership role. “Throughout this all, President Marcus Williams has been a unifying and empowering leader for our council body. Through perseverance, he rose to the occasion to become the right leader at the right time,” said Lederman.
With no other councilor nominated, the City Council unanimously voted for Williams to retain the role of president. Williams took a moment to thank his colleagues after the results. “Thank you, councilors, I really appreciate that you share your confidence in another year [of me as president]. It means a lot to me,” said Williams.
For the vice president election, Ward 3 Councilor Melvin Edwards nominated Lederman for the position. “[Lederman] has demonstrated character, competence and due diligence in his service to this city and his colleagues. I am confident he will perform the duties of this new position with the same compassion, respect and professionalism,” said Edwards.
At-Large Councilor Kateri Walsh nominated incumbent Vice President Tracye Whitfield for the position. “It’s pretty historic that we have four women on the Springfield City Council. I feel very strongly that we should at least raise to the bar women in leadership positions to not only reflect the new demographic of the council, but the demographic of Springfield,” said Walsh.
In a closely contested caucus, Lederman usurped Whitfield in a 9-4 vote. “I am looking forward to serving,” said Lederman.