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Date: 8/7/2015
WESTFIELD – Though Katherine Bentrewicz has been a volunteer for the Westfield schools and a voice in the Juniper Park Elementary School closing and relocation, she is now looking to make her involvement more official.
Bentrewicz turned in papers to run for the Ward 4 City Council seat on Aug. 6.
“Once they decided to close the school, I started going to City Council meeting and School Committee meetings trying to figure out where my children were going to go,” she said. “I really became much more involved, and going to these meetings I thought it was really interesting and I would like to have more of a voice in the city. It was kind of a natural fit for me.”
While her interest in getting involved began with concerns over Juniper Park closing, the move to Russell Elementary and the problems surrounding a proposed school on Cross Street, Bentrewicz said she is more than a “one-note show.”
She said among her concerns are the sidewalks on Western Avenue, which make it unsafe for families in the neighborhood who want to take advantage of Stanley Park.
“It’s not safe to cross the road. They have their bicycles, and the sidewalks there are atrocious. Forget riding on the street with the kids. It’s completely out of the question,” Bentrewicz said. “That really needs to be addressed … That’s a huge thing for me.”
Bentrewicz said her family and friends have been supportive of her decision, and overall, they were not surprised. Though she had been considering a potential campaign the “final push” was the July 2 City Council meeting.
Concerned parents and citizens spoke out in favor of the transfer of Ponders Hollow from the Fire Department to the Parks and Recreation Department. The meeting was tense and “a disaster,” she said.
She said if she is elected, she would try to represent the wishes of her district.
“I’ll do my best to be their voice,” Bentrewicz said. “I think that being a representative of a ward you’re supposed to be the voice of those people and when those people are screaming at you that they want something done you should probably vote that way and not with your own personal agenda.”
This would include opening up lines of communication to all involved in the city’s affairs.
“There needs to be more communication between the City Council and the School Committee. I think that the animosity is palpable,” she said. “I think that something should be done. I would like to work with whomever is mayor … I’d like to be able to have a relationship with whomever that is, whether we have the same views or not.”
Bentrewicz describes herself as a “straight shooter,” and her goal is to be unbiased in terms of voting and representation on the City Council.
“I come to the table with a fresh start. I don’t have any predisposition,” she said. “I’m going to go and listen to what everybody has to say and vote that way, not ‘I don’t like you, so I don’t want to vote with you,’ or ‘This is my buddy so I’m going to vote this way.’ I want to be fair.”
For more information about Bentrewicz and her campaign, email Kat4Westfield@gmail.com.