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Date: 9/6/2023
WESTFIELD — A preliminary election will take place in Westfield on Tuesday, Sept. 19, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., to narrow the field of School Committee candidates for three available four-year terms from seven to six.
Preliminary elections are required when there are more than twice the number of candidates as available seats. The top six vote-getters will appear on the general election ballot for the Nov. 7 city election, along with all of the nominees for mayor, city councilor, Municipal Light Board member and Athenaeum trustee.
Two incumbents, Bo Sullivan and Michael Tirrell, are running for the three available four-year terms on the School Committee. Also running for a four-year term are former School Committee member Jeffrey Gosselin, Jeffrey Gunther, Pamela Kotarski, Gabriella Michaliszyn and Andrew Mullen.
Bo Sullivan
Sullivan is currently serving his fifth year on the Westfield School Committee, and second as vice chair.
“I believe the most important job for a city is to educate their youth,” he said. “Educating your youth will lead to a well-educated workforce, and well-educated decision makers in the future. When businesses look to cities and towns considering where to locate, one of the first things they look at is the importance of the education system. With the administration, teachers, paraprofessionals, staff in each school, and volunteers we have, I know Westfield is putting its best foot forward. I am running for reelection because I think there is still hard work to be done. Making sure technology keeps up to date with students, the building of the new elementary school and the refurbishing of playing fields, many exciting things are happening.”
Sullivan said he sees in his career as chief executive officer of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield that the children of Westfield have many talents and many options for great futures.
“With the great teachers and mentors we have in place, Westfield has a bright future. I would like to continue to be a part of that and ask for your vote on Sept. 19,” he said.
Michael Tirrell
Michael Tirrell was appointed by a joint meeting of the School Committee and City Council in October, 2022 to serve out the remaining term of Ramon Diaz Jr., who moved out of state.
Tirrell said he has lived in Westfield all of his life, graduated from Westfield schools, raised a family and sent his children to Westfield schools. He describes himself as a 25-year technology professional.
“Having served on the School Committee previously [2012-2014], I decided to put my name in the pool of people being considered to fill the last year of a committee seat that had been vacated when a previous member had resigned. I was selected to serve the remainder of that term and have enjoyed the challenges this past year has presented,” Tirrell said.
Tirrell said during this past year he served on the School Committee’s Facilities, Finance and Technology subcommittees and also participated as a member of the school district’s Technology Committee.
“Given a full term, I would work to continue to refresh the technology in our classrooms, improve the conditions of our facilities and work to ensure our students have essential skills for what lies beyond secondary education.”
Jeffrey Gosselin
Jeffrey Gosselin previously served as a member of the Westfield School Committee.
“When I decided to seek the position of Westfield School Committee, I knew experience, hard work and a balanced perspective were critical to developing good schools and serving you, the people. Every day our teachers and staff have passion for the work they do. I believe that dedication and tireless commitment remain the foundation for ensuring safe and strong schools for the students we serve,” Gosselin said.
“As someone who has been a classroom teacher, I understand and appreciate what it takes to develop meaningful lessons and create safe school environments. That’s why I will place a priority on school-based prevention programs, early education, and wellness programs in our schools. I have the experience, dedication, and unwavering commitment to community,” he added.
“I invite you to take a walk up Smith Avenue and view the ‘old’ Westfield High School, presently part of the Tech Academy High School. The architecture is amazing and the lights at night shine brightly. The lighting never seems to go out, like a symbol of hope for the future of our youth,” Gosselin said.
“Westfield is my home community. I have many years working with youth, and I presently work in the private business world of sales. I have a long history of leadership and public service. I have the compassion, professionalism and I understand the challenges schools face today. I look forward to continuing our mission to keep Westfield schools safe, healthy, innovative and strong, and I thank you for the honor of serving in the past as your school committee member,” he added.
Jeffrey Gunther
Jeffrey Gunther, who has a seven-year-old daughter in Highland Elementary School, said he has spent his whole career in education, having spent five years as a high school science teacher, getting his doctorate in teacher recruitment and retention, and now working in finance and strategy for a large educational nonprofit.
He said having worked all over the country is potentially a benefit.
“I have been able to see how schools all over the country are continuing to evolve to meet the needs of kids and the labor market today. I think that my experience and background can offer a fresh perspective to the committee,” Gunther said, adding that he has spent his whole career making sure students have access to good educational outcomes.
“I am obviously invested by having a child in the school. My set of experiences and perspectives is not one that is well represented on the School Committee right now. I’m hoping to bring a little bit of that expertise to make things better for all students in Westfield,” Gunther said.
Pamela Kotarski
Pamela Kotarski introduced herself as a lifelong Westfield resident.
“After 30 years, I recently retired as the director of transportation/business support for the Westfield public schools. I am married and have three children, all who are graduates of Westfield High School/Westfield Technical Academy. I am vested in Westfield as I currently have four grandchildren attending Westfield public schools,” she said.
“In addition to my role as director of transportation, I also assisted with the business operations of the district. During this time, I gained an intimate knowledge of financial management, budget procedures and the numerous responsibilities of a public office. I am committed to help all students achieve the academic successes they are capable of,” Kotarski said. “If elected to the School Committee, I would use my position to work towards closing these gaps and provide a more equitable environment for all students in our schools. I am committed to those students and families who may not have the knowledge or resources to do so themselves. I see great things happening in the schools and would like to be part of making sure those great things continue to happen for all students.”
Gabriella Michaliszyn
Gabriella Michaliszyn is an alternative health practitioner and business owner who said she has had 25 high-school-aged foster kids in the past 25 years, as well as her own 21- and 19-year-olds, all of them boys.
“I have had a lot of high school experience with both high schools in Westfield and some other alternative schools that the foster kids went to,” she said.
Michaliszyn said she homeschooled her two boys, starting when the oldest was in middle school.
“I’ve been studying teaching methods for quite a while, and I’d say I’m a natural teacher, not a licensed teacher. I’m concerned about the lack of skills that the high schoolers — not all, but many — have when they’re done with high school, both academically and vocationally.”
Michaliszyn said especially now, there is a very big change in skills caused by the COVID-19 school shutdowns.
“I think we need creativity on how to recover from that,” she said.
Andrew Mullen
Andrew Mullen, who describes himself as 37, single and a stay-at-home dad, said he wants to serve on the School Committee because he hopes that Westfield stays the tolerant and open place he grew up in, and does not follow recent trends in other parts of the country.
“I don’t believe in book bans, book burning; I want kids to be able to learn and experience. My 10-year-old, if he was having feelings about not being straight, I would want him to have a counselor that he could talk to if he couldn’t talk to me,” Mullen said.
“I’m also a firm believer that arts, sciences and music should not be optional. Every art teacher should have a classroom, and shouldn’t have to pack it up. Why would we have that?” he said, adding that not having full-time music teachers in every school “boggles my mind.”
“It may seem like a very small thing — a second of a child’s inspiration can make all the difference. I loved my art teachers when I was a kid. … I want to bring the joy of art back into our schools.”
Mullen sees Westfield at a crossroad.
“I think that what’s happening in other cities around the country — book banning, laws about what teachers can discuss with students — these laws are designed to stifle free speech. Mostly, I’m hoping to help Westfield go down the right path, and not get sidetracked by nonsensical culture wars issues.”
Where and when
Westfield City Clerk Kaitlyn Bruce said the Board of Registrars voted to have one day of in-person early voting, 10 days before the preliminary Election Day. Early voting will be on Saturday, Sept. 9, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall, 59 Court St., Westfield.
Sept. 9 is also the last day to register to vote for the preliminary election, so the clerk’s office is required to be open for the full day. The clerk’s office, in Room 201, is across the hall from Council Chambers. Voters may register to vote and cast an in-person early ballot on the same day.
Mail-in voting and absentee ballots also remain an option for the preliminary election, as required by state law.
“We’re hopeful in addition to absentee and mail-in voting, a full day of early voting may increase turnout for the preliminary election,” Bruce said.
The School Committee race is the only item on this year’s preliminary ballot, because all of the other positions on the November ballot had fewer than twice as many nominees as seats available.