Incumbent Gina Louise-Sciarra won the Northampton mayoral election Tuesday in a tight race against challenger Jillian Duclos.
Sciarra won narrowly just 76 votes ahead of Duclos, according to the unofficial election results released by the Northampton city clerk's office. Sciarra celebrated at a restaurant downtown.
"I'm feeling good,” Sciarra said. “This has been a long campaign, but, you know, I'm really thankful to the people in Northampton, and I'm ready to go back to work tomorrow."
Duclos was with her supporters in the Florence section of town. She's considering a recount given the narrow margin. Duclos feels the result shows the Sciarra administration has more work to do.
"I really hope that this sends a message to the current administration that there are people who have felt that their voices are not being heard in terms of taxes and all that they do to invest back into this community. And they don't feel that that investment is being made in them," Duclos said.
Sharon Weintrab brought her child out to vote with her at the Northampton Senior Center on Conz Street. She said both candidates in the mayoral election didn't quite stand out for her, but she still voted for Sciarra.
"Although I'm not 100% on board with every single thing that [Sciarra] did, I had a little bit more faith in her ability to affect change than her opponent. It wasn't a choice that felt 100%, you know, gung ho, but I think it was the best choice for me between the two,” Weintrab said.
Weintrab also said she sees both sides of the infrastructure redesign project, Picture Main Street, which has been a huge issue on voter's minds this election cycle. She said she'd like to see what Sciarra ends up accomplishing with it.
JoElla Tarbutton-Springfield is a Northampton resident who lives in public housing. She came out to vote at the Northampton Senior Center at Conz Street. She said one of the major issues in the city is rent and believes the next mayor needs to invest more in public housing.
"In public housing, we really need some reform. I mean, I want to see people who are elderly, disabled people of color, divorced women. I want to see them treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve and live in safe, sanitary conditions like they should," Tarbutton-Springfield said.
Sciarra won 4,637 votes while Duclos had 4,561 votes.
Nearly 43% of voters in Northampton voted in this election.
Northampton city clerk, Pamela Powers, said they usually get a turnout of 30% to 35% based on past municipal elections.
