Mayors, city and town councilors, school committee members and others were sworn into office across western Massachusetts on Monday.
One of them was Gina-Louise Sciarra, who was sworn in for her second term as mayor of Northampton. Sciarra was joined by newly elected city officials and others for the swearing-in ceremony at the city's Senior Center.
With Sciarra's narrow win by less than 80 votes against challenger Jillian Duclos in November's election, she said she believes Northampton is not a divided community.
"We are a community that works really beautifully together most of the time, and I'm really excited to work with everybody. I hear that people feel like they want more of a role, like they want to be heard more, so I look forward to working very hard to make that happen,” Sciarra said.
There are many new school committee members and city councilors for the mayor to work with in her second term.
She said she's excited to work with this new group to face the "tough problems" in Northampton. Sciarra mentions moving forward with the downtown redesign effort, Picture Main St, as one of her first tasks back in office.
In her closing remarks, Sciarra said city officials will face more challenges brought on from the White House.
“In the face of these mounting challenges, pressures and purposeful federal chaos, we have a charge to keep if we are to have a local functioning government and healthy democracy. We must reliably deliver essential services, and I believe that includes looking out for each other and equitably caring for the most vulnerable in our community.”
She urged officials to lead with integrity to create “a resilient, equitable and thriving community for all.”
Springfield City Council sworn in, Whitfield new president
In Springfield Monday, the city council officially elected and swore in its new leadership. In the jam packed council chambers at City Hall, councilors unanimously voted Tracye Whitfield as its president and Jose Delgado as vice president for this year.
Whitfield begins her term as the first woman of color to lead the council in city history. Shortly after being sworn in, Whitfield called up two other city officials to speak: Springfield Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers, the first African American man to head that department, and Sonia Dinnall, the first woman of color to become superintendent of the Springfield Public Schools. Both highlighted the historic nature of Whitfield’s election.
“This moment doesn't only reflect your personal achievements,” Akers told Whitfield. “But this continued, meaningful effort of the City of Springfield to move forward.”
“This is an occasion that I thought I would probably never see in my lifetime,” Dinnall said. “I get emotional at moments of this… historic occasions that our forefathers could only dream about, could only wonder about. Could only whisper to each other in corners about. But here we are.”
Speaking to the council and the crowd, Whitfield said she hopes other women will be inspired by her election to pursue their dreams.
“Let this historic moment mean something beyond today,” Whitfield said. “Let it show every little girl who is watching, especially those that never imagined themselves in spaces like this, that she can do anything she sets out to do.”
Whitfield also announced the creation of a training course for new and aspiring city councilors, alongside four special committees. Those will be focused on the city's budget, finding new revenue streams, procurement, and residential property development.
Two new councilors also took the oath. Justin Hurst returned to the council after a two-year hiatus following a run for mayor in 2023. Gerry Martin also is in his first ever term.
Across western Massachusetts, mayors in Agawam, Chicopee, Westfield and West Springfield were also slated to be sworn in on Monday.
NEPM's Adam Frenier contributed to this report.