Mayors in Chicopee, Easthampton and Westfield have not yet drawn any challengers, as deadlines near for nomination papers.
Left to right, Springfield School Committee member Antonette Pepe, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Springfield City Council President Jose Tosado.Preliminary elections for mayor are scheduled in Springfield and Holyoke on Sept. 20, triggered by multiple candidates returning nomination papers including the incumbents.
A three-candidate race is set in Springfield and a four-candidate contest is slated in Holyoke following the deadline for nomination papers on Tuesday. The top two vote-getters in each preliminary will move on to the Nov. 8 ballot.
At least three candidates are expected in the Agawam race for mayor, needing to return nomination papers by Aug. 23. If three or more candidates are certified, a preliminary election would be needed Sept. 27, to reduce the field to two finalists.
In contrast, mayors in Chicopee, Easthampton and Westfield have not yet drawn challenges as deadlines near for nomination papers.
Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, seeking his third term, faces two veteran politicians on the September preliminary ballot: City Council President Jose F. Tosado and School Committee member Antonette E. Pepe.
The mayor’s term will expand from two years to a new, four-year term, as approved by voters in 2009.
It marks the first preliminary election in Springfield in the mayor’s race in a decade.
Sarno said he is not yet focused on his re-election campaign “because my major focus has been directed toward the tornado recovery and rebuilding efforts, the war on crime and assuring we continue to maintain a balanced budget.”
“I have never taken any election for granted,” Sarno said. “When time allows me, I will be able to get out and address that with my constituents.”
Pepe and Tosado said they are working hard and expect a lively campaign. Both said they have been focused on issues including public safety and are offering solutions.
The three-way race in Springfield provides an opportunity for voters “to make decisions on who they really believe is going to represent the taxpayers,” Pepe said.
“That’s why I think this race is going to be one heck of a race,” Pepe said. “I think taxpayers are going to be holding politicians accountable.”
Tosado said that for the first time in a long time, “we are giving the public some real choices.”
“This election, the public will actually have the ability to compare candidates, compare views and have choices,” Tosado said.
Running for the office of mayor in Holyoke in 2011 are, left to right, Elaine A. Pluta, Daniel C. Burns, Alex B. Morse and Daniel C. Boyle.In Holyoke, Mayor Elaine A. Pluta is seeking re-election to her second, two-year term.
Pluta has three challengers: Alex B. Morse, youth counselor and job developer at CareerPoint here; business consultant Daniel C. Boyle, whom Pluta defeated in the 2009 election; and former city councilor Daniel C. Burns.
In Agawam, Mayor Richard A. Cohen and challenger Walter A. Meissner III have been certified to be on the ballot, according to Town Clerk Richard M. Theroux. In addition, former state Rep. Rosemary Sandlin, who has declared she is running for mayor, is expected to turn in her signatures soon, which would trigger the preliminary, he said.
In West Springfield, both Town Councilor Gerard B. Matthews and Gregory C. Neffinger, a local architect, have been certified to have their names on the ballot for mayor.
Nomination papers are available until 5 p.m. Aug. 5 in Westfield. To date, Mayor Daniel M. Knapik is the only certified candidate.
In Chicopee, Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette is unopposed thus far in seeking re-election. The deadline for taking out nomination papers is Friday, and the signatures must be returned by 5 p.m. Aug. 2 to be on the ballot.
Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins, a six-term incumbent, is not seeking re-election.
Three people have taken out nomination papers for the post: Michael A. Bardsley, a former long-term city councilor and mayoral candidate in 2009; David J. Narkewicz, the City Council president; and James E. Durfer, Recreation Commission member.
The deadline for nomination papers is Aug. 9; a preliminary election would be Sept. 27, and the final election is Nov. 8.
Easthampton Mayor Michael A. Tautznik, a seven-term incumbent, is the only candidate for mayor, as of Wednesday. Nomination papers have to be returned by Sept. 20.
There is no preliminary.
Tautznik is tied with the mayor of Malden as the third-longest consecutively serving mayor in the state, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association. As of Tuesday, Tautznik had not yet returned his nomination papers, said City Clerk Barbara L. Bombard.
Staff reporters Sandra Constantine, Jeanette Deforge, Mike Plaisance and Brian Steele contributed to this report.