Higgins governed through periods of personal crisis, losing her mother and two brothers over the past several years while barely skipping a council meeting.
Northampton Mayor Mary Clare HigginsNORTHAMPTON – It’s still too early for retrospectives, but as Mary Clare Higgins prepares to step down as mayor after more than a decade, both her admirers and critics agree she has left her stamp on Northampton.
Higgins announced last week that she will leave City Hall in September to take over the reins of CommunityAction!, a human services agency with a $26 million budget and a range of programs throughout Franklin and Hampshire counties. Although she is leaving a few weeks short of completing her sixth term, no one has been elected mayor of Northampton more times than Higgins. David B. Musante, Jr. also served six terms, from 1980 to 1992. His successor, Mary L. Ford, ran City Hall from 1992 until 2000, when Higgins was first elected. They are the only three mayors Northampton has had in the last 31 years.
Higgins, who served as a city councilor prior to her stint as mayor, had a grace period of a couple of years before a dramatic decline in state revenues put her budgeting skills to the test. She successfully lobbied for two Proposition 2½ overrides during her tenure, lost another by eight votes and saw voters approve the Community Preservation Act, which has helped fund numerous projects since it was adopted in 2005. Throughout this period of fiscal austerity, Higgins managed to craft a dozen budgets that kept the city operating at a high level of service with a minimum of blood-letting.
Higgins also governed through periods of personal crisis, losing her mother and two brothers over the past several years while barely skipping a council meeting. In 2007, doctors sawed her skull open to remove a mass on her optic nerve near her brain. Again, she was back in action promptly, watching the City Council on television only days after her surgery.
During her time in office, Higgins has taken heat on a number of issues. Critics questioned the openness of her administration after she crafted a deal in private with Smith College concerning the construction of a science center on Green Street. They also took her to task for choosing a hotel project near Pulaski Park over a commercial project that outbid it $750,000 to $1. The hotel plan ultimately fell through for lack of funding.
Ward 5 Councilor David A. Murphy was skeptical of Higgins’ skills when she first took office, worrying that she was letting economic development slide. Higgins listened to Murphy’s concerns, however, and he soon came around, supporting her for her second run at office. Murphy said he has grown to appreciate Higgins’ budgeting prowess.
“Since she’s been mayor, the state has done nothing but reduce support for cities and towns,” he said. “She’s operated with one hand tied behind her back and done pretty well.”
Eugene A. Tacy, the councilor for Ward 7, has not been as easy to convince. Tacy has consistently questioned Higgins’ spending decisions and still believes the city can trim a lot of costs. Nonetheless, he gives her high grades overall.
“There area lot of things we don’t agree on, but I think she’s been a good mayor,” he said. “You can’t discount the fact that she’s been elected six times.”
State Rep. Peter V. Kocot, D-Northampton, not only represents Northampton in the Legislature but lives in the city. Speaking in both capacities, Kocot has nothing but praise for Higgins.
“The quality of life here is outstanding, and I think it’s a testament to her skills,” he said.
Although CommunityAction! wanted her to start sooner, Higgins will remain in office to put together her final budget, which she expects to present to the City Council by the end of June. When she does depart, Council President David J. Narkewicz will take over as acting mayor for the remainder of the term.
