WESTFIELD – Christopher Keefe is seeking to serve a fifth term as the Ward 1 representative on the City Council where he has twice served as the City Council president.
Keefe, who served as the chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeal prior to his election to the City Council, said that Ward 1 has a complex constituency of residents, farmers and business owners.
“Serving as the Ward One Councilor has been a challenge due to the challenging economic situation and the large number of infrastructure projects undertaken by the city over the past five years,” Keefe said.
“As the ward councilor, I have strived to advocate for the economic development necessary to expand and secure our tax base and, by extension, our municipal finance, while mitigating the impact of new development and infrastructure projects on the North Side,” Keefe said.
Keefe has served on a number of City Council committees, including the Finance Committee which reviews all appropriations, taking a fiscally conservative approach to bonds and spending.
“During my tenure on Finance and as President, we cut the city budget over $3 million while preserving essential services and addressing the major infrastructure needs of the city,” Keefe said.“ Even within just the past two years, I have voted for over $5 million in spending reductions in an effort to provide tax relief to the residents of Westfield.”
“I have successfully led the effort to roll back the annual 2.5 percent levy increase twice in the past four years, even at a time when health insurance costs have continued to soar and local aid has evaporated.” Keefe said. “I am proud of my record of fiscal responsibility, which I’ve managed to achieve while continuing to serve the needs of my constituents in Ward One.”
Keefe, mindful of the industrial and agriculture presence in Ward 1, has sponsored several measures to help those constituents.
“I proposed and passed a $10,000 exemption on business personal property taxes and a full property tax exemption for farm animals and machinery for our farmers here on the North Side,” Keefe said.
Keefe said he has also worked to improve the quality of life and public safety for residents in Ward 1 and across the city.
“I worked with the Westfield School Department to secure the development of new ball fields next to our high school,” he said. “I’ve established stop signs on North Road at the intersection of Root Road and secured funding for a new traffic light at the corner of Sunset and Southampton Road.”
“In between, I’ve addressed dozens of calls for potholes, street signs, and other infrastructure issues,” Keefe said. “My record shows that even as I work to address the larger challenges facing the city as a whole, I have kept my focus on my constituents and neighbors here in Ward One.”
“From the moment I was sworn in eight years ago, I have served in positions of responsibility and influence (on the City Council),” Keefe said. “I was assigned to the Finance committee in my first year on the Council. Since then, I have served as Chairman of the Council’s most challenging committees, and have been elected by my colleagues to be their President twice.”
“I have been able to use my knowledge, experience, and influence for the benefit of my constituents in Ward One, and for the greater good of the city as a whole,” he said. “I’m asking my friends and neighbors on the North Side for their continued support to ensure the best possible representation of their needs on the Westfield City Council.”
Keefe currently serves as the Western Massachusetts Regional Project Manager for Patriot Properties, Incorporated, which provides municipal software and revaluation services to almost a hundred different communities in Massachusetts.
Prior to joining Patriot, Keefe served as the Principal Appraiser and Chairman of the Board of Assessors for the Town of West Springfield and as a Community Adviser for the Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services, where he assisted local cities and towns with financial issues related revenue and taxation.
