WESTFIELD–At-large City Councilor Dan Knapik may be changing careers once again, after he was appointed town administrator to Yarmouth over the weekend.
Knapik, one of two finalists, was appointed to the position on Saturday by the Yarmouth board of selectmen. Knapik said that he still has a negotiations process with the town before the decision is final but he has accepted the position. Negotiations in Yarmouth are expected to take place during the selectmen’s next scheduled meeting in early December.
With Knapik’s new position being 160 miles from Westfield, eyes are now on whether Knapik will resign his council seat.
Knapik, who did not run for re-election as Mayor but as an At Large City Councilor in the 2015 city-wide elections, resigned as Westfield’s Mayor in November 2015 about a week after Brian Sullivan was elected Mayor. Sullivan, who was City Council President at the time, served as interim mayor until his official swearing in.
According to city clerk Karen Fanion, if or when Knapik does step down from his position as city councilor, she must notify city council of Knapik’s departure within 15 days. Then, city council must appoint the “defeated candidate who received the highest number of votes” behind Knapik from the most recent municipal election that involved the position. In this case, that would be John J. Beltrandi, III.
JOHN J. BELTRANDI III
When reached for comment, Beltrandi declined stating only that it is too early to know what will happen.
Westfield seats seven At Large councilors and in the 2015 municipal elections Beltrandi came in eighth by only 3 votes. After a recount the order was not altered. If Knapik were to resign, the seat would be Beltrandi’s should he want it. If not, then Muneeb Moon Mahmood, who was the ninth highest votegetter, would be next in line.
Replacing resigning elected officials is not new in Westfield as there have been a few others in recent history: August 2012 Ward 2 councilor Jim Brown resigned and in May 2007 then Mayor Rick Sullivan stepped down to work in the Gov. Patrick administration.
When Brown resigned his seat as Ward 2 councilor the next highest votegetter was a write in, Brian Winters, who had only one vote. When Sullivan resigned, City Council President Charlie Medeiros served as interim until that November’s elections when Mike Boulanger was elected Mayor.
Daniel M. Knapik
About his new position Knapik said, “I have accepted it contingent upon successful contract negotiations. For a lot of personal goals that we have as a family I accepted. We had a desire to move out to the Cape for a number of years and opportunities for these positions don’t open up often.”
Mayor Brian Sullivan said in a message that he was happy for Knapik on his potentially new position and he appreciates what he has done for the city.
Knapik noted that he does not see himself immediately leaving his elected spot as at-large councilor.
“Right now, because it’s going to be quite a while to re-resident, there’s going to be no change in status,” he said. “I’m going to commute for a while and as an opportunity presents itself the family will make the decision on the final end point.”
Knapik said that he plans on being an active part of city council and will appear at meetings until a final decision is made. When asked about serving out the entirety of his term though, Knapik seemed non-committal.
