WESTFIELD – City voters changed the face of the City Council Tuesday, sending six new councilors, three At-large and three ward councilors, to the city’s legislative body.
Three incumbents led the At-large race with James R. Adams (4,382), Brent B. Bean II (4,197) and Brian Sullivan (3,826). The new At-large councilors then took positions four through six as Cindy Harris (3,760) ranked fourth, Dan Allie (3,668) was fifth and Matt VanHeynigen (3,581) was sixth.
Incumbent David A. Flaherty (3,338) won another term, but by a margin of only 81 votes over Steve Dondley (3,257), who finished eighth, John J. Beltrandi (3,100) was ninth, Kevin Medeiros (3,066) was tenth. Incumbent Agma Sweeney (2,990) finished in 11th place and Matthew Collins (2,976) was in 12th place.
The ward representation also changed and could change further because of the minuscule margin of separation in the votes of the Ward 1 council race. Incumbent Christopher Keefe took a strong showing in the Ward 1-B precinct, his home district, while his challenger, Mary Ann Babinski, took the Ward 1-A precinct, her home district. Keefe leads Babinski by only 11 votes, a .0065 percent difference.
Other new ward councilors include Ralph Figy in Ward 2 who defeated Carl Vincent, Brian Hoose who ran unopposed in Ward 3 and Robert Paul Sr., who defeated incumbent Richard E. Onofrey Jr., in Ward 5. Mary O’Connell warded off the challenge of Michael Burns to retain the Ward 4 council seat, while Christopher Crean, who was not challenged, will continue to represent Ward 6.
Bean said Wednesday morning that “It was a strange night. There was a lower turnout than I expected given the number of races in just about every ward.”
“I think that the people spoke, wanted change,” Bean said. “They still like the leadership, but want more conservative policies. I have to thank my supporters for coming out and giving me their votes again.”
Council President Sullivan said Wednesday morning he expects the next two years will be “exciting and different. Some things stay the same and some things change.”
“The top of the ticket didn’t change much, but then the next four spots changed considerably,” Sullivan said. “My first 10 years on the council, there was very little change, but now it seems that there’s change every two years. After all of these years, I have to appreciate that the same people are supporting me.”
“I’m going to keep my head down and do my job,” said O’Connell. “I’m mandated to serve my constituents, and that’s my intention.”
“I’m happy to make it, but sad to see Agma, Onofrey and Beltrandi go,” he said. “It’s going to be a different city council.”
Flaherty said the council will “struggle” without the presence of Onofrey, whose financial expertise made him a “key player” and is a “tough loss”.
He said that the addition of Robert Paul to the council may be a positive one.
“People who’ve worked with him on the G&E say he’s a sharp finance guy,” he said.
Flaherty also thanked his son Ethan, his twelve year old “campaign manager”, whose energy waving signs around town won him about 100 or so votes, according to Flaherty himself.
At-large Councilor elect Matt VanHeynigen said that “it was gratifying to know that my platform of support for our schools, continued economic development and downtown revitalization for our City, and tax stabilization for our residents had really resonated with voters across the City.
“I do not take this responsibility lightly, and look forward to continued engagement with residents across the City and working with my new fellow Councilors as I step into the Councilor role in January,” the long-time Planning Board member said. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to soon get to work for the people of Westfield.”
Ward 6 Incumbent Christopher Crean said that his priorities over the next two years are to continue to improve roads and foster economic growth.
Crean, who served as an At-large councilor for three terms, is now entering his fourth term as a ward councilor.
“My priorities for the upcoming term is to continue aggressive action to fix Paper Mill Road and East Mountain Road, economic development at the airport and to continue the noise mitigation for residents abutting the airport.
“I will also continue to support the development and revitalization of the downtown area,” Crean, who was raised on Meadow Street, said.
Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe said Tuesday “was a strong night for newcomers and challengers, and it was exciting to see so many people at the polls who aren’t regulars in municipal elections.”
Still, the loss of Sweeney, Beltrandi, and especially Finance Chairman Onofrey are going to be felt exceedingly in the chamber once we get back to business again,” Keefe said. “and the newcomers will have to prove they are worthy of these seats. All three councilors leave behind a legacy of integrity, hard work, and dedication to the citizens of Westfield.”
At-large councilor elect Dan Allie said that “The city council needs to work together to move Westfield forward at a pace that allows our city to retire some debt and give taxpayers, business and homeowners a breather.”
“People are concerned about how much longer they can afford property tax increases,” he said. “Government at all levels is out of control and needs to listen to the people.”
“Our state budget has grown by six billion dollars since 2008, and in that same period of time state aid to local cities and towns has been cut,” said Allie. “Something is not right. The Federal government is just printing money.”
“I am sad to see Rick Onofrey did not make it” said Allie. “The council will miss his financial expertise.”
