WESTFIELD – City residents will go the polls tomorrow to elect municipal officials and to select a new state senator. A high turnout is expected because of voter interest in both the mayoral election and the senate race.
The mayoral race has two-term incumbent Daniel M. Knapik being challenged by Michael L Roeder, a retired US Army lieutenant colonel and corrections official. The senate race pits Rep. Don Humason, R-Westfield, against Democratic Holyoke City Councilor David Bartley.
The senate race will be decided by voters in 11 cities and towns. The cities, which include Easthampton, Holyoke, four precincts in Chicopee, Agawam, and Westfield will offer voters two color-coded ballots, a state ballot with the senate race, and a municipal ballot. Voters will have to register separately for each ballot, but the balloting machines have been programmed to accept both ballots.
Voters in the six towns, which include Southwick, Tolland, Montgomery, Russell, Southampton and Granville, will have only the senate ballot because they conduct town elections in the spring.
Knapik said this morning that he will be conducting city business, beginning with the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce coffee hour, then spend the rest of his day in meetings.
However, Knapik said, he will not be attending the School Committee meeting because he is being recognized this evening for his service to veterans by the Vietnam Veterans of America Liberty Post 219 at the Hampton Ponds Association building on North Road.
Knapik said that his campaign committee will continue to reach out to city voters, seeking their support in the contested race.
“We’ve sent out a lot of post cards and today there will be robocalls to 6,800 households, people with a history of voting in municipal elections,” Knapik said. “Campaign workers are also making telephone calls to coordinate volunteers to work the polls. They’ll be working to send email. We still have to do it the old way, but that’s the way it’s changing with so many people connected to social media today.”
Humason, reached early this morning, said his first priority this morning is to get his two-year-old son to day care, then he plans to go to communities across the district.
“I plan to go to my Westfield office, and then do standouts across the district,” Humason said. “Every part of the district is important, but I will focus on the larger communities.”
“A lot of people don’t know there is a senate election because it is a special election coming at a strange time,” he said. “They expect to go to the polls for their municipal elections.”
Humason said that he anticipates that Easthampton and Agawam voters will pay a key role in the outcome of the election.
“Neither one of those communities has a hometown favorite in the race, so I’ll be interested to see which way they go,” Humason said. “Agawam is a lot like Westfield in that’s it’s pretty conservative.”
Bartley said that he plans to spend time today in Westfield, Agawam, Southwick and the hilltowns trying to reach out to voters.
“We’re doing what we can to get the vote out,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of work in Easthampton and have campaign workers continuing that work today.”
“I feel pretty good about Easthampton, about the campaign,” Bartley said this morning. “I feel more confident each day.”
Roeder could not be reached this morning to comment for this story.
