At-large City Councilor David Flaherty
WESTFIELD – At-large City Councilor Dave Flaherty is seeking his fifth term in office, having served eight years on the City Council. He is a member of the Finance sub-committee, and chairs the Long Range Financial Overview sub-committee. He is also the City Council liaison to the Historical Commission.
Flaherty said that over the past eight years there has been more openness and transparency in office. He said the two branches of government, the City Council and the Mayor’s office are more equal than they used to be, and there is not as much “rubber-stamping.” He said budget matters are also much more closely reviewed.
“People think we work for the Mayor, but we’re an equal branch of government,” Flaherty said.
Flaherty has lived in Westfield for 20 years. Originally from Brockton, he moved between 10th and 11th grade to Simsbury, CT and graduated Simsbury High School. He said his mother was a teacher, and his father an accountant. He earned his bachelor’s in engineering computer science from Northeastern University, a master’s in business administration from Western New England College, and pursued a master’s in computer science from RPI Hartford Graduate Center. Flaherty is married and has two children who went to St. Mary’s and Westfield Public Schools.
In his professional life, Flaherty develops software and websites, and has been self-employed for 21 years. His company, DFA Group is active in the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce, where he serves on the Business Community Affairs Committee that interfaces between local businesses and government. He is also a member of the Family Business Center of Pioneer Valley.
Flaherty has been active in the Boy Scouts of America for 11 years, and is also an instructor for Junior Achievement. Prior to the BSA, he served on the board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
In terms of city priorities, Flaherty listed long-term finances, road conditions, schools, and other infrastructure including sewer, water, water condition, and buildings
“The biggest complaint besides taxes is roads,” he said, adding, “If we can’t afford to pay for it because budgets aren’t right, we can’t do any of these things.”
Flaherty is also a proponent for a balanced budget. “We hope to figure out how to balance the budget based on income. We can’t keep spending more than we’re taking in; can’t keep kicking the can down the road,” he said.
Another priority for the city, according to Flaherty is Westfield’s Other Post Employee Benefits (OPEB) liability. “We must find a way to honor commitments to the city’s employees in pension and health care. We’re way behind on both of them,” he said.
Flaherty believes in openness and transparency in city government, and the need for people to be informed. He would like to see full exposure, with all of the meetings broadcast and documents posted online. “People should get information ahead of the meetings,” he said.
“The most important thing by far is to show up and vote,” Flaherty said, adding that a small turnout would not be an adequate representation of the residents. “There are 26,000 registered voters; it’d be nice to have half,” he said. He said during the last city election with an uncontested mayoral race, there was only 20% voter turnout.
