Robust Interest Shown For Town Council And School Committee Seats

Nomination papers for elected offices in Amherst became available on July 3, and so far there has been brisk interest, especially for town council. All 13 council seats, six seats of the Jones Library Board of Trustees, five on the School Committee, three members of the Housing Authority, and one Oliver Smith Will Elector will be on the ballot for the November 7 town-wide election. Candidates for town council in the five districts (two per district) must gather 25 signatures from voters in their district by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 19. All other candidates must obtain 50 signatures by that date.  Nomination papers may be obtained at the Town Clerk’s office at Town Hall, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The new districts drawn after the 2020 census will be in effect for this election for the first time in a town-wide vote. Voters can find their district by entering their address at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/WhereDoIVoteMA/WhereDoIVote . Polling places will remain the same as they were for the 2022 state and federal election and mail-in balloting will again be available.

Town Council Candidates
Thus far, Town Council and School Committee seats have generated the most interest. The following residents have taken out papers for the three at large councilor seats:

Mandi Jo Hanneke (incumbent)

Andy Steinberg (incumbent)

Jamie Daniels

Matt Holloway

Liana C. Sweeney

Jamie Daniels is a clinical social worker who recently received her doctorate in Social Work from Smith. Holloway currently serves as a nonvoting member of the Finance Committee and co-chair of the Cultural Council. He is Director of Student Services in Templeton, MA.  Liana Sweeney is a Brennan Healing Science practitioner.  Hanneke and Steinberg have served since the creation of the council in December 2018. Ellisha Walker is the other current at-large councilor and has not yet declared her intentions for the November election.

In District 1, incumbent Cathy Schoen has taken out nomination papers. Michele Miller is the other incumbent councilor and has declared her intentions to take out papers.

In District 2, both incumbents, Council President Lynn Griessemer and Pat DeAngelis have pulled papers, along with Amber Cano Martin,  social worker Allegra Clark, and Sweeney.  Clark is the current chair of the town’s Community Safety and Social Justice Committee and also a member of the Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust.

Due to the redistricting, there are no incumbents running in District 3, but former councilor George Ryan and former School Committee member and current African Heritage Reparations Assembly member Heather Hala Lord have taken out papers. District 3 councilor Dorothy Pam is not seeking reelection.

District 4 has three incumbents. Anika Lopes and Jennifer Taub (currently representing District 3) have taken out papers, and Pam Rooney has expressed her intention to seek reelection. In addition, Holloway is gathering signatures for District 4, as well as for at large councilor.

In District 5, Ana Devlin Gauthier is planning to run again, and newcomer Thomas Avery Porter has taken out papers. Incumbent Shalini Bahl-Milne has not announced whether or not she will run.

School Committee And Jones Library Trustees
School Committee member Irv Rhodes is the only incumbent who has pulled papers at this time, as have newcomers  Sarah Marshall, Patrick Drumm, Laura Hunter and Martha Toro. Other current School Committee members are Ben Herrington, Jennifer Shiao, Allison McDonald, and Peter Demling.

Only Library Trustee President Austin Sarat has taken out papers so far. During the 2021 election, all of the trustee candidates ran unopposed.

No one has pulled nomination papers for Amherst Housing Authority or Oliver Smith Will Elector.