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City Councilors in Springfield, Massachusetts next week will attempt to fill a vacancy among their ranks.
The council’s General Government Committee voted to recommend a process for appointing a new city councilor for Ward 1 – a seat left vacant in January when Adam Gomez resigned after becoming a State Senator.
It falls to the 12 councilors to pick someone to serve the rest of Gomez’s unexpired term because there was no second-place finisher in the last election in 2019 to automatically take over the seat. It is the first time this circumstance has occurred since Springfield added ward representatives to the City Council 12 years ago.
‘Heavy burden’: Springfield City Council mulls best process to fill Ward 1 seat vacated by Sen. Adam Gomez
Updated Feb 28, 2021;
SPRINGFIELD City councilors will meet Tuesday to consider the best process to pick a replacement for former Ward 1 Councilor Adam Gomez Sr., who resigned mid-term after becoming a state senator.
The council’s General Government committee will meet online at 5 p.m. to discuss the vacancy and the process to review candidates, Chairman Melvin Edwards said.
Five residents of Ward 1 recently submitted applications to replace Gomez. By city charter, the remaining 12 councilors will choose Gomez’s replacement for the balance of 2021.
Gumersindo Gomez, School Committee member Maria Perez among 5 candidates for vacant Ward 1 Springfield Council seat
Updated Feb 24, 2021;
SPRINGFIELD Five candidates have applied to serve out the unexpired City Council term of Adam Gomez Sr., including Gomez’ father, veterans advocate Gumersindo Gomez Sr., and School Committee member Maria Perez.
Also applying for the Ward 1 seat are: Blake Gordon, a former manager of the Tap Sports Bar at MGM Springfield; Democratic campaign volunteer Valerie Gonzalez and Hussein Abdi, a University of Massachusetts Amherst junior majoring in political science and founder of 413Vote.
Gumersindo Gomez said in his letter of application that he will not run for the seat in the fall, seeking to step down after serving out the remainder of the term ending Jan. 1. He was the only candidate who made that promise, according to letters made public by the clerk of the board.
MGM Springfield Casino Re-Opens for 24/7 Operation Today
As numbers continue to decline in Massachusetts, the state s second-largest casino re-opened its doors today. MGM Springfield is officially back open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The move comes after Governor Charlie Baker relaxed some of his COVID-19 restrictions and lifted the statewide curfew which had been in place since November of last year. He also eased other restrictions that previously hindered the casino s hours and services. Baker said the changes were made because COVID-19 hospitalizations and the state s average positive test rate were trending in a better direction after spiking after the holiday season.