Springfield City Councilor and candidate for Governor’s Council Michael Fenton addresses supporters at City Line Cafe after conceding to incumbent Tara Jacobs on election night.
Reminder Publishing photo by Chris Maza
SPRINGFIELD — Calling the results an illustration of “geographic politics,” Springfield City Councilor and local attorney Michael Fenton failed in his second attempt for the Eighth District seat on the Governor’s Council.
Fenton conceded to incumbent Tara Jacobs, a resident of North Adams, who secured roughly 62% of the vote in the Sept. 1 state primary. With no Republican challenger on the ballot for the November general election, Jacobs earned her third term on the body that confirms the governor’s judicial nominees and approves nominations for positions such as the parole board.
Fenton arrived with his husband at City Line Café in Springfield’s Hungry Hill neighborhood and told a group of supporters that included family members, former Springfield Mayor Mary Hurley, former Springfield City Councilor Tim Allen and Spirit of Springfield President Judy Matt that while he won Hampden County, he was not able to make enough inroads in the district’s other three counties to win.
“I’m really proud of the campaign. I think we did everything we could,” he told Reminder Publishing. “We spent a lot of time all across the district and spent a lot of time meeting voters in Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin. County and obviously Hampden, which is home base. But in the end, I think there’s, you know, certainly some geographic forces at play. You know, you can you could see the numbers happening in Berkshire and Hampshire and Franklin. And I think that it’s clear that the voters have of those places have shown that they’ve got a they’ve got a preference for somebody from Berkshire County than they do from Springfield, which is which is often represented in geographic politics.”
Fenton, who ran on his record as a public servant on the Springfield City Council and his experience as an attorney, secured several Berkshire County endorsements during his campaign, including District Attorney Timothy Shugrue, Sheriff Thomas Bowler and Clerk of Courts Lisa Denault-Viale, but those did little to move the needle on Election Day.
Fenton won Springfield with 64% of the vote, but the city’s turnout failed to top 12%. Fenton also carried Chicopee with 58% and West Springfield with more than 55% and eked out Westfield. However, he narrowly lost Holyoke and saw significant setbacks in Jacobs’ home Berkshire County as well as Hampshire and Franklin Counties.
Jacobs dominated in key non-Hampden County communities including North Adams, Pittsfield, Amherst, Northampton, Greenfield, South Hadley and Easthampton.
“I’m honored to have received the support that we had, especially in Hampden County and throughout the district, but I congratulate Councilor Jacobs on her victory and look forward to working with her to improve the judiciary for all of Western Mass,” Fenton said.
In a social media post, Jacobs said, “This has truly been a campaign powered by the people who came together and made this win possible! Thank you to each and every one of you who wrote emails, letters to the editor, social media posts, who told your friends and families about what the Governor’s Council is, why it matters and why you support me continuing to serve Western Mass in this role. I am so grateful for your love, your support and your encouragement.”
In addressing supporters, Fenton repeated the phrase, “The work is not done,” but declined to confirm whether he would make a third attempt at the position. Fenton also narrowly lost to Jacobs in a four-way race that included attorneys Shawn Allyn and Jeffery Morneau during the 2022 Democratic primary.
“I’m definitely not in a position to say that tonight,” he said. “But what I am fully committed to is public service, and I’ve been committed to that since I was 22 years old in elected office, and that has not changed tonight. I’m still committed to my community and will continue to do everything I can to improve it.”
Fenton has one year left on his term on the City Council.
