State Sen. Adam Gomez delivers a victory speech after being re-elected to serve a third term.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
SPRINGFIELD — Voters in Springfield and Chicopee decided to stay the course, reelecting Adam Gomez to serve another two-year term, representing most of Springfield and about one-third of Chicopee in the state Senate.
Both Gomez and his opponent, Springfield City Councilor Malo Brown, hosted watch parties in Springfield on the evening of the Sept. 3 primary. At Brown’s party at Noir Bar, the candidate was optimistic. When the polls officially closed at 8 p.m., he let out an audible, “Let’s go,” and his positivity continued throughout the night while the results were still waiting to be announced.
At Gomez’s watch party at Las Kangris Restaurant & Bar, the atmosphere was one of confident excitement before the polls even closed. A DJ played music while supporters talked and laughed.
Tammy Hall and Kindalay Cummings-Akers, both of whom are members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, were among the people at Gomez’s watch party.
“He’s been supporting us for 10 years,” said Hall. “Anytime we have problems, Adam is always there.”
She said Gomez has worked on housing issues that affect the union’s members and fought for benefits that would have been cut by Gov. Maura Healey’s administration. She also said that Gomez has helped victims of identity theft such as herself.
Cummings said Brown, who is the chief of staff for state Rep. Bud Williams (D-Springfield), had not earned her vote. “His supporters, are they supporting him, or are they supporting Bud? You have to start doing something for yourself. He’s running on Bud’s agenda,” she said. She added that the union supported Willams but emphasized that Brown had not taken steps on his own to help the members.
“The senator has worked extremely hard. I think his victory is representative of the work he’s done,” said Juan Latore III. The race was “very competitive. We have people that care about [Springfield]. I respect anyone who puts their hat in the ring, but I think Adam has shown that he supports Springfield.”
Several state and local legislators, including state Reps. Orlando Ramos (D-Springfield), Carlos Gonzalez (D-Springfield) and Patricia Duffy (D-Holyoke) and fellow state Sen. Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow), came out to support Gomez. Gonzalez insisted that, while no one ran to unseat him, he still had someone opposing him. “When you go after one of our colleagues, you go after all of this community,” Gonzalez said. He explained that Williams is the chair of the Legislature’s Black and Latino caucus and said it was “disrespectful” for Brown, as his protégé, to try to unseat one of its members. “We work together, we’re a community,” he said before adding that he supported Williams in his reelection bid. “I think Adam’s run a race with the community supporting him,” Gonzalez said, commenting that it reflected the support Gomez has had for them.
A few members of the Springfield City Council, including Councilors Jose Delgado and Tracye Whitfield, also attended Gomez’s watch party. When asked why she chose to support Gomez over her fellow councilor, Whitfield said, “Adam was also my colleague,” referencing Gomez’s time on the City Council before he ran for state Senate in 2020. “I love the work that [Gomez] does statewide. He doesn’t talk in false narratives like my colleague on the council. I think [Brown] needs to work on his ethics. I don’t think he was the right fit for this community. I think it would have been a step back for us.” She finished by describing Gomez as “a good person.”
Gomez entered the room 40 minutes after the polls closed and gave his acceptance speech. He thanked his wife and family, colleagues who supported him, government officials at the local, state and federal levels, poll workers, labor supporters and members of the community. He also cited his faith, thanking Jesus.
Responding to a question for the crowd about whether the election had been called, he shouted, “It’s over!” The crowd then chanted, “Gomez! Gomez! Gomez!”
Gomez won with 1,454 votes in Chicopee, 77.88% of the votes cast. His opponent, Brown, received 408 votes in the city, or 21.85%. In Springfield, where Brown is more well-known, he fared slightly better, garnering 2,692 votes (30.95%), but it was not enough to unseat Gomez, who had 5,773 ballots cast in his favor, 68.68% of votes.
“We’ve been able to do enormous things since I was elected in 2020,” said Gomez, adding, “It’s not time to fall asleep. It’s time to get in the ground and support the next president, Kamala Harris.”
Later, speaking with reporters, Gomez said, “I think the voters spoke and spoke very loudly.” Looking ahead, Gomez said the Legislature must “deliver” on the housing bond bill that was passed in June and pass an economic development bond bill. He added, “We need to make sure we’re getting down to the root causes of gun violence, but also the solutions.”
Referencing the contentious nature of the two campaigns, Gomez said the rhetoric from Brown’s campaign was “disheartening,” but that he had previously spoken with Brown about working together after the election. Gomez added that he believed a “rainbow coalition” could be built in Western Massachusetts. He urged voters to contact him with their needs.
Even after the race was over and Gomez was announced the winner, Brown was still in good spirits and is already looking forward to a rematch. He talked about the results and said, “I was excited, I’m still excited. A lot of times it’s learning how to win. I think my team, we did a good job as far as being a grassroot organization. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough money. Big bank take little bank, but I believe. I believe. I’ll get back on the trail starting tomorrow and start with lobbying, fundraising and things like that so it’s not a problem the next rematch.”
Going through the campaign process, Brown said he learned a few things including learning from his debates with Gomez.
He said, “As far as debating, I don’t think anyone will rush to debate me. I’m sure you see that from the Focus Springfield, but it’s what I do. It’s always fun for me. It’s like, if you’re sitting there and you’re training as a prize fighter, you have to actually have the fights. I’ve been able to polish everyone else off, so I needed a little bigger bite. To me, I believe that I can get it, I just have to have enough time.”
Now that the race is over, Brown said the work never stops and he talked about where the focus shifts to now. He said, “I always deal with constituent services, that’s one of my full-time jobs. A lot of times, the City Council position is a part-time position. Me, being a chief of staff to state Rep. Bud Williams, my job is constituent service all the time. That’s what I do for a living, so I’ll still be here in the community. If you go and look at [Williams’] webpage, you see his local office number, that’s my personal cellphone.”
Brown had another message for his supporters and those that voted for him. He said, “It was a great run, I definitely loved their support. Continue to pray, and I’ll be back like Arnold Schwarzenegger.”
In Chicopee, 5,209 of the city’s 42,978 registered voters cast a ballot, representing 12.12% of the electorate. This is slightly low for Chicopee, which had a turnout of 19% in 2022. Springfield’s turnout was slightly lower than its neighbor, at 10.26%. A total of 12,271 people voted in the city, which has 118,586 registered voters. Springfield’s turnout in primaries ranges widely. Last year, it was 13.55%, while in 2022 it was just 7.62%.
