City Councilor Jose Delgado and Maxine Brown stand out on Parker Street in Springfield in front of the polling location at the Clodo Concepcion Community Center in Ward 5. Delgado, an at large councilor, was the top vote-getter in his reelection bid.
Reminder Publishing photos by Chris Maza
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield’s election on Nov. 4 marked the highest voter turnout in years for an election without statewide races or a mayoral race and was marked by many closely contested races for School Committee and City Council seats.
Overall, 12,623 people cast their ballot on election, just over 10% of the city’s registered voters. This was the highest turnout for voters in a year that did not include state or mayoral races since 2013, which saw 11,643 voters cast their ballots.
All but three City Council seats saw contested races, with several races coming as close as an 18-vote difference in the ward races.
In the race for at large City Council, which was for five seats, Councilor Jose Delgado was the top vote getter with 6,661 votes, followed by former councilor and mayoral candidate Justin Hurst at 5,447 votes, Councilor Tracye Whitfield with 5,255 votes, Councilor Kateri Walsh with 5,140 votes and Councilor Brian Santaniello with 5,011 votes.
Joyce Belliveau, Jack Hunter and Oliver Levine stand out by Forest Park Middle School, a Ward 6 polling location, in support of at large council candidate Juan Latorre and Ward 6 challenger Mary Johnson. 
Victor Davila supporters hold signs in Ward 6. 
A Vote Springfield blows in the wind on a blustery Election Day. 
Kevin Fay, Mary Kate Bertke and Jim Dowd show support for their candidates in front of Talmadge Elementary School on Allen Street, a Ward 7 polling location
After running an unsuccessful bid for Mayor Domenic Sarno’s seat in 2023, Hurst will return to his City Council seat.
Candidates that did not make the top five seats include Councilor Sean Curran, who received 4,923 votes; candidate Juan Latorre, who received 4,576 votes; and candidate Nicole Coakely, who received 4,292 votes.
In the Ward 1 City Council race, incumbent Maria Perez beat challenger Joesiah Gonzalez 550-518. In Ward 4 incumbent Councilor Malo Brown defeated challenger Wille J. Naylor 707-677. In Ward 5 incumbent Lavar Click-Bruce defeated Edward Nunez 1,072-1,023. In Ward 6 incumbent Victor Davila defeated challenger Mary Johnson 848-830. In Ward 7, challenger Gerry Martin defeated incumbent Timothy Allen 2,043-1,047.
In Wards 2, 3 and 8 City Council President Michael Fenton, Councilor Melvin Edwards and Councilor Zaida Govan were unopposed and will retain their seats.
Looking at the race for School Committee, all but one of the races were contested, with Gumersindo Gomez taking the seat vacated by Gonzalez in his pursuit of the Ward 1 City Council seat.
In the at large School Committee race, incumbents Denise Hurst and Latonia Monroe Naylor received 7,380 votes and 6,206 votes, respectively, to outlast Michele Pepe’s 3,781 votes.
In the race for District 2, incumbent Barbara Gresham defeated challenger Giselle Gaines 2,168-1,073. In the race for District 3, challenger Rosa Valentin ousted incumbent Christopher Collins with a 2,398-2,165 vote. In the District 4 race, challenger Ayanna Crawford defeated incumbent Peter Murphy 1,213-901.
Successful candidates on the City Council will take office in January for two-year terms while the winners on the School Committee will also take office in January on four-year terms.
Sarno was not on the ballot as his term ends in 2027.
