Robert Laferriere is one of three candidates currently running for mayor of Easthampton this fall.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
EASTHAMPTON — The third candidate in the upcoming race for Easthampton mayor is resident Robert Laferriere.
Laferriere connected with Reminder Publishing to talk about his campaign.
He will be facing off against City Councilor JT Tirrell and Mayoral Executive Assistant Lindsi Sekula. Former Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle resigned in July to take a new role as the state Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioner.
Current City Council President Salem Derby has since become interim mayor but has told Reminder Publishing he is not interested in running for the position this fall.
Laferriere has been a resident of Easthampton for just over 30 years now and said his bid for mayor is coming from a place of love for his community and looking to make change.
“There’s something about this city that when you move here, you realize that it’s definitely different than other places. It’s very welcoming. It’s got that small town appeal, but it still has the big town feel, so to speak. You have banks, grocery stores, restaurants and stuff that are within walking distance. You don’t get that often in other places,” said Laferriere.
Laferriere has spent the last 36 years working at an electrical supply company and added through his position running logistics, shipping and receiving, and other day-to-day operations, that he has built up leadership skills he believes will be beneficial if elected.
Laferriere said he doesn’t describe himself as a politician and the biggest thing that has motivated him to run is to take care of the seniors and veterans that have helped make the community what it is.
“I see our veterans and our seniors having to make decisions on whether they need to leave Easthampton after they’ve been here all their lives. They’ve raised their families here, they’ve worked here, given blood sweat and tears and now it’s gotten to the point where they either gotta pay their property tax or they need to leave,” said Laferriere. “What they were saving up for to retire on is not even enough to live on now, let alone retire.”
Laferriere added that with the rise in property taxes over the last handful of years, it has put seniors and veterans in a difficult position, which is why if elected, he looks to implement a three-tier system for the city’s taxing as opposed to its current single rate. The city currently uses a single tax rate that applies to all property classes, meaning residential and commercial rates are both at $13.67 per $1,000 of assessed value.
In comparison, Laferriere cited how many communities in the surrounding area opt for much higher commercial rates such as a $35 rate in Springfield, $32.62 in Chicopee and a $29.17 rate in Westfield per $1,000 of assessed value, while their residential rates are within the teens.
“Almost every other one of the cities has a much higher commercial tax than residential. Easthampton and Northampton choose to have a one-tier system, which is to say you have a house here, Starbucks has a business here. Starbucks is going to pay the same amount of property tax as you are even though Starbucks can make a million dollars a year. You don’t have that opportunity to make a million dollars a year at your house, and yet, they’re paying the same property tax as you are. Where’s the fairness in that?” said Laferriere.
He added that Northampton is a larger community and has more businesses that offset this same worry and is the main reason for their single rate, something he believes Easthampton is not in the same position to pull off even as the city continues its growth. If elected, he would propose bringing the city’s commercial rate to $25 per $1,000 of assessed value, which would still be lower than most surrounding communities.
“People try to say [Easthampton] it’s the next Northampton. No, it’s Easthampton. Northampton is Northampton and you’re never going to make Easthampton into Northampton because it’s totally different,” said Laferriere.
The third tier of Laferriere’s proposal would be to create a fixed rate for seniors and veterans.
“For me, veterans and seniors, they’re not making any more money. They can’t afford to be paying a property tax for a $400,000 house that’s not a $400,000 house. Just because the market says it is, doesn’t mean that it is,” Laferriere said. “I believe in a flat tax across the board for our seniors that does not exceed $3,000 throughout the entire fiscal year.”
With the three-tier rate, Laferriere argues the city would be able to generate more of a tax base thanks to the change in rate for commercial properties and use it for projects relating to infrastructure, and to give the city the opportunity to pivot and reapproach how they are currently working. He added, with city efforts recently so focused on creating affordable housing and fixing aging infrastructure, it makes sense to ask the commercial properties of the city to pay more in taxes so the city can maintain some of its goals without compromising certain residents.
“How does the infrastructure handle more people. It’s not made to handle the people now, yet we want to increase the amount of businesses coming here and the amount of people coming here. It took two and a half years for them to do anything on Union Street here. They eventually did it because MassDOT came in and paid for most of it. What about your other side streets that aren’t part of a highway?” said Laferriere. “You can’t rely on the possibility of getting money from the state. There’s definitive money you know you can bring in every year and that’s based upon your taxes that you collect. What the state government can give you is just icing on the cake, and it should be, but it’s not right now.”
Laferriere said he feels the city has a good amount of affordable housing projects currently in its pipeline and suggested the city should be focusing on how it can reuse former buildings, such as one of the former elementary schools potentially being used to establish a new senior center. He also suggested turning one of the existing buildings into a municipal parking lot as another option to create funding.
Ultimately, Laferriere said he felt most “affordable housing” options being pushed are just “inferior housing,” as many options are just one room apartments with a kitchenette, not a viable long term housing situation for everyone even with its affordability. He added real affordable housing is creating homes, something he added has become a challenge in the state over the last handful of years with new legislation and housing codes for greener practices.
Currently, there are already plans to develop the Maple, Center and Pepin school buildings into about 70 housing units, roughly 20% of which will be designated affordable.
Laferriere said he soon expects to have a campaign website where residents can visit to learn more about him and his campaign. In the meantime, he will continue spending portions of his weekends going door to door in the city to meet and connect with voters through face-to-face interactions. He added he will strive to be as transparent as possible with residents as that is what should be expected of the mayor.
“Transparency is everything,” said Laferriere. “You want someone that’s willing to build forward and do what they say they’re going to do. Every weekend, even though it’s hot as hell, I’m out there knocking on doors and I’m able to tell a person face-to-face what I’m all about.”
