Salem Derby celebrates the election results with his supporters, including his family. He is now the new mayor of Easthampton.
Reminder Publishing file photos
With 2025 now behind us, Reminder Publishing looks back at some of the biggest stories in Hampshire County over the past 12 months. From signifcant elections to budgetary items and beyond, 2025 was a consequential year for the area.
Voters choose Derby as Easthampton’s next mayor
After almost four months serving as the interim mayor, Salem Derby, a 22-year City Council veteran, won the November election to officially become mayor of Easthampton.
Under the newly minted ranked choice voting system, where voters were invited to rank the three candidates on the ballot by preference, Derby won round one by securing 40% of the vote, according to unofficial results. Meanwhile, Lindsi Sekula garnered 34% of the vote and Jason Tirrell finished with 26% of the vote.
Because Tirrell finished third in that round, he was officially eliminated, setting up a showdown between Sekula and Derby in round two of the ranked choice voting process.
Derby officially became interim mayor of Easthampton in July following the resignation of Mayor Nicole LaChapelle. At the time, he told Reminder Publishing that he was not interested in running for mayor this fall, but that all changed when he realized his skillset and experience were pertinent to the position.
Sciarra reelected as Northampton mayor in tight contest
Reminder Publishing file photos
In an election night that featured a roller coaster of emotions, Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra was re-elected over challenger Jillian Duclos by less than 100 votes.
According to the city’s official results, Sciarra edged Duclos in a 4,640 to 4,561 tally.
Following the results, Sciarra told Reminder Publishing that she hopes to continue to find collaboration with the public for the city’s work ahead, adding that this campaign season was unlike anything she has ever experienced in the city.
The two candidates on the final ballot were at odds over the city’s two most pressing issues over the last year-plus: funding for schools and the “Picture Main Street” project, a development plan for downtown that has raised concerns from the public about potential impacts to businesses and the city’s downtown ecosystem.
Sciarra said she plans to continue to try and bridge the gap between her and the emerging subset of voters looking for a different direction than her administration.
Sciarra was the favorite coming out of the Sept. 16 preliminary election, where she received 2,991 votes, just over 50% of the vote between the four candidates in that race. Duclos finished second in the primary, receiving 1,510 votes.
State announces funding for rental housing developments
With the state recently announcing $182 million in low-incoming housing tax credits and subsidies to 21 rental housing developments to create or preserve 1,245 homes across Massachusetts, both Easthampton and Hadley are the Hampshire County communities included in the awards.
On July 31, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced $182 million in low-income housing tax credits and subsidies to 21 rental housing developments that will create or preserve 1,245 homes across the state.
The project benefiting from this award in Easthampton will be the new construction project on Ferry Street. The nonprofit sponsor for the project is Home City Development, Inc. The project will be constructed on a site including former mill buildings.
When complete, Ferry Street will offer 96 total units. 91 units will be reserved for households earning less than 60% of AMI, with 27 units further reserved for households earning less than 30% of AMI, and in some cases, transitioning from homelessness.
Funding to Hadley will be used for the EconoLodge Redevelopment project which is the adaptive reuse of a closed hotel as permanent supportive housing. The nonprofit sponsor for the project is Valley Community Development Corporation. The completed project will include 50 units for individuals or small households earning less than 60% of AMI, with 31 units further reserved for individuals or small households earning less than 30% of AMI. The completed project will primarily serve homeless individuals.
LookStock returns to city under new name
LookStock, a music festival that kicked off 35 years ago, made a grand return under the name Transformance 35: Immigrant Song.
The concert to benefit Northampton Public Schools took place Aug. 19 at Pines Theater inside Look Park. Presented by the Northampton Arts Council, the show featured a uniquely curated music odyssey once again.
Formerly known as Transperformance, this event invited talented local musicians to step into the shoes of legendary international artists. This year’s theme, Immigrant Song, paid tribute to the journeys of people across the globe — past, present and future — with performances inspired by global superstars and non-American bands such as Bjork, Bob Marley and The Wailers, Kraftwerk, Sinead O’Connor, Fela Kuti, Daft Punk and many more.
Northampton Arts Event Producer Steve Sanderson said the event was born in response to the massive budget cuts to the arts in Massachusetts that took place 35 years ago.
The concert also served as a vital fundraiser that supports art enrichment in Northampton Public Schools and local parent teacher organizations.
Northampton selected to be part of statewide EV charging station
Northampton was one of 36 municipalities to be selected by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center in an effort to expand access to EV charging infrastructure across the state.
Through MassCEC’s new On-Street Charging Program, Northampton will receive technical support and a feasibility study to identify locations and strategies for installing curbside, pole-mounted or streetlight EV chargers.
Specifically, the city will be using this to plan on-street EV charging, particularly focused on making EVs a viable choice for residents who do not have garages or driveways.
The program is part of a broader statewide push to make EV charging more accessible to renters, small businesses and environmental justice communities. By helping cities like Northampton plan and prepare for EV infrastructure, MassCEC is supporting local climate goals while reducing barriers to EV adoption.
Northampton fails to pass budget in back-to-back years
In June, the Northampton City Council failed to pass the proposed fiscal year 2026 vote after a 5-3 vote in favor of its passing did not meet the required two-thirds threshold to pass.
Under the city’s charter, the city budget must be passed by a two-thirds majority of the council or six votes. Council President Alex Jarrett spoke in favor of the mayor’s proposed budget but due to his daytime role in running the Pedal People co-operative collection service he had to recuse himself from the final vote. That ended up being the difference in its pass-fail status.
The Pedal People co-operative has a contract with the city’s Central Services, so Jarrett could not vote on approving the budget that funds the department.
The budget represented a 4.8% increase from FY25, with $129.5 million in the city’s general fund and the remaining to be used across the city’s four enterprise funds. School funding, where the contention on the budget has mainly come from, makes up about 43% of funds.
The council’s failure to pass meant Sciarra’s originally proposed budget, as amended, went into effect on July 1, in accordance with state law.
The failed budget vote is a repeat from the FY25 budget season with the three no votes coming from Ward 3 Councilor Quaverly Rothenberg, Ward 4 Councilor Jeremy Dubs and Ward 7 Councilor Rachel Maiore. All three councilors cited the lack of funding for the school district as reasoning for their no votes.
