Mayor Clare Higgins

City voters re-elected Mayor Clare Higgins

to 6th term. Thank you everyone.

Clare Higgins began serving the citizens of Northampton as Mayor in January, 2000 and has been reelected by the voters four times.

Prior to taking office as Mayor, Clare served as City Councilor At Large from 1994 through 1999 and was President of the Council during 1998-99.

Clare moved from Brooklyn, New York to Northampton in 1977 and began working in human services, first as a day care teacher at the Hampshire Community Action Commission. While in that position, she became a union representative for day care and human service workers in western Massachusetts. She then worked as a Program Director for Sojourn, Inc. and later returned to HCAC, first as Director of a child care center and later as overall Program Director for all of HCAC’s child care programs.

Clare is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, with a B.A. in education and public policy.

During her time as Mayor, she has been been elected President and Vice-President of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and was chosen by her colleagues to serve as President of the Massachusetts Mayors Association.

Campaign Headquarters

263 Main Street, Northampton, MA 01060

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La Prensa endorses Clare Higgins
November 1, 2009

Northampton Mayor Clare Higgins has engendered a lot of anger among the voters of Northampton. That's not surprising, given that any hard-working and smart politician eventually gets on many people's nerves, especially after nine years as mayor.
She has said  'No' many times, has seemed tired, annoyed by dissent, even dismissive.  Voters, in turn, are now ready for payback.
That would be a mistake.

Despite the gruff demeanor at times, Higgins is also a genuinely compassionate woman who actively engages with Boston and D.C. politicians to secure ways to improve the quality of life of all people, from those who support her to those who don't even vote and even those are gleefully seeking to get her out of office.
The race for mayor is one of substance over style. Higgins is all substance, her opponent represents a vacuous trend.

Higgins doesn't say what people want to hear, she says what they have to know.
That is why we support Clare Higgens for mayor.

Her opponent, on the other hand, has built a campaign on what people want to hear.

Nevermind that just saying No to budget cuts isn’t based on reality, Michael Bardsley has sucessfullfully managed to transform himself into an agent of change, a local Obama candidate, promising to change how things get done in City Hall. This, despite the fact that he has been part and parcel of City Hall as City Councilor since the early 1990s.
Bardsley is running a campaign built on anti-Higgins sentiment, so he doesn't need to provide details -- all the hot air is enough to lift his candidacy high enough so most people do not even question his track record or exactly how he is going to work to keep Northampton strong, get things done, knows who to call, how to handle a dire fiscal crisis and the other myriad of issues that land on a mayor's desk every day, seven days a week.

We are also concerned that his campaign has drawn the more extremist supporters who are thrilled with just being able to vote out of office a woman, especially a gay woman. In a town that is - erroneously -- known for being safe haven for women, despite the killing of an abused woman by her tormentor in front of the police station in the 1990s -- Bardsley should have actively rejected any support from sexist and homophobic voters.

Change is good when it is about moving forward. When it’s all about stomping on someone out of anger, then it recalls the worst days of our history.

Higgins best one for Northampton
By The Republican Editorials
October 30, 2009, 5:00AM

Northampton voters will decide between five-term Mayor Mary Clare Higgins and her former political ally City Councilor Michael S. Bardsley in Tuesday’s election.

Since there is little substantive difference between the two progressive candidates, both of whom began their political careers in 1993 as Northampton city councilors, the campaign has boiled down to a question of personal and political style.

Bardsley claims Higgins has stayed too long at the dance and has subsequently lost touch with many of her middle-class constituents. The mayor, on the other hand, points proudly to a record of successes during a difficult fiscal climate.

Bardsley, 60, a retired public school teacher, has not offered a compelling reason to turn the mayor out of office.

Therefore our endorsement goes to Higgins, 54, who is one of the most experienced and successful mayors in the region. Higgins has achieved much during her terms in office – exhibiting strong fiscal discipline with the creation of a stabilization fund for budget shortfalls; demonstrating an eye for appropriate development by preserving 1,400 acres of open space and 1,800 acres of farmland; and focusing her attention on economic development including the reuse of land at the long-vacant Northampton State Hospital site.

Higgins also deserves much of the credit for Northampton’s overwhelming approval of a $2 million Proposition 2 1/2 override on June 16 – the first override to pass in the city since the 1980s. It is a tribute to the mayor’s leadership and communication abilities that 60 percent of Northampton voters backed the override that will add an average of $189 to their annual tax bills to pay for schools and essential public services including police, fire and public works.

Higgins has done a good job for Northampton. She’s earned a sixth term in office.

Daily Hampshire Gazette
Friday, October 30, 2009

In Our Opinion: Higgins for mayor

Come Tuesday, Northampton voters will choose between two candidates who have each worked long and hard, at times as allies, to make the city a better place.

The one most ready to lead Northampton into a new decade, we believe, is the city's current chief executive, Mayor Clare Higgins.

In a vigorous and fair-minded campaign, challenger Michael R. Bardsley has focused attention on Higgins' performance to an extent not seen in years of electoral mismatches. He is winning support from people who believe Higgins can be deaf to constituent concerns and from those who want city government to open itself to a greater degree of public inspection and community involvement. Bardsley has pledged to keep all city elementary schools open and close the landfill. Single-issue voters will have it easy Tuesday.

We wish to acknowledge that Bardsley, an at-large city councilor with a deep knowledge of the people and precincts of the city, could in time become an effective mayor, and even a very good one. But we believe his candidacy comes up short against Higgins' steady handling of the job's many complexities, chief among them the drive to support city services in a time of falling state revenues. With cuts in state aid to cities and towns looming, Higgins and her financial team are the best stewards of Northampton's finances.

On the chief issues Bardsley has raised, we believe he fails to make the case that the city should retire a leader as willing as Higgins to tackle and solve problems.

Consider several of the issues that have been campaign flashpoints.

THE LANDFILL. No one likes them, but we believe Higgins is giving residents the straight dope on what will happen financially if the Glendale Road site closes. Bardsley's call to use a closing as a moment to rethink the city's waste-disposal practices, including recycling, is appealing. But it would be swamped by the realities of waste production and does not speak to the financial impact for businesses and individuals when trash must be hauled out of town or out of the region. Higgins is right to call for Northampton to solve its own disposal problems, not ship them out of the city. The question to be answered is whether current technology and environmental standards can create a safe and cost-effective waste disposal center on that site.

GOVERNMENT PROCESS. Bardsley has raised questions about how decisions are made in Northampton. He opposed the pact governing Smith College expansion that Higgins negotiated in private with the school's president. Bardsley has also questioned how the city went about making land available downtown for a private hotel. The hotel debate played out over years of public meetings which gave residents fair opportunities to be heard. Though Higgins is faulted for missteps on public access, including the recent shredding of the City Council's executive session minutes, she was saluted by the group Common Cause in 2007, 2008 and 2009 for being an advocate of open government. She worked to put more documents and data on the city's Web site. And in budget season, Higgins has traveled into every city ward to offer briefings to small groups.
In one case, Higgins was slow to acknowledge a problem existed after it was revealed minutes of City Council executive sessions lacked information. In time, she acted to reform the process for keeping and approving the minutes.

CLOSING SCHOOLS. Bardsley takes an ill-advised position in vowing to keep all four elementary schools open. A mayor, though acting as chair of the School Committee, cannot make this decision alone, and not without knowing the financial picture the city will face next year. Higgins prefers to look at class sizes rather than the number of schools, and we think this is a position better able to safeguard the classroom experience for all.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Bardsley is promising to reach out personally, as mayor, to encourage businesses to locate in Northampton. It's a good idea, but not one that comes with any guarantees, given our financial climate. We question whether, given his dismay over the downtown hotel project, Bardsley fully understands the compromises that must be made to woo new business to the city. Higgins created a stabilization fund that will help buffer Northampton to some degree from local aid cuts. The city is also now collecting local option hotel and meals taxes - a revenue source she long lobbied the Statehouse to provide to communities.

In our view, Higgins has earned a sixth term through her handling of the city's budget, her deep understanding of the moving parts of local and state government and her hard work. That's not to say she's perfect. Higgins admitted at a forum this week she can be impatient. She doesn't give lip service, she's occasionally abrasive and she doesn't sugarcoat reality. As a politician, her manner can be both confounding and refreshing.

But Higgins is a doer and a closer - and deserves another two years.

Daily Hampshire Gazette:

City needs Higgins' leadership and knowledge
Wednesday, October 28, 2009

To the editor:
Like many progressive voters in Northampton, I was torn about who I would support for mayor in November. I've followed Northampton politics closely since 1993 when Clare Higgins and Michael Bardsley were elected as the first out lesbian and gay man to serve on the City Council.

Two years later, they both helped a small group of us draft the Domestic Partnership Ordinance and get it passed by the City Council (the ordinance was never implemented since it was rejected at referendum by 87 votes that November). After that defeat many GLBT people got involved in local governance, with Clare and Michael leading by example. So in deciding who to support this November, I followed Michael's suggestion and set aside the personal relationships and focused on who would be best to run the city over the next two years.

The choice became clear. Clare has the leadership experience, in depth financial knowledge and respect from the powers-that-be in Boston that the city will desperately need. I don't always agree with her, but I always know where she stands - and I respect that, as well as her commitment to the city's best interest. Clare Higgins is who we need.

Mark Carmien
Florence


Choice between city's mayoral candidates clear
Wednesday, October 28, 2009

To the editor:
For two decades I have been friends with Michael Bardsley and Clare Higgins. I was Michael's campaign manager and we vacationed together for seven summers in Provincetown. Clare and I are equally close. I served on several boards representing her office. Both are good people, but the choice is clear.

Michael is a masterful politician: He knows how to exploit an issue, and has an uncanny ability to say just what voters want. But his tenure as council president was a disappointment - his peers complained about his lack of leadership, his indecisiveness and ineffective communication style. Only one of his fellow councilors supports Michael - the rest support Clare.

What has Michael accomplished in 16 years? Even his Web site is unsure. Attacking your opponents' performance is easy; providing solutions seems out of Michael's grasp. Northampton needs a strong leader. Clare has done a remarkable job despite two recessions. Northampton has an A+ bond rating and a downtown that sets the pace for western Massachusetts. Her strengths are evident during debates. She provides detailed answers; her opponent provides only negative attacks. Clare has been endorsed by Rep. Peter Kocot and Gov. Patrick. I am proud to support Clare.

David P. Stevens
Florence


Reader Supports mayor's vision of city's future

To the editor:
Michael Bardsley promises new ideas. I attended the Oct. 13 mayoral debate hoping to hear what those ideas are. Since Bardsley has been on the City Council for 16 years I thought he might have had some ideas that he felt the city should have implemented. I thought the debate would be a good time to mention those. Again, nothing. Instead, Bardsley spent much of his time listing the many challenges our city faces. We don't need a mayor for that.

The other topic that Bardsley continues to turn to is transparency. I find his approach both divisive and, frankly, silly. City governments are the most scrutinized of all levels of governments in the United States. We can attend City Council meetings and speak at them. We can watch (and re-watch) City Council meetings and School Committee meetings on public-access TV. We're able talk to our elected officials on our streets and around our neighborhoods.
When it comes to the budget, we hold our mayor to every nickel allocated. For 10 years, Clare's decisive guidance, strategic planning, cooperative implementation and innovative ideas have kept Northampton moving forward. I will continue to support Mayor Clare Higgins and her vision for Northampton's future.

Elan Barnehama
Leeds


Saturday, October 17, 2009
Peter Ives Endorsement of Clare Higgins.
Grateful for leadership shown by Mayor Higgins.

To the editor:
I have supported Mayor Clare Higgins in every one of her election campaigns since 1994 and I support her now. Working in downtown Northampton, I see the impact of her leadership every day. I am particularly grateful for the support she has given to many of Northampton's historic buildings through the Community Preservation Act money for the Academy of Music, Forbes Library, Historic Northampton and the First Churches.

I am grateful for her support of the Downtown Homeless Shelter, the Grove Street shelter and the Survival Center and Single Occupancy Housing Program through Shelter Sunday, and Safe Passage, through the Mayor's Hot Chocolate Run each year. I am grateful for the support she gives Northampton's Pride march, First Night, Four Sundays in February, the Veterans Day Parade and the fact that she can be seen at so many celebrations, ceremonies and community events. I appreciate the way she has tried to handle the tricky issues of parking, sidewalks, snow plowing, litter - balancing the needs for a dynamic business community with the needs of all on the streets.

And I appreciate her standing invitation to the special needs community to come to door of the mayor's office whenever they need help. And of course, she is an excellent administrator. It started over 20 years as the administrator of children at the Sojourner Preschool in the basement of the First Churches. The children taught her well. For these reasons, and so many more, I support her campaign to be mayor.

Peter Ives
Northampton