GREENFIELD — In a six-candidate race for three seats with four-year terms, Greenfield School Committee members Elizabeth DeNeeve and Melodie Goodwin will retain their seats alongside newcomer Jeffrey Diteman.
When polls came to a close at 8 p.m. in Tuesday’s biennial election, Goodwin took the lead with 1,936 votes. DeNeeve received 1,820 votes and Diteman garnered 1,801 votes.
According to City Clerk Kathy Scott, this year’s election saw a roughly 30% voter turnout, with 4,040 ballots cast in a city that has 13,537 registered voters. Scott said Wednesday that the city had received 339 mail-in ballots.
DeNeeve and Diteman ran as a slate of candidates alongside Adrienne Craig-Williams, who received 1,673 votes. Goodwin, the race’s front-runner, had joined a separate slate alongside Public Safety Commission Chair David Moscaritolo, who earned 1,348 votes, and At-Large City Councilor Michael Terounzo, who garnered 1,446 votes.
Melissa McKenzie Webb, who ran unopposed for a two-year School Committee seat, will join the committee in January after receiving 2,415 votes.
After the results were in, DeNeeve thanked Greenfield voters for entrusting her to continue holding a position on School Committee for another term.
“The voters showed that they care about a school culture that puts students and teachers first, follows best practices and supports all families,” DeNeeve commented in a text message Tuesday night. “You’ll be seeing that school culture improve and flourish as we continue this journey together. Congratulations to all the winners and I look forward to working together.”
Goodwin’s campaign focused on responsible and transparent budgeting in the School Department, as well as a promise to lead the district in a manner that prioritizes the needs of students and teachers, rather than administrators. Goodwin, in an interview Wednesday, said she arrived at the polling location at 4 a.m. Tuesday to secure a campaigning spot, adding that her door-to-door campaigning strengthened her love for Greenfield.
“Campaigning made me love Greenfield more. I knocked on a lot of doors in different parts of the city and met some amazing people. … I saw parts of Greenfield that I’ve never driven into to talk to people, and I’m really thankful for the people whose doors I knocked on,” Goodwin said. “Some talked about taking their children to some other school district and I begged for them to talk to me, because it’s really important to know what parents care about and why they are taking their children out of Greenfield Public Schools. … I heard a lot about class size; class sizes in Greenfield had gotten into the 20s, so you can’t argue with a parent who says, ‘I can get up and drive my child to school and she can be one of 13, or I can leave her in Greenfield and she can be one of 25.'”
While he could not be reached immediately following the election, Diteman, a Pioneer Valley Regional School teacher, argued at a candidates forum last week that with health insurance costs on the rise, the Greenfield School Department should search for cheaper alternatives to its current insurance provider. As the city seeks a new superintendent, he said he hopes someone who shares the district’s goals for growth will be hired.
“Greenfield is in a very difficult position with regard to funding the schools, and that has to do with our limited tax base, the rising costs of funding a school, in particular, with the rising health insurance costs. It is to be hoped that we will be able to get our educators out of [the department’s] current health care provider and find a more affordable source for health care,” Diteman said last week. “It is also to be hoped that we will hire a very capable and cooperative superintendent who is going to come to the table with an open heart and with the same vision that we have, which is a vision for creating schools that are centers of excellence so that we can do better on student retention.”
The race for City Council was largely unopposed, with the exception of Precinct 9, where ballot candidate Max Webbe faced a write-in campaign from current Precinct 9 City Councilor Derek Helie.
Webbe received 179 votes, well above the 66 write-in votes, making him the Precinct 9 city councilor-elect. He thanked those who voted for him for their support.
“I’m grateful to the people that trusted and supported me, and to all of the people who donated their time and resources to helping Greenfield elect their first trans city councilor,” Webbe said. “I’m excited to keep building community power and working toward a bright future. Greenfield for all, y’all.”
Two other fresh faces will also join the council in January — Maisie Sibbison-Alves, who ran unopposed for an at-large seat being vacated by Terounzo, and Historical Commission member Sarah Bolduc, who ran unopposed for a Precinct 7 seat being vacated by William “Wid” Perry. Bolduc received a total of 249 votes from Precinct 7 residents and Sibbison-Alves garnered 2,429 votes across Greenfield.
“I just feel very honored and excited to be joining this council,” Sibbison-Alves commented Tuesday night.
Earning reelection in uncontested races were At-Large Councilor Sara Brown, who received 2,552 votes across the city; City Council President Lora Wondolowski, who received 244 votes in Precinct 8; Precinct 5 Councilor Marianne Bullock, who received 416 votes; and Precinct 6 Councilor Patricia Williams, who received 348 votes.
Additionally, Historical Commission member Jeremy Ebersole and James Geisman were elected to serve on the Board of Assessors, with Geisman, an incumbent, garnering 2,058 votes and Ebersole, a newcomer, taking home 2,019 votes.
Candidates Sally Ahearn and Martha Maloney were also elected to become Trustees of the A.K. Warner Trust Fund, with Ahearn earning 2,224 votes and Maloney receiving 1,981 votes.
