Last fall, Springfield’s WGBY aired the first of a planned series of hour-long episodes of "The State We’re In" focusing on "saving" western Massachusetts cities. The first episode examined municipal finance.
Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan was unable to attend, but was made available in part by appearing in a short pre-taped interview at the beginning of the show.
Those in attendance included Westfield Mayor Richard Sullivan, Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen, Greenfield Mayor Christine Forgey, North Adams Mayor John Barrett III, Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan, Easthampton Mayor Michael Tautznik, and Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins.
The second episode aired last weekend, this one focused on cities as economic engines. (Update: The episode is now available to view online.)
Again, Mayor Ryan did not appear on the show. This time both Chief Development Officer David Panagore and Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council president Allan Blair each appeared in interesting-yet-brief pre-taped interviews to talk about the significance of a city to a region and the ways in which some balances are shifting: for instance, the increased presence of the non-profit sector as a large percentage of city-based business, a point the mayors referred to repeatedly in their following discussion.
The same mayors who appeared in the first episode showed up for the second, along with an additional guest, West Springfield Mayor Edward Gibson. Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette was scheduled to appear, but was recovering from surgery. No mention was made about Ryan that I detected.
Host Jim Madigan mentioned how "pleased" the station was that all these mayors were able to attend, with the understanding that they are all very busy people.
But I was disappointed, because for the second time, my city’s mayor didn’t make it.
If Springfield’s efforts toward reform are to be taken seriously, it seems we need to participate whole-heartedly in exercises like this type of hour-long, publicly-available, intelligent examination of issues of deep concern to us in the city and to the wider region as a whole. We may have some vast differences with localities around ours, but we also have a lot of similarities, and some profound common challenges. The show is a rare opportunity to document the discussions that emerge.
The mayors in attendance brought up interesting points, but without Springfield at the table it was as though there was a void in the studio—which, as Madigan pointed out, sits in downtown Springfield itself. Reflecting on that brought to mind for me so many community meetings I’ve attended where it seems as though people who live outside Springfield are more interested in what goes on in the city, and more keen to reform it, than the people who live here themselves, and how that can turn meetings into very odd experiences indeed.
Perhaps the city with the most pressing municipal financial challenges in the region, and serving as the biggest economic engine, also has the busiest mayor. Come to think of it, just because a locality has a mayor doesn’t make it a city. Easthampton, for instance, is technically a "rural economic center." I’m beginning to wonder what the point of WGBY’s series is, after all. What can those of us in Springfield draw from the episodes that have so far been aired?
Back on the first of the year, I wished for media love for the city—wanting the area’s mainstream media to see the biggest city in western Massachusetts for what it is, the economic and cultural engine for the region. If Mayor Ryan is too busy to attend the scheduled taping, maybe there is a little flexibility at WGBY, a way to work around that, and try to accommodate his schedule just a bit. Doing this series without Springfield leaves out a big piece of the regional puzzle.
