Though his write-in candidacy for mayor in Northampton has yet to receive a lot of press attention, Gene Tacy says he’s so busy on the stump he’s become “a stranger” to his wife and has even lost a few pounds.
No surprise there: Even if his name were on the ballot, Tacy, a Florence resident and Vietnam-era veteran, would be facing a formidable opponent in incumbent mayor Clare Higgins, who is seeking a fifth consecutive two-year term. Perennial candidate Roy C. Martin, who filed papers in time to be included on November’s ballot, is making his seventh bid for the office.
During a series of recent public appearances, Tacy has offered himself as a candidate for change, criticizing the Higgins administration for not being more open and attentive to the needs of Northampton’s residents. His campaign has received support from many longtime critics of the current administration, including Todd Sienkiewicz of Florence Hardware, who is an organizer of the Florence-based group loosely known as Resist, and his wife, Laurie Sienkiewicz, who serves as treasurer of Tacy’s campaign.
Whether or not Tacy’s campaign amounts to more than what many Noho political observers characterize as an ABC campaign—“Anybody But Clare”—he is seeking to harness recent public reaction against the mayor’s handling of important issues, including the planned expansion of the city’s landfill and the proposed development of a Hilton Garden Hotel adjacent to Pulaski Park.
—Text and photos by Robert Tobey
