SPRINGFIELD — Mayor Domenic J. Sarno declared victory in Tuesday’s preliminary election and 10-year City Councilor Justin Hurst was on polling with 28% of the vote to capture the two top slots in a five-way preliminary race for mayor on Tuesday.
With 70% of the vote in, Sarno, had 5,949 votes and Hurst had 3,473 votes which will allow them to appear on the ballot for the Nov. 7 election, according to unofficial results released by the City Clerk’s office on Tuesday.
The two bested their opponents State Rep. Orlando Ramos, who is polling third with 1,721 or nearly 14% of the vote. City Council President Jesse Lederman is in fourth place and David Ciampi, a psychotherapist and counselor with no political experience is finishing fifth.
As volunteers gathered at Sarno’s headquarters, Tom Ashe, Sarno’s chief of staff declared victory saying he is “a whisker away” from capturing 50% of the vote. He then explained Sarno is dealing with a severe water main break caused by Monday’s heavy rains and would be delayed.
“We have a very big step to go,” he said, but thanked volunteers and said tonight is a night to celebrate.
Sarno, 60, has already broken the record for Springfield’s longest-serving mayor by logging in 16 years as the chief executive. He is hoping to make it an even 20.
But his opponents are saying it’s time for a change and some voters agreed.
“I’m thinking a change is needed,” said Richard Murphy, who was voting at Forest Park Middle School. “So much was invested in the casinos and I wasn’t a fan and I want more attention to community policing.”
Murphy said he was happy with a slate of candidates that was so strong it left him debating which of two or three would be the best person for mayor. He did not reveal his final choice.
But Rachel Bonavita, who also cast her ballot at the school in Ward 6, said she is hoping for four more years of Sarno, praising his work with businesses, adding jobs and working with the police.
“I think our city is doing great with our mayor who is in at this time,” she said. “I think his war on crime is the most important … He is working to get drugs off the street and adding more police.”
The preliminary election was marked by an extraordinarily large field of qualified candidates. Along with the five mayoral contenders, voters also had to narrow down a list of 21 people running at-large for City Council to 10. In the November election they will select the final five who will serve in the seats.
There was also a race for the Ward 6 City Council seat with voters narrowing the field from three candidates to two who will appear on the ballot.
