The City Council has scheduled a special meeting at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 27, to discuss resolutions related to the Israel-Hamas war and the resulting antisemitic, Islamophobic and anti-Arab acts of hate. The meeting, which will include up to an hour of public comment, will be held remotely and the Zoom link will be posted on the city website no later than Friday, Feb. 23.

That meeting comes after protesters, including activists with Jewish Voice for Peace, shut down the regularly scheduled City Council meeting on Thursday. During the 90-minute public comment period at the beginning of the meeting, councilors heard 39 people, many seeking an immediate vote on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and ending military aid from the United States to Israel.

There were no resolutions on the City Council’s agenda Thursday, and President Alex Jarrett explained that the city’s attorney had advised that a ceasefire resolution did not qualify as an emergency measure that could legally be considered Thursday.

After about 60 protesters who filled the City Council chambers demonstrated and chanted for 35 minutes, the council adjourned without considering any items on its agenda.

At least three resolutions are expected to be introduced Feb. 27, including two that I am cosponsoring with President Jarrett of Ward 5, Vice President Rachel Maiore of Ward 7, and Deborah Pastrich-Klemer of Ward 2. One supports our Jewish, Muslim and Arab community members, and the second calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Another resolution to end the war in Gaza, sponsored by Ward 4 Councilor Jeremy Dubs, also is expected to be introduced Feb. 27.

Northampton joins Amherst and Easthampton in considering resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The Amherst Town Council may take up its measure on Feb. 26, and the Easthampton City Council has sent a ceasefire resolution to one of its committees.

While city councils in Cambridge, Somerville and Medford already have adopted ceasefire resolutions, a similar measure was withdrawn by a Boston city councilor this week because he feared it would cause “more division.” the Boston Globe reported.

March 5 election

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, March 5, for the Massachusetts presidential primary election. Ward 1 residents will continue to vote at the Jackson Street School.

Voters who are registered as a Democrat, Republican or Libertarian will receive that party’s ballot. Unenrolled voters may take any one of those ballots. The final day to register to vote in the presidential primary is Saturday, Feb. 24.

In addition to choosing a presidential candidate, voters also will elect a state committee man and woman in each Senate district, as well as ward committee members. There are no Democratic candidates in the Hampshire, Franklin & Worcester District, Jim Nash and Sam Hopper, both members of the Northampton Democratic City Committee, are running write-in campaigns for committee man and woman, respectively. Nash is a former City Council president, and Hopper formerly was the director of constituent engagement for state Sen. Jo Comerford of Northampton.

Republican state committee man candidates on the ballot are Jay Fleitman of Northampton and Christopher Ryan of Amherst. State committee woman candidates are Mary Stuart of Northampton and Sue O’Sullivan of Royalston..

There are no state committee candidates listed on the Libertarian ballot.

The deadline for requesting a mail-in ballot is 5 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 27. Instructions for requesting a ballot are available here: https://www.northamptonma.gov/2556/Upcoming-Elections

Early in-person voting is available in the second-floor hearing room at Northampton City Hall, 210 Main St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 24, and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Feb. 26 to March 1.

City Clerk Pamela Powers is still recruiting election-day workers to fill warden and clerk positions at the polls. Anyone interested is asked to contact Powers as soon as possible by email ([email protected]) or telephone (413-587-1224).

Opioid settlement survey

The Department of Health and Human Services is conducting a survey of community responses about how to spend the city’s opioid settlement funding. All Northampton residents, businesses, and people who work in the city are encouraged to complete the survey by March 12.

Responses will help determine strategies for addressing the impact of opioid addiction and overdose loss in the community.

Beginning in July 2021, the state attorney general allocated money to communities from legal settlements with pharmaceutical companies and opioid distributors. Northampton so far has received $239,024.44 and eventually will get a total of just over $2 million with annual payments through 2038.

The money will be used to address harm done to residents. Health Commissioner Merridith O’Leary states, “The funding can go towards a variety of interventions – continued harm reduction efforts, recovery supports, early primary prevention, and even plans around increasing transportation or housing. However, what is important to us at DHHS … is that we listen to the voices of our community and those who have been impacted by this epidemic.”

Surveys in English and Spanish are available here: https://www.hampshirehope.org/opioid-settlement

Anyone who needs assistance to take the survey by phone or would like a mailed copy, may call 413-587-1314.

Stan