GREENFIELD — Three candidates are vying for two at-large seats on the 13-member City Council in the upcoming city election.

John Garrett, Jesus Leyva and Wahab Minhas are in a contest to fill the positions being vacated by at-large councilors Phil Elmer and Christine Forgey, who are not seeking reelection.

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 7, in the Greenfield High School gymnasium. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

John Garrett

When John Garrett, 36, started attending City Council meetings as a new resident more than five years ago, he was impressed by the number of residents who showed up, “clearly caring about their community.”

“I view it as a civic duty to do what you can to help out,” he said of serving on the council. “This is my community … and I happen to be at a point in my life, both by design and circumstance, where I have time to really dedicate myself to doing a job like this.”

Garrett, who teaches high school history at Smith Academy in Hatfield, said as someone who was priced out of Easthampton, he wants to see Greenfield maintain its relative affordability and continue finding ways to reduce housing insecurity and homelessness.

He said he was excited about the Main Street redevelopment project, which he anticipates will improve accessibility and bring more people into the downtown, spurring economic development.

“Making the streets safe, as they are a public space, and not just a monopoly of one group of users is really important to me,” he said.

With respect to the budget, Garrett said the role of councilors is to provide oversight of the process. Part of the reason he’s interested in the role is because it’s a “collaborative” effort. He noted his experience as president of the local teachers union, particularly during contract negotiations, helped prepare him for the position in city government. Prior to that, he served for six years on contract negotiation teams. 

“I think the biggest thing we can do about the budget is be a bully pulpit and figure out the community values and make that clear, prove it to the executive [branch], and do so so it’s not a rush to the finish line in budget season,” he said. “I’ve seen that happen, too.”

As an educator, Garrett said advocating for the school budget, in particular, would be “his number one priority.”

“I know it’s the best bang for our buck as far as investment,” he said. “We’re investing in our future.”

Jesus Leyva

Advocating at the state level for local school aid would be a key priority for Jesus Leyva, 40, if elected to the City Council.

“At the end of the day, if you have a certain expense, you either have to cut expenses or cut costs, or seek additional funding,” Leyva said. “If we don’t want to do any of those things, our only avenue really is advocating at the state level the way the money comes to us.”

He said the focus of his attention as a city councilor would be to advocate for a more sustainable school budget, in part by reaching out to other communities to engage in that advocacy. He’d also want to support upcoming housing projects with improved advocacy at the state level.

“If nobody from Greenfield is showing up in the state discussions, we’re not going to be represented,” he said. “It can’t just be a private conversation that we have with our local representative, outlining our priorities. We have to document those priorities; we have to pass resolutions showing what those priorities are. We have to reach out to other communities … and learn to speak as one voice.”

Leyva also has been actively following the Public Safety Commission, particularly since the May 6, 2022 jury verdict in Hampshire County Superior Court that found the police chief and police department racially discriminated against former Officer Patrick Buchanan during two promotional processes.

“I was also equally concerned with the cuts to the Police Department,” he said. “My experience has only been good with [the department]. In hearing about other people’s experiences with the Police Department and reviewing a lot of the public records around misconduct records … there’s a lot of times where it doesn’t seem like there was a process for those concerns.”

Leyva said he would hope to work with the department and commission to facilitate a public process to address those concerns. He said appointments to the commission “should not be solely the decision of the mayor.”

Wahab Minhas

Between attending municipal meetings and speaking with customers from behind the counter of two of his family-owned businesses, including Country Mart on Main Street, Wahab Minhas, 26, feels he has a good grasp on what’s important to the people of Greenfield.

“That’s my day-to-day; I talk to people all the time,” he said. “I finally decided I wanted to be involved personally. I’ve lived in Greenfield my whole life and I don’t plan on leaving.”

Minhas said as Main Street business owner, he sees potential in the downtown for more economic development.

“I’ve been in conversation with many of the business owners right now and I think we have a few ideas,” he said. “I think pretending the market is going to turn into a bustling place isn’t the way to go. We have to recognize this is western Mass and the majority of the economic activity happens in the eastern part of the state. We have to think outside the box.”

As a graduate of Greenfield schools, Minhas said the city should be funding a “vibrant education” that will attract families to the city and keep them here.

“That’s not going to happen if you don’t listen to the teachers and fully fund the School Department,” he said.

Helping to address the housing shortage and homelessness, he said, is also one of his key priorities.

On the whole, Wahab said he wants to see a more transparent budgeting process, making it more accessible to the public. Wahab also hopes to advocate on behalf of the Public Works Department to ensure “basic things” such as sidewalks and roads can be fixed.

“I think the mayor’s office and the City Council definitely need to reevaluate their relationship,” he said. “I’m someone who listens to all people so I’d want to work in collaboration, not opposition, with whoever the next mayor is.”