CHICOPEE – The Chicopee City Council will look substantially different in January. For the first time there will be two women – one of whom is a person of color – on the council.

There have been no women serving on the council since 2005 when the late Lucille Ouimette retired from the council.

Ward 3 elected Attorney Delmarina Lopez while Ward 9 elected School Committee member Mary-Beth Pniak-Costello.

Lopez told Reminder Publishing, “I always wanted to serve the community in this capacity. Costello explained that when City Councilor Stan Walczak announced he would not run again, she was approached by residents who asked to run. She recalled people told her, “You could handle the City Council and get us honest answers.”

Costello has served on the School Committee for 24 years and said she would miss the students, teachers and staff of the School Department.

“They were wonderful to work with,” she said.

Costello ran against John E. Paquette, Jr. and won nearly 56 percent of the vote. Lopez ran unopposed as incumbent councilor Lucjan Galecki decided not to seek re-election.

Lopez said she has been “on the path [for public service] for some time and the timing was right.”

She noted she was tired of not seeing diversity on the City Council and said “having a person of color on the city council … is really crucial.” She added, “Having diverse folks can bring diverse perspectives.”

Lopez is interested in maintaining the levy in her ward, as well as encouraging small business development and developing youth services.

For Costello she learned through her door-to-door campaigning the interests of her constituents. She said residents are concerned with quality of life issues such as truck traffic along James Street that can actually shake houses. Speeding is an issue as well and residents have spoken to her about installing crosswalks to help protect children.

Costello is also concerned about spot zoning in the ward and wants to see “proper zoning.” She added that the more businesses that are in the ward than homes affect the safety of children.