Newest City Councilor seeks to distribute city resources to all neighborhoods

Nov. 20, 2018 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

Tracye Whitfield recently spoke about her initiatives on Focus Springfield’s “Government Matters.”
Reminder Publications submitted photo

SPRINGFIELD – The newest member of the City Council believes the resources of the city should be fairly distributed to all neighborhoods in Springfield.

“I think it [the allocation of resources] should be more broad,” Tracye Whitfield told this reporter as part of the new edition of “Government Matters” on Focus Springfield. Whitfield took the place of long-time councilor Thomas Ashe who is now Mayor Domenic Sarno’s chief of staff.

Among the major concerns that her constituents have brought to her since joining the council on Sept. 25 have been questions about the placement and permitting of retail cannabis shops.

At a recent town hall meeting hosted by Councilor Jesse Lederman at which she attended, Whitfield said about 90 percent of the discussion centered on that subject.

She said the council doesn’t really know the full impact on traffic and other concerns created by recreational cannabis, however the council is going to studying it as part of the permitting and licensing procedure. She added the 15 licenses are not going to be approved all at once.

“We’re going to take it slow, approve a couple at a time and see how it works,” she said.

Residents are also worried about the number of streetlights and their brightness, she added.

Whitfield said she is “adament” about working on gun violence in the city. The greatest problems are in neighborhood of color and in the age group of 15 to 24, she added. She believes for a solution to be found the effort will take involvement from the Depart of Health and Human Services as well as the police department and organizations.

The state’s Department of Public Health has announced $10 million allocated for programs to combat gun violence and Whitfield said the city should be preparing to apply for part of those funds.

The way some young people believe – that they must carry a gun to be safe – must be changed, she said.

Reporting about the city’s violence has been a part of some of the coverage from certain media outlets and Whitfield will work to dispell some exaggerated assumptions about the city.

Her slogan is “ASAP” – “Always Springfield, always positive.”

She is also focusing on homelessness of both youth and veterans.

Whitfield does believe that financially the city is doing well and cited an increase in property values with the average being $151,000. She added the city should seek to lower the business tax rate in order to attract new companies to come to Springfield.

Residents can’t afford a single tax rate, she believes.

Whitfield is a native of Springfield who graduated from the High School of Commerce and then received her degrees from American International College.

She explained her parents and other family members came to the city looking for a better life from North Carolina.

After graduation, she spent ten years at MassMutual and then took a job with the city of Springfield as a finance analyst. She presently is employed by both Holyoke Community College and Springfield Technical Community College.

When asked about her motivation to run, Whitfield explained her children are adults now, so she said she had the time to devote to an elected position.

“A lot of people in the community don’t know what to do, what to ask for, or how important local politics are to bring resources to their own community. I just wanted to have the opportunity to make that process to be fair,” she explained.

Recalling her childhood, she said politics was not part of family discussions and in fact, she could not recall anyone around her speaking about the subject.

When working for the city her interest in elected office was piqued. “Somebody has to educate folks where the money goes, where the resources are, and why not me? Who’s better than me? I wasn’t afraid to do it … I just think it should be equality throughout the city and not just in pockets,” she explained.

While all neighborhoods should receive resources, Whitfield believes that residents must speak out and that they may not know how to do that. People need to communicate not only with the City Council but also with state legislators, she added.

She said she would be presenting information sessions so residents can learn about how to access city resources.

“We have to work as a collective to make the entire city better,” she said.

The complete interview can be watched online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wtq4_jUxfGM.

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