...I believe Northampton needs a change in leadership. I also believe Northampton is fortunate to have a candidate in this race who represents the right kind of change.

Michael Bardsley is not just "Anybody But Clare," to borrow a line from one of his opponent's campaign ads. He is a 16-year incumbent city councilor, a well-known progressive leader and community and labor organizer who has for many years shared many of Mayor Higgins' views. While he has been the mayor's ally in many fights, Bardsley has demonstrated that his first allegiance is to the people who've elected him. In recent years, he has been responsive to individuals and groups who feel ignored or marginalized by the current mayor and a majority of the City Council, using his office to keep dissenting opinion and criticism from being summarily dismissed.

While he has been criticized for not providing clearly defined alternatives to Mayor Higgins' proposed policies, Bardsley has shown good sense and wise restraint in not opposing the mayor to establish a contrast purely for political purposes. Rather than being a grandstander, Bardsley is a careful and thoughtful person who approaches each issue on its own merits, guided by a commitment to democratic process—to open and accountable government, intellectual honesty, basic fairness and respect for other points of view. In his campaign, he has not offered a vision of a radically different set of initiatives than the current mayor's, but a vision for a different kind of leadership based on openness and inclusion.

...Rather than stick grimly with a mayor who, despite her many accomplishments, appears increasingly unbending in the face of public criticism, I believe Northampton should turn to someone who isn't afraid to listen or to reach out broadly for new ideas, tapping into the city's great wealth of talent and passion.