Easthampton City Council President Salem Derby will serve as the city's interim mayor, as Nicole LaChapelle steps down this week. LaChapelle will lead the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, an appointment made last week by Governor Maura Healey.
The speedy handover of duties was a surprise to Derby, but he said he is confident in his ability to lead — as a city councilor over the past 20 years.
"I have a really good idea of how City Hall runs," Derby said. "I know the department heads [and] I've been working pretty closely with the mayor since I became [council] president in January."
Not running for mayor in November
Derby said his interim role doesn't mean he will run for mayor in the November municipal election.
"I'm a full time high school teacher and am teaching a brand new class this year, which I'm really excited about," Derby said, adding "I don’t want to let the kids down."
He won't run unless "something extraordinary" happens, Derby said.
Wednesday, day one
As the city's 2025-26 budget was finalized by LaChapelle, Derby said he will be able to focus be on the impact federal cuts to food assistance programs like SNAP will have on Easthampton residents.
"I think that the next mayor of Easthampton, after November, is going to have to navigate a little bit more of that as the details and some of the provisions of the bill start to come in,” Derby said.
Easthampton's city council just passed a resolution asking Massachusetts to provide additional aid Derby said, "so the cuts wouldn't be as draconian."
Derby said he's going to try his best to minimize disruption to services to residents and maximize resources within the state, to fill some of the holes these federal cuts are leaving.
