A week before the municipal election in Westfield, Massachusetts, many lawn signs were visible for candidates in crowded city council races.
But there is also a contested mayoral race between the two-term incumbent and a Westfield resident with a lower public profile.
Municipal elections in Westfield are non partisan, but 63-year old Mayor Michael McCabe lists himself as a Republican, according to the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. He's accumulated more than $27,000 in donations since the start of 2024.
His opponent, 39-year-old Andrew Mullen is a Democrat, and has no record of donations or expenditures.
Both candidates see affordable housing as a big challenge for residents, according to The Westfield News. Both want to see more business development.
Mullen said he's running for mayor to make Westfield more business friendly.
McCabe said he wants to continue the city's infrastructure progress made under his leadership, including flood-preparedness.
A significant project that could bring a few hundred jobs to the city is the development of a multi-billion dollar data center on the campus of Westfield State University.
McCabe, a former police captain, is running for his third term. This is Mullen's second time running for mayor.
He and McCabe lost in 2019 to Donald Humason — McCabe by 90 votes. Back then McCabe told NEPM he was surprised to have done as well as he did, as a political novice.
