City Council Candidate, Ward 2
Website: simonforward2.org
Guest Column 7/30/25: City’s fiscal plan doesn’t work anymore
Guest Column 6/5/24: What does a community that prioritizes education look like?
Northampton Open Media – Candidate Statement
October 8, 2025
“Hello, Ward 2 Northampton. You’ll see my name on the ballot as Alan Joseph Simon, but as musician Paul Simon told us, you can call me Al. I’d like to tell you about myself and why I’m running for city council. My wife and I moved to Northampton in 2019. Prior to that, I lived in Windsor, Connecticut for 30 years, where I was a community activist for public education. I was elected to the town council and served for 18 years as a council member in a community the same size as Northampton. During my tenure, I was chair of the finance committee for 12 years where I gained deep knowledge on municipal finance issues. I was also deputy mayor for six years.
Professionally, I fell into the automobile business and for almost 35 years worked for an auto manufacturer, regional dealer group, and as a self-employed consultant. My self-employment was killed by the pandemic. I took the opportunity to finish my bachelor’s degree at the age of 61, that I had started 44 years prior.
I got involved about a year and a half ago when Mayor Sciarra’s budget led to 22 staff reductions in our schools. My children and new grandchild live in Connecticut. So perhaps you’re wondering why this old guy cares so much about public education. Well, my family was poor. My parents were mill workers in a mill like the many that we can still see here in the valley. My mother had a seventh grade education. My father, a tenth grade one. We never owned our own home and lived in a duplex apartment built for mill workers. I can see some of those around here as well. We didn’t have much, but I had public education paid for by taxes from people I didn’t even know. That education gave me a chance. All children deserve that.
I still remember the one teacher that made a difference, Mr. Greenwood in 10th and 11th grade social studies. He opened my mind and stoked my curiosity. I turned into a voracious reader with books from the public library. I still believe in the social contract and I know many of you do, too. We have a responsibility to the children in the community we live in. For the past many weeks, I’ve been door- knocking in Ward 2. I’ve been on every street and as of mid September, I’ve talked to more than 250 of our residents. I’ve listened carefully and I’m running to represent you.
Deep concerns about public education are only the tip of the iceberg of concerns in Ward 2. Many people feel they are not getting what they are paying for with their taxes.
I’m running for children needing special education who have borne the biggest brunt of cuts to our schools.
I’m running for my fellow gray hairs – older folks concerned about the schools for their grandchildren.
I’m running for the elderly woman on Forbes Avenue, now confined to a wheelchair, who finds it difficult to leave her house due to the condition of sidewalks.
I’m running for the very many of you who remain unconvinced about the need for Picture Main Street.
I’m running for people concerned about the Baptist Church Resiliency Hub purchase for twice the value of the property.
I’m running for residential condominium owners in Village Hill and elsewhere who experience shocking increases in taxes this year because the city failed to complete property revaluations each year like they are supposed to do.
I’m running for residents of Crescent Street who probably have the worst road in the ward.
I’m running for renters in my ward subject to giant rent increases or eviction proceedings.
I’m running for everyone being overcharged on water bills by the city.
And I’m running for the people on Rust Avenue who recently had a house fire on the street. According to residents, the two fire hydrants on their street did not work when the fire department arrived.
We all deserve public services delivered with excellence. Many feel the city has been too focused on things it wants to do tomorrow, now coming at the expense of the things it must do today. We all know first things first. The list of issues I’ve just presented shows we have lost focus on delivering the basics, the things we all expect our local government to do. For more detail on my views, please look up my Guest Column in the Daily Hampshire Gazette of July 30, 2025.
It’s time for representation of the people who live in the ward and for accountability of the city administration. It’s time to change priorities and deliver for our residents. If you agree, I respectfully ask for your vote for Ward 2 city councilor on November 4th. Thank you.”
School Committee – Public Comment
April 10, 2025
Video Clip – Al Simon attended public comment at the April 2025 school committee meeting, noting the importance of current and future generations supporting public education. Al Simon reflected on a comment made by School Committee Member Gwen Agna that she has witnessed the destruction of public education in this community. Al Simon states that we, as citizens, have the right to know what the school committee thinks our public schools need and the committee has a responsibility to advocate accordingly for a budget that supports needs.
“This is my first public comment at the school committee meeting. I don’t have children who went through the schools here. My grandchild will never come to school here. I’m just an old guy who still believes in the social contract. When I was a kid, people I didn’t know paid for my public education, and I believe it’s my obligation to do the same for the children in the community I live in.
I was recently at a public event about public schools attended by Gwen Agna and she said something that I cannot get out of my head, which is to say that she’s been working for the public schools in this community for about 40 years. During that period of time she said she has witnessed the destruction of public education in this community. I try to put myself in her position – I talked to her afterwards because I was struck by that comment. I’ve talked to enough people in this community to know that over the past 10, 20, 30 years, people have been fighting for the proper funding of public schools in this community. And every year it seems something gets cut. Something gets cut. Something gets cut.
We are in a crisis. In fact, you all remember this headline from the Gazette: ‘All agree crisis in the schools.’ Even the mayor that night said that she thought there was a crisis. And what happened after that? Took a lot of people working very hard, including the input of this school committee, to get a small amount of money to mitigate some of the effects of the underfunding crisis. And what else has changed? Nothing. The circumstances of the crisis remain. And yet the mayor has publicly stated her budget proposal will end up leading to another 20 to 25 cuts of positions. A three-year tally of around 60 positions cut. It’s extraordinary.
So my request to you, my message to you is that we as citizens have the right to know what this school committee thinks our public schools need. And I believe you have a responsibility to tell us that. You have no authority about how much money you get. We all know that. It’s that the charter says the mayor decides how much money you get. But if you tell us what you need, then the community can have some discussions. Can we do it? Should we do it? How should we do it? When should we do it? The community needs to be having these conversations. It needs to get beyond the small group of elected leaders who are making decisions to engage more people in this community.
I still think most people want strong public schools. People believe in public schools. And because you may have been in a situation to see it chipped away constantly, and see that you may not have the authority to reverse that, please know there are people in this community who want to reverse that. And your voice is critical to that effort. Please tell us what the schools need. Thank you.”
Al Simon has provided additional statements about funding public schools at city council meetings. Recordings of his statements are in progress and will be shared on this page.
