Rachel Maiore of Leeds recently announced her candidacy for the Ward 7 city council seat. The current incumbent, Alisa Klein, recently announced she will not run for reelection, leaving the seat open. Ward 7 includes Leeds and parts of Florence. She supports a community network for Northampton. From the Gazette article:
Maiore is a supporter of municipal broadband, and she expressed approval of the city moving forward with studying the option.
“High-speed internet really needs to be considered a utility,” she said.
This issue also has a personal resonance for Maiore because her husband works as a software engineer and telecommutes.