Markey talks arts, national politics in campaign swing through Easthampton

EASTHAMPTON — From stopping for a slice of pizza in downtown Easthampton to shedding light on national politics — the war in Iran and the firing of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — U.S. Sen. Ed Markey campaigned across western Massachusetts last weekend, ahead of a state primary election this year in which the longtime senator faces a challenger.

Sponsored

class="wp-block-image size-large">

Markey, D-Massachusetts, got a taste of Easthampton on Saturday, stopping by Antonio’s Pizza at 71 Main St. for a slice after speaking at a campaign event where more than 100 people huddled inside the city’s historic Old Town Hall on Main Street, also known as CitySpace.

“Whether it’s here in Easthampton, my hometown of Malden or any other community in America, when you write, when you paint, when you make music, when you perform, you want to simply create a culture,” Markey said at the event. “You are protecting memory and dignity and truth.”

Speaking alongside local and state legislators, as well as CitySpace leaders, Markey toured the building, which received $3.5 million in federal funding to renovate the second floor of the Old Town Hall into a 350-seat venue. City officials have touted the renovation of the 156-year-old building as a project to create an artistic and cultural hub in the heart of Easthampton.

The event took place in the Blue Room, which was renovated in 2022 to serve as a 100-seat and 230-standing space for leasing to different events and performances.

“I’m going to continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with your leaders, with you, and the artistic patriots here today to speak up for the Easthampton community, and I can’t wait to see what the next chapter is for CitySpace,” Markey said.

The funding is part of $124.58 million in federal earmarks going toward 116 community projects across the state, which Markey recently announced.

CitySpace President Burns Maxey spoke at the event, reflecting on the importance of arts as an economic driver and how the Old Town Hall renovations embody that.

“In Massachusetts, arts and culture generate $29.7 billion in economic value and support more than 135,000 jobs,” Maxey said. “But the impact really goes far beyond that. It’s about the people and the lives and the impact that it has.”

The stop in Easthampton was one of several campaign events for Markey in the area over the weekend. Markey, who has served in the Senate since July of 2013 after having spent 37 years in the House of Representatives, is being challenged for the Democratic primary this year by U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, who represents Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District.

“Now more than ever, when the Trump administration is attempting to use lies about our communities to pass policies that hurt our neighbors, we need the brave voices, the honest expressions and the courageous authenticity of our artists to tell the true story of our communities,” Markey said.

At the end of his speech, Markey said the work being done at CitySpace encapsulates what America means, then asked everyone to sing “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie, led by the CitySpace BlueGrass musicians. “Is there anyway that back there with these incredibly talented artists, I would like to sing just one song.”

“I think it’s a good way of thinking of today as, we’re really in the true America right now, this is it, this is our country,” Markey said about the gathering at CitySpace.

National events

Speaking to reporters after the event, Markey touched on several current national affairs, expressing delight with Noem’s firing and calling the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, one with “a very small likelihood of ever being successful.”

“It’s a great day for the United States when Kristi Noem is fired from her job, but it’s just the first step,” said Markey, reflecting on President Donald Trump’s decision last Thursday to get rid of embattled former DHS boss. “ICE must be abolished, ICE must be defunded. It’s a corrupt agency from top to bottom.”

When asked about Noem’s replacement Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, Markey said he will vote against Mullin as the secretary “of an agency that should not even exist.”

As for the war in Iran, Markey said that after a failed U.S. Senate vote on March 4 that would have prevented the Trump administration from taking further action in Iran, he will continue to work with fellow senators to oppose the war on the Senate floor.

“President Trump is waging an illegal and unconstitutional war,” Markey said. “The American people do not want another bottomless Middle Eastern morass with U.S. troops, men and women with their boots on the ground in that region.”

He continued, “We cannot in any way tolerate Republicans giving support to Donald Trump for a war which has so far provided no evidence as to Iran’s having any plans to attack the United States, but also no plans for how the war is going to be won by Donald Trump,” Markey said.

Markey may have heard that many Easthampton residents consider the city to have been a source of inspiration for “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” comparing Trump to the Grinch during the event. “It took a little longer than we had planned but in the most recent funding package we made sure that Donald Trump, the Grinch, could not have a chance to come back.”

CitySpace progress

CitySpace is currently in phase two of three of town hall renovations, with the whole project estimated to cost approximately $11.5 million. The nonprofit was formed in 2006 to preserve and manage Old Town Hall as a center for the arts.

Phase two launched last summer with the groundbreaking of a new, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant elevator and entrance for the building located at 43 Main St. The masonry work for the elevator was completed in February and phase two continues to progress. Maxey anticipates the work will be mostly completed this August, pending state elevator inspections.

Phase three, a two-year project whose start date depends on funding, will involve restoration of the second floor. Maxey said two years ago the project was estimated to cost about $6.5 million to complete, though she anticipates the price has gone up since then. The work involves ceiling repairs, installation of theater lighting and sound systems and creating more backstage space. Funding for this phase has not been fully collected, but the $3.5 million federal earmark will go toward this work.

Mayor Salem Derby reminisced at the event, recalling when he first came to the building more than 20 years ago to ask former Mayor Michael Tautznik, now the current CitySpace treasurer, if he could run for City Council.

“My story with this building is not done …,” Derby said. “This building, it does have a history and that history is just getting started.”

Along with Markey, Maxey, Tautznik and Derby, Easthampton’s state Rep. Homar Gómez and City Council President Koni Denham also spoke. Gómez thanked both Maxey and Tautznik for their dedication stewarding the Old Town Hall renovations and the amount of effort they have put in.

“I think it’s that can-do, that why no kind of spirit that really embodies this little city with a big heart,” Denham said. “I think people looked at this building and they thought, ‘why not?’”

The post Markey talks arts, national politics in campaign swing through Easthampton appeared first on Daily Hampshire Gazette.