WE WON!

Yes: 5,573 - 60%

No: 3,762 - 40%

The numbers say it all. The people of Northampton understood what we needed to do to preserve our most basic services. And we did it.

This campaign was a reflection of our great city, filled with literally hundreds who took time out to make this outcome possible. It's a testimony to all of us that we won the way we did. It shows the power of what people working together can do.

Thank you for your inspiration and for making us all so proud to be a part of this great community.

In every ward, we made big gains over the 2004. In every ward, we had an incredible team of volunteers making a big difference. Here is the break down by Ward:

WARD/PRECINCT	YES	NO
1A	252	121
1B	547	370
2A	470	109
2B	295	76
3A	323	230
3B	299	154
4A	186	55
4B	575	249
5A	428	245
5B	479	325
6A	347	502
6B	482	507
7A	429	355
7B	461	464
TOTAL	5,573	3,762

Join Our Campaign.

We must pass an override!  Vote Yes! on Tuesday, June 16th.

Northampton faces an unprecedented budget shortfall. The nationwide economic downturn has led to a steep loss in revenues right here at home. A city budget already stretched thin is now facing the threat of extraordinary cuts to every public service we depend upon. While some cuts will have to be made, relying on cuts alone to close this budget gap would seriously harm our schools and our city services. That is why we are calling for all citizens to support a property tax override.

See our factsheet to learn more about the city budget, the override, and the reasons why it is needed. Many answers to frequently asked questions about the override can also be found here. Also, get up to date on the news of the campaign here. You can find the official language of the override here and override calculator here.   If you want to volunteer, contact your ward captain and let them know you want to help.

What You Can Do.

There are many things that you can do to help this effort succeed.

Contact Your City Councilor or School Committee Member

The City Council voted for the override 6-to-1, but there is a second vote on May 7 that needs to happen before it is place on the ballot. Call your City Councilor and let them know there is strong community support for an override. Contact information here.

Show up at the Meetings. Make Your Voice Heard.

Please attend City Council and other important meetings. Join our list (see below) to find our when meetings are happening.

Get on Our E-mail List

We will let you know what is happening, how the campaign is developing, and what you can do to help. To join our list, go here.

Volunteer

We will need people to phone call, door knock, drop off literature, hold signs, and do many more tasks. Please help in anyway you can. Contact us at voteyesnorthampton@gmail.com. Here is the phonebank schedule and the ward captains to contact. We could use your help in identifying Yes voters, which you can do at home on your own or with others as part of a phonebank

Persuade

Talk to your neighbors, your friends, your family. Let them know how important it is for our schools and our community to support the override. To help you out, here is a fact sheet on the override and some answers to frequently asked questions. Here is also a flyer you could hand out at public forums. Also, send people who are not sure to the website. Lots of information here to help them make up their mind.

Identify Voters

When you are talking to your neighbors, your friends, your family, find out if they will support the override. Send us the names, identifying our supporters, undecided voters, and even those who say they oppose. That will help us know to whom we need to make our case to and who we need to encourage to get out and vote.

Contribute

While most of this campaign will be done through volunteers like you, we still need to pay for lawn signs, direct mail, and other costs. If you can contribute financially, please contact us and let us know. Any contribution you can afford will help. Send checks to: Vote Yes! Northampton, P.O. Box 1595, Northampton, MA 01061. If possible, e-mail us to let us know it is coming.

Vote!

We need your vote on Tuesday, June 16th. It will determine whether our schools and other critical city services get the support they need. And we know too well the importance of every single vote: Northampton's last override campaign in 2004 lost by only 8 votes! We can't let that happen again. Let's get out the vote!

Keep in mind the election is June 16. Will you still be in town? If not, ask for an absentee ballot. If you have not registered to vote, you must register by May 27. Please do not put it off. There is too much at stake.