Copyright MassLive
SPRINGFIELD — Juan F. Latorre III is running for an at-large seat on the Springfield City Council, hoping for a win that has eluded him in his past efforts to serve on the board. Latorre has been involved with the community through his work on civic associations, and most recently he was one of three members appointed to a City Council committee that spent 18 months studying how to convince nonprofits to agree to make payments in lieu of taxes. There are eight candidates, including all five incumbents, running for the five available at-large seats this year. Ahead of Tuesday, The Republican reached out to all candidates for the opposed City Council and School Committee seats to answer a short questionnaire. Find more candidates and responses in the past week’s print editions or online at masslive.com/topic/election. Juan F. Latorre III Age: 40 Address: 122 Forest Hills Road Profession: Engineer Position running for: Springfield City Council at large Introductory statement: I believe that Springfield’s greatest days are ahead of us, but to achieve them, the City Council needs bold new leadership, and I seek to deliver that leadership. My expansive service to the city over the last 20 years includes teaching Boy Scouts about civics, serving meals to those in need and hosting food drives, supporting nonprofit organizations that work to improve our housing stock and provide first rate library services, and addressing quality of life issues in my own neighborhood through our civic association. These experiences have left me with a profound understanding of the opportunities our city can provide, and the challenges our residents are facing. My experience as an engineer has taught me the importance of attention to detail, solving problems, and making sure all stakeholders are at the table — critical skills that will benefit our City Council. I’m ready to grow our city. What is the biggest problem in the city, and how would you address it? We need to improve how the city responds to quality-of-life issues. Residents who work hard and do the right thing each day are frustrated with noise, litter, illegal dumping, blight and speeding. Let’s work to expand code enforcement and 311 to offer support on weekends and holidays, especially during snowstorms. We need greater traffic enforcement and to continue to invest in traffic calming to slow down vehicles and improve the safety of our streets. The City Council always struggles to keep taxes low, while providing needed services and making advancements. How specifically will you balance the three? The annual increases in taxes we’ve seen the last decade are not sustainable. We’re squeezing every last cent out of taxpayers. Payment in lieu of taxes agreements with large nonprofits can provide new revenue streams. Attracting new industries will grow our tax base. In every household, families have conversations about needs versus wants — I’m asking Springfield to do the same. We will provide great services, while we eliminate waste and identify new cost savings. The housing crisis continues to take a toll on residents and those who want to move to the city. How should Springfield attack the problem. Springfield must encourage the responsible development of all types of housing — affordable, workforce and market rate. Continued investment in vacant commercial properties will help us to lower rents and attract new residents. Any negotiation that Springfield undertakes with a business must include a first-time home buyers program so Springfield employees can become Springfield families. The development community can help us identify barriers to development so that we can promote greater investment. What types of development would you like to attract to the city and how would you do it? I want to bring more science, technology, engineering and math industries to Springfield. These industries provide good wages that can lead to generational wealth. I also want to invest in organizations that support entrepreneurship and business technical training. Economic development needs to be proactive, not reactive. We should engage businesses in the most expensive commercial real estate markets in the country (including Boston) and encourage them to open satellite offices in Springfield.
