Mayors, lawmakers and candidates convened in Springfield, Massachusetts Wednesday – not for a convention or ceremony but the annual Hampden County Sheriff’s cookout, which can be just as important for area politicos.
There aren’t many chances in western Mass to grab a hoagie and chat with a mayor or two, but hundreds of people did just that Wednesday at Elks Lodge #61 in Springfield.
“There's got to be over 1000 people that are [walking] through the doors today, and that's humbling,” said Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi, who continued his office’s decades-long tradition of hosting and feeding over an estimated 1,100 people throughout the day.
From noontime and into the evening, sausages, hamburgers and more were being grilled up. It was long a clambake hosted by his predecessor, Michael Ashe, for almost 40 years.
Cocchi and his team have continued the summertime staple – highlighting the work of the sheriff’s office while attracting both elected officials from across the state and those seeking office themselves.
“I think, number one, every candidate comes here, and it's smart to do so because they're going to be in touch with many people in the district that they're running and what I really like about this cookout is that it brings Boston to western Massachusetts, so when you start talking about state-level candidates and gubernatorial and auditors and things like that, you get to have your say,” Cocchi told reporters. “And when they’re here, they’re here asking for your vote … they have no other choice but to listen to what some of the issues that you have are, and I think it resonates, and it goes back to Boston.”
With many state officials in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention and fewer competitive races on the ballot compared to last year, the cookout still drew a few state leaders.
With the governor and lieutenant governor out of state, Secretary of State Bill Galvin made an appearance on a day when he was briefly acting governor.
Also stopping by – State Auditor and almost-acting-governor, Diana DiZoglio. Informed last week she would likely assume the role with Maura Healey, Kim Driscoll, and others at the DNC, the fellow Democrat told WAMC a last-minute change resulted in Galvin serving in Healey’s place instead.
Nevertheless, DiZoglio drafted an executive order to ban the use of taxpayer-funded nondisclosure agreements to cover illegal activities.
“It is a gross abuse of taxpayer dollars - it is immoral. It is unethical to allow these non-disclosure agreements to continue to silence victims of harassment, discrimination, or any other form of misconduct,” she said Wednesday. “We should not be allowing powerful perpetrators of abuse to continue to abuse our tax dollars to prevent themselves from having to face accountability regarding misconduct that they may have entered into.”
DiZoglio adds the cookout featured plenty of talk about an upcoming ballot question she has championed. Question 1 would allow DiZoglio to audit activities of the state legislature and more and is opposed by the state attorney general and legislative leaders.
“As soon as I came in today, the question of the day was ‘How's the ballot question going?’ and I know what they mean - they're talking about Question 1 - bring on the sun!” DiZoglio said. “That is kind of the logo that we've been going with, it was kind of something somebody said to me, actually, just a couple of weeks ago, and I said, ‘That's great tagline.’ I said, ‘I love that.’ Vote yes on one, bring on the sun - and what we're talking about, friends, is our audit of the state legislature here in Massachusetts.”
Elsewhere in the crowds Wednesday were candidates like Johnnie Ray McKnight, who is taking on incumbent State Representative Bud Williams in the Democratic primary for the 11th Hampden seat.
With Williams not participating in debates or forums that were slated for this week, McKnight told WAMC the cookout offered an opportunity to get his name out while also catching up with the sheriff.
“A lot of people might not be from the district, because you got people traveling all over from the state, but… it does put you in the conversations [with] people that vote you know normally and that are active in politics,” he said. “So, that’s a good thing, but really, I’m here just to support the sheriff and the work that he’s doing.”
Other attendees included Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, the city’s police superintendent, Lawrence Akers, and Chicopee Mayor John Vieau.
While the event is known for its political implications, the cookout also put a spotlight on local and state law enforcement.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni tells WAMC he’s been attending for some 20 years, including his nearly 10 as DA.
“There's always a great crowd, always a nice coming together, and it shows support and it shows what we do here together in western Massachusetts,” he said. “We're sort of a family, we work together, and we support each other in law enforcement, in government and beyond that, so, I think it's a nice showing for everyone.”
