Editing Springfield, Massachusetts (section)

===Politics===

{{See also|List of mayors of Springfield, Massachusetts|Mayoral elections in Springfield, Massachusetts}}
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan = 6 | Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 26, 2024<ref>{{cite web|title=Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 26, 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Elections Division |access-date=November 23, 2024 |url=https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/elections/research-and-statistics/accessible-table/enrollment-breakdown-2024.htm}}</ref>
|-
! colspan = 2 | Party
! Number of Voters
! Percentage
|-
| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (United States)}}
| [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 39,388
| style="text-align:center;"| 32.80%
|-
| {{party color cell|Republican Party (United States)}}
| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 7,072
| style="text-align:center;"| 5.89%
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent Party (United States)}}
| Unaffiliated
| style="text-align:center;"| 72,335
| style="text-align:center;"| 60.24%
|-
| {{party color cell|Libertarian Party (United States)}}
| [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 460
| style="text-align:center;"| 0.38%
|-
! colspan = 2 | Total
! style="text-align:center;"| 120,078
! style="text-align:center;"| 100%
|}

Springfield became a [[City (Massachusetts)|city]] on May 25, 1852, by decree of the [[Massachusetts General Court|Massachusetts Legislature]], after a decade-long internal dispute that resulted in the partition of Chicopee from Springfield, and thus the loss of two fifths of the city's population.

Springfield, like all municipalities in Massachusetts, is subject to limited [[home rule]] municipal power. The current [[charter|city charter]], in effect since 1959, uses a "strong mayor" government with most power concentrated in the [[mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts|mayor]], as in Boston and elsewhere. The mayor representing the city's executive branch presents the budget, appoints commissioners and department heads, and in general runs the city. The mayor is former City Councilor [[Domenic Sarno]], elected November 6, 2007, by a margin of 52.54% to 47.18% against incumbent Charles Ryan. He took office in January 2008. In November 2009 and 2011, Sarno won reelection, albeit—in the latter case—with just 22% of eligible Springfield voters voting.<ref name="valleyadvocate">{{cite news |last=Turner |first=Maureen |date=December 8, 2011 |title=News—Where Were They on Election Day? Apathy is too simple a way of explaining why 78 percent of Springfield voters didn't make it to the polls in November. |url=http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=14394 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315213443/http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=14394 |archive-date=March 15, 2012 |url-status=dead |work=The Valley Advocate |access-date=May 22, 2019 }}</ref>

The Springfield [[City Council]], consisting of thirteen members, is the city's legislative branch. Elected every odd numbered year, eight of its members are elected to represent "wards", which are made of (sometimes incongruous) groupings of Springfield neighborhoods, e.g. Springfield's ethnic North End neighborhoods—Memorial Square and Brightwood—share a ward with Metro Center, Springfield's downtown. Five city council members are elected at-large. The City Council passes the city's budget, holds hearings, creates departments and commissions, and amends zoning laws.

The mayor's office and city council chambers are located in city hall—part of the [[Springfield Municipal Group|Municipal Group]] in Metro Center, Springfield. The Finance Control Board met there as well.

Springfield is heavily Democratic. In the [[2020 US Presidential Election]] Democrat [[Joe Biden]] received 72.4 percent of the vote to Republican [[Donald Trump]]'s 25.7 percent.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://electionstats.state.ma.us/elections/view/140751/filter_by_county:Hampden | title=PD43+ » 2020 President General Election Statewide (Showing only Hampden County) | access-date=September 8, 2022 | archive-date=September 8, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908160417/https://electionstats.state.ma.us/elections/view/140751/filter_by_county:Hampden | url-status=live }}</ref>