We just had an election. You saw the lawn signs. The people standing at the corner downtown or exactly 150 feet outside every polling place, braving cold weather and slight drizzle to support their candidate of choice. And guess what, the candidates were your neighbors. The people ahead of you in line at State Street or Pie Bar. People like Alex Jarrett.

Alex came to Northampton at 22, looking for the right spot to put down roots. The roots took. After co-founding a Northampton institution, Pedal People Cooperative, Alex Jarrett remembered that city government is run by regular people such as himself. And he set about conquering his own shyness to run for office.