SPRINGFIELD – City lawyers are recommending the City Council rescind a decision to abandon a vacant lot due to a series of conflict of interest concerns.
Council President Tracye Whitfield conceded she made a mistake when she did not immediately recuse herself while presiding over a Monday meeting. At that session, her son requested that a 6,000-square-foot city-owned parcel at the corner of Wisteria and Wallace streets be abandoned for other use.
When asked about the law department’s recommendation, issued Thursday, Whitfield said she is committed to doing what is “ethical, lawful, and consistent with the responsibilities of the Council.”
Whitfield, who owns the development company JETS Property Development with her son, Jelani Bland, and two other people, presided over the meeting for about 11 minutes before a fellow councilor spoke up and suggested she should recuse herself.
At that time, she turned the meeting over to Jose Delgado, who is the council’s vice president, but did not explain that she had a financial interest in the company, nor did she explain that the man presenting the case was her son.
Shortly after the meeting, Whitfield said she made a mistake and attributed it to inexperience, noting that she had only been president for a month. She sent an email to City Solicitor Stephen Buoniconti about an hour after the meeting ended asking for guidance on how to rectify the issue.
“I wasn’t trying to do anything illegal. It was an honest mistake and we learn from our mistakes,” she said Tuesday.
After a two-day examination, Buoniconti released a letter Thursday to Whitfield and the City Council with his findings. Buoniconti said he found multiple violations during the meeting and in previous dealings between JETS Property Development and city boards.
“The City Council’s vote on the discontinuance of Wallace Street is tainted and rife with conflict-of-interest violations,” according to the letter, which was addressed to Whitfield.
“Due to your failure to recuse yourself from all deliberation, your failure to disclose on the record to the council and the public at large your financial interest in JETS and your relationship as mother and son to the petitioner who testified before the City Council, the law department recommends a motion to rescind the previous vote,” the letter said.
In addition, Whitfield also failed to file disclosures of a conflict of interest with the Springfield City Clerk’s office, which is required by law, the letter said.
While several city councilors said they want to comply with the advisory, it is unclear what the process will be, since council rules call for the president to call the meeting. Buoniconti said Whitfield can open the meeting, if she chooses to call one, but then must immediately recuse herself.
Whitfield said city lawyers advised her that any vote to rescind the land decision will have to be initiated by another city councilor, but that she can call the meeting when requested.
“At this time, I am not able to provide a specific timeline for when or if that action will occur,” she said in written answers to questions Thursday evening. “My intent is to proceed in a manner that is ethical, lawful, and consistent with the responsibilities of the Council.”
Delgado, who runs the meetings in the president’s absence, said he had not had a chance to read the law department advisory when reached Thursday afternoon.
“I will check with the city solicitor on the review and what the next steps are,” he said.
The legal review also uncovered several other concerns about conflicts of interest, including Whitfield’s appearances before the Board of Public Works in 2025 and the Planning Board in 2024 requesting to change the zoning for a lot owned by JETS Property Development at 22 Wisteria St. from single-family to multi-family homes so the company could build a duplex.
Whitfield said she is consulting a lawyer about the issues and declined to comment specifically on the matter.
“I do not agree with the characterization of those concerns and believe the information presented is inaccurate,” she said.
The zone change was recommended by the Planning Board. The City Council approved the zone change in a subsequent meeting in September. Whitfield, who was not president of the council at the time, correctly recused herself from the meeting, Buoniconti said.
Whitfield said she had planned to abstain Monday from voting on the petition to abandon the Wallace Street property. She attributed her error to inexperience as president.
“At the previous Wisteria Street parcel zone change, I properly recused myself because my role was limited to that of a council member,” she said.
According to the letter, Buoniconti said the law prohibits city councilors from participating, deliberating or influencing another city government body on matters that impact their own financial interest or that of immediate family members.
The zone change benefited JETS Property Development because it increased the value of the land.
“At these meetings, you acted as an agent for JETS while also revealing yourself as a city councilor and you advocated for the zone change as a positive improvement for development in the city. You never reported or disclosed yours or your family’s interest in JETS or your direct financial interest in the decision of the Planning Board,” the letter said.
At Monday’s City Council meeting, Whitfield’s son explained that once the city abandoned the Wallace street parcel, he was expecting the property would be divided and that he, as an abutter, and the property owner on the other side would each have an opportunity to receive one half.
He said he had already talked to his neighbor about purchasing the land from him.
“As a manager and officer of the LLC, you have a financial interest in JETS,” Buoniconti said. “If the City Council approved JETS’ petition, JETS would receive a parcel of land that had financial value.”
Citing the law that says a city councilor should have no financial dealings with the city, Buoniconti said there are also concerns about JETS Property’s successful bid on two parcels of surplus land the city auctioned off Tuesday. In total there were 20 lots sold, with JETS Property purchasing a lot on Clarendon Street for $51,450 and a lot on 120 Newland St. for $47,250.
Whitfield said her business is consulting a lawyer to see if it should proceed with the paperwork to complete the sales in light of the concerns.
She said she also plans to reexamine how legal support is provided to the City Council, saying the current lawyer is not always present and available to provide real-time guidance when questions arise.
At the same time, Whitfield said she is working with a local college to create a training curriculum for the City Council to ensure all members meet the highest standards in their role of representing constituents and don’t make preventable mistakes.
“I take my responsibilities seriously and remain committed to transparency and ethical leadership. I am not making this a racial issue,” she said in a statement Thursday.
“However, I am aware that as the first (female) Black City Council president — and someone whose policy positions do not always align with the city administration — my actions are closely scrutinized,“ she said.
”That reality reinforces the importance of transparency and adherence to process, which is exactly how I have approached this matter,” she wrote.
