Committee unanimously recommends attorney Carrie Ciprovsky for License Commission nomination

The Springfield City General Government Committee unanimously recommended attorney Carrie Ciprovsky for nomination to the License Commission and will forward the nomination to the full City Council with a positive recommendation; the council hearing is scheduled for Sept. 15 at 7:00 p.m.

The committee’s vote follows a brief confirmation interview in which Carrie Ciprovsky described roughly 20 years in legal practice, including time as a law clerk in superior court, several years in the district attorney’s office and a period in the city law department during which she routinely attended License Commission meetings as the attending attorney. Ciprovsky told the committee, “I’ve been an attorney for about close to 20 years,” and said her prior work with the commission gave her familiarity with its work.

Committee members and a supporter who spoke in the chamber emphasized neighborhood input and public safety as priorities for the License Commission. Ciprovsky said neighborhood councils should be involved when residents raise concerns about “overdensity” of alcohol licenses, noting that “we definitely have to balance that with what the neighborhood wants and can support.” Councilor Tim Allen asked whether Ciprovsky had met current commissioners or other stakeholders; she said she had not met the current chair Alicia Days but that she had attended many commission meetings in her prior role as the commission’s attorney.

Councilor Tim Allen made the motion to approve the committee recommendation; Councilor Davila seconded. Allen and Davila voted yes; the committee recorded the recommendation as unanimous. Committee members confirmed the nomination will be presented at the City Council meeting on Sept. 15 at 7:00 p.m.

Jerry Martin, who the committee identified as present in the chamber, offered a brief endorsement, saying he had worked closely with Ciprovsky and called her “somebody of high character and extreme intelligence.” The committee did not reference any statutory citations or hearings beyond the committee interview and the upcoming City Council confirmation hearing.

Ciprovsky told the committee she was nominated by the Hungry Hill Neighborhood Council and said she understood that the East Springfield Neighborhood Council had also nominated her. She described civic involvement, including participation in a Leadership Pioneer Valley program sponsored by the city law department and a prior run for the school committee.

The committee’s action was limited to a positive recommendation; the full City Council will make the final appointment.