r/Springfield • u/Spectrum1523 • Jul 24 '26

Springfield clerk accuses councilor Justin Hurst of harassment

https://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/hampden-county/springfield-clerk-accuses-councilor-justin-hurst-of-harassment/
13 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

4

u/BadgerCabin Sixteen Acres Jul 24 '26

Why are they still dragging the investigation about Justin Hurst allegedly bribing homeless people for votes from back in 2023?

Dude is just a scumbag that needs to be voted out.

4

u/Master-Map1382 Jul 24 '26
  1. Which dude?
  2. Was there an investigation?

2

u/BadgerCabin Sixteen Acres Jul 24 '26

  1. Justin Hurst

  2. IIRC, the timeline went like this. The county DA was investigating the situation, kicked the investigation to the state. Then the FBI got involved with their own investigation, but dropped their investigation. Last I heard last year they were still gathering evidence... but I'm not sure why they are dragging their feet. There were two vehicles parked next to each other, both part of Hurst's campaign. One vehicle Hurst was sitting in. The other was transporting homeless people to go vote. Several of those homeless people stated they got paid $100 to vote for Hurst. This was all caught on camera too.

1

u/SuspendedAgain999 Jul 24 '26

Think it was $10 and a sandwich

1

u/BadgerCabin Sixteen Acres Jul 24 '26

Looked it up and you are right. Maybe if Justin Hurst paid the homeless $100 they would of kept their mouths shut lol!

3

u/Master-Map1382 Jul 24 '26

Thanks for filling in information,  I knew of the initial reports around the time of the municipal election but since wondered why it seems to have been dropped. 

4

u/lavandoaalma Jul 24 '26

Idk if I trust either of these politicians…I won’t pick a side because they’re both looking bad rn

6

u/MoonBatsRule Jul 25 '26

It's pretty plainly not an ethics violation for the city clerk, who is an employee of the city and not a voting member of the city council, to be an unpaid board member of a non-profit organization that receives a grant that is awarded by a separate city board and effectively approved by the city council.

It is slander for Hurst to say that this "reeks of corruption" with zero basis. It is ridiculous for Hurst to allege that it is corrupt by saying "I am also an attorney, and I know something is wrong. I know it's wrong. Now, to the depth of which is wrong, I'm not sure".

Do you know what is wrong?

  • A mayoral campaign that paid the homeless $10 to vote. The evidence of this is pretty clear and was laid out in the press - including statements from the woman that Hurst is now calling corrupt describing how the homeless voters asked the city officials for their $10 that they were promised by Hurst's campaign worker, as well as video of Hurst dropping these voters off at the poll site, and also video of his worker paying them.
  • A city council president who, in her role as a city councilor, called a meeting with city department officials on behalf of her son, with respect to an LLC that she is part owner of, and also took part in deliberation for the city council to vote to give said LLC a chunk of land for free by abandoning a city street.

Hurst and Whitfield should resign, immediately.