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Miller Endorsed by Planned Parenthood Fund |
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Miller Campaign On: 08:16PM / Wednesday October 05, 2011 |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund (the political arm of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts) has announced that it is supporting Mark Miller in his bid to become the next state representative for the 3rd Berkshire District.
The announcement comes on the heels of the endorsement by Mass Alliance, the statewide coalition that includes Planned Parenthood.
George Hollister Isman of Mass Alliance cited Mark's pro-choice stance in her statement announcing the coalition's endorsement of the Green/Rainbow Party candidate: "Mark Miller is the clear progressive choice for state representative. His commitment to excellent public schools, good local jobs, a woman's right to choose, and a heath care system that is truly universal and affordable will make him a strong progressive voice in the State House."
Together with the support of the UAW, Mass Nurses and Mass Alliance, this latest endorsement shows that the GRP's Mark Miller is staking out political ground usually occupied by Democrats. In a post-primary mailing to Democratic voters, Miller highlighted his respect for Ryan Scago and Pete White, who together won 60 percent of the votes. Referring to their suggestions for job-creation in Pittsfield, Miller wrote:
"It's hardly surprising that I agreed with Pete and Ryan. After all, my political heroes are FDR and Harry Truman, and I've voted for every Democratic presidential nominee from LBJ to Barack Obama ... I'm running as a Green rather than as a Democrat because of my commitment to progressive, Democratic values. Pittsfield needs a new kind of representative and Massachusetts needs a new kind of politics."
The special election will take place Tuesday, Oct. 18.
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3rd Berkshire Candidates Debate Politics at BCC |
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By:Joe Durwin On: 02:07PM / Tuesday October 04, 2011 |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Candidates from a diverse political spectrum took to the stage at Berkshire Community College Monday night to debate their policies and qualifications to represent the city on Beacon Hill.
Republican candidate Mark Jester, Independent Pam Malumphy, Democrat Nominee Patricia Farley-Bouvier and Green-Rainbow Party favorite Mark Miller are all seeking election on Oct. 18 to the 3rd Berkshire District left vacant by Christopher Speranzo, who resigned from the seat after being appointed clerk-magistrate at Central Berkshire District Court in July forcing a special election.
Several questions asked by moderator Brandon Walker, Berkshire correspondent for YNN Albany, were familiar from the previous Democratic primary debate but saw a greater divergence of answers and the administrative philosophies behind them.
On the subject of healthcare legislation in Massachusetts, Malumphy said that she would like to see the Commonwealth "move toward single-payer healthcare" but that in the short-term there needed to be a "collaborative conversation" between hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and insurers to look at "the real cost of healthcare."
Jester pointed to his own background in the insurance business to explain his belief that the Commonwealth's past legislation itself lead to rising costs in insurance, through regulations which had reduced the insurers.
Jester said, "we need to bring once again, into the state, competitive healthcare," to drive down costs, expand coverage and make it easier for businesses to insure employees.
Miller called the current system "unaffordable for many" and "a huge gift to the private health insurance industry and the pharmaceutical companies." He pointed to Vermont as a leading role-model in healthcare legislation and pointed to the role of third-party legislators in providing the extra votes to pass the single-payer bill in that state.
"I’m the only candidate at this table who’s foursquare for single payer healthcare," he said.
Farley-Bouvier said that, like Malumphy, she believed "we need to work toward something like single-payer," but said that there were many things that could be done in the short term to reduce healthcare costs, such as bringing e-records to the healthcare system and a new coding system. She said that we have to "meet the challenge" of administrative costs, and reduce the actual cost of healthcare "before we can look at providing Medicare for all."
On casinos, only Miller voiced strong opposition to building casinos in the state. Jester and Malumphy both said they would have supported a one-casino model, as opposed to the three overwhelmingly approved in the State House last month. Farley-Bouvier said that at this point, she has more questions than answers on the current legislation. All four candidates expressed some dissatisfaction with the way in which the legislation had been handled in the State House and a lack of transparency.
Miller said that he had been the only candidate who had opposed approving casino gambling all along, "even before the primary."
Farley-Bouvier, however, has previously indicated being personally opposed to casino gambling while on the City Council in 2007 when she cast the single dissenting vote against putting forth the non-binding question on this issue which was presented to voters on that year’s ballot. At the time, 59 percent of city voters indicated they approved of legalized gambling in Massachusetts.
In discussing educational issues, Malumphy took specific issue with Farley-Bouvier, who had previously been on the city's School Building Needs Commission, about a perceived lack of clarity in that process as well as her choice to send her children to Lenox schools.
"I think the public is feeling very left out of that conversation," Malumphy said. "And I find it troubling that Ms. Bouvier, who has headed the School Building Needs Commission, is now running for public office, has sent her children to a different school to, in Lenox."
Farley-Bouvier, given the chance to respond to what has become a point of some controversy in her campaign, said that "not every school is for every kid, and my husband and I, as a family decision, made a decision based on the unique educational needs of our children."
All candidates also made reference to the level of scandal in the State House, such as the indictment of its last three Speakers on indictment. Each vowed to try to address corruption and transparency in government if elected.
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Malumphy Calls for Term Limits, Redistricting Reform |
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Malumphy Campaign On: 08:30PM / Thursday September 29, 2011 |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Independent candidate Pam Malumphy on Wednesday announced her position on two key election reform issues affecting the 3rd Berkshire District as well as the entire Commonwealth:
1) Support for the creation of an independent commission to oversee future state legislative and congressional districts in Massachusetts.
2) Support for term limits on state representatives and state senators.
Malumphy stated, "As I have gone door-to-door across the city of Pittsfield, voters have told me that they feel disconnected from their government and that they lack public confidence in state government. As state representative I will support and propose legislation that reforms state government and makes it more accountable to the people of Massachusetts including the 3rd Berkshire District."
Malumphy called for legislation that would create an independent commission to focus on redistricting efforts rather than leaving it up to the legislature.
"The Legislature should not be the body responsible for creating voting districts…it becomes too political, a recent speaker of the House resigned and plead guilty to obstruction of justice because of his involvement in the redistricting process. To reduce this political influence many states such as Iowa, Minnesota, California and Ohio and others have instituted redistricting reforms such as independent commissions to do this important work."
Malumphy also issued her support for term limits of 12 years, which is six terms for both members of the House of Representatives and state Senate.
"I believe by placing these limits, we get more people to seek public office, we will get more contested races and we increase public trust in the state legislature."
With the last two Democratic state representatives vacating their seats, forcing expensive special elections, Malumphy said she is "determined to demonstrate that partisan politics and back room deals are not acceptable in Pittsfield or on Beacon Hill."
One of the legislative committee assignments Malumphy plans to ask for, if elected, are seats on the House Committee on Ethics or the Joint Committee on Elections Laws. She would also like a seat on the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business as well as the Joint Committee on Education.
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Farley-Bouvier Wins Dem Nomination for 3rd District |
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By: Joe Durwin On: 11:12PM / Tuesday September 20, 2011 |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Tricia Farley-Bouvier captured the Democratic nomination for 3rd Berkshire District in a special election primary on Tuesday that saw low turnout.
Farley-Bouvier, a former city councilor, topped her opponents by only a few hundred votes, garnering 1,430 votes to Peter White's 1,234 and Ryan Scago's 1,082.
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Farley-Bouvier is now in a four-way race to fill the 3rd Berkshire District seat.
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About 17 percent of registered voters went to the polls. Votes were also cast in the Green-Rainbow Party primary for Mark Miller and as write-ins the Republican Party primary to place Mark Jester on the ballot for October.
Farley-Bouvier was magnanimous in victory, saying that she had "tremendous respect" for the other two candidates.
"This was the cleanest, friendliest campaign I've ever participated in," she told iBerkshires on Wednseday.
She will face off in less than a month against Miller, Jester and independent Pam Malumphy to see who will fill the state representative seat left vacant by Christopher Speranzo.
Meanwhile, White says he will mount a write-in campaign to see if he can hold onto his Ward 2 seat on the City Council. Kevin Morandi is running unopposed for the seat; White beat him for the council spot two years ago. Under Massachusetts electoral law, there is no minimum number of votes required for a write-in candidate — to win, they simply have to receive the highest number of votes.
"I'm not done serving Pittsfield," White told supporters gathered at Patrick's Pub on Tuesday. "I'm not ready to give up my Ward 2 seat."
White pledged to support Farley-Bouvier going forward in the special election.
"Make sure you listen to what goes on in this campaign, because everything we've talked about in this campaign still needs to be fought for. We still need single-payer health care, we still need jobs in Pittsfield, we still need to change our educational system," he said.
Farley-Bouvier also praised White's announcement that he will seek election through a write-in campaign for Ward 2. "At the very beginning of this campaign, I told Pete how valuable I believe he is on the City Council," she said. "I'm absolutely thrilled he will run for re-election to his seat."
She said one of the biggest concerns will be getting out ballot-weary voters for the special election on Oct. 18. Counting Tuesday's primary and the city's preliminary election on Tuesday, Sept. 27, it will be the third election in less than a month for Pittsfield. The general election is Nov. 8.
"The biggest surprise yesterday was the voter turnout, which was very low," said Farley-Bouvier. "So one of the big things will be educating people and making them aware that there is a special election going on."
Updated on Sept. 21, 12:03 p.m.
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Scago Calls For State Stimulus Package |
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By: Scago Campaign On: 10:08AM / Tuesday September 20, 2011 |
Release from Ryan Scago, who is running for the Democratic nomination for state representative for the 3rd District.
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In the wake of President Obama's speech and call for another jobs and economic development package I feel that the state of Massachusetts should take the initiative and put together its own economic stimulus geared specifically to the state and its residents.
This package should include but not be limited to a detailed list of important infrastructure improvements and reinvestment on key components such as roads, bridges and rail lines. An emphasis should be placed on job creation through any means necessary, coming in the form of tax incentives where if employers add on a certain percentage of new employees, or rehire workers that are currently out of work they receive a reduction in taxes.
This bill should also call for provisions to help those currently unemployed seek out training to switch into different job markets in order to increase opportunities for job placement.
As part of this package I would also encourage lawmakers to consider raising the personnel income exemption in an effort to keep more money in the pockets of hardworking Massachusetts residents. I would recommend the legislature put its head together and find other means to replace any lost revenue.
I feel the fiscal problems that are faced today need creative and innovative solutions, and no form of government is in a better position to meet these needs than state government. That in mind, one potential solution would be provisions for people that want to work or pay down debt to be allowed to do community service, perhaps even for their lender in an effort to reduce debt through labor instead of repayment in monetary terms.
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U.S. Senate Election
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The state is holding a special election to fill the seat vacated by John F. Kerry, who has been confirmed as U.S. secretary of state.
The state primary is Tuesday, April 30. The last day to register to vote or to change party affiliation for the primary is Wednesday, April 10. Enrolled voters may only vote in their party primary; unenrolled voters may select a primary to vote in without changing their status.
The special election is scheduled for Tuesday, June 25. The last day to register to vote in the election is Wednesday, June 5.
To register to vote, one must be at least age 18 by the date of the election, a U.S. citizen and a resident of the municipality in which you are voting.
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Election 2009 Stories
2010 Special Senate Election Results
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