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Alcombright Campaigns With Outreach, Community EventsBy Melanie Rancourt
Special to iBerkshires
03:56PM / Wednesday, August 19, 2009
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Photos by Melanie Rancourt
Keith Bona, an Alcombright supporter and City Council candidate, paints faces on Saturday at Richard Alcombright's community campaign event. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The election is still nearly three months away but mayoral challenger Richard Alcombright has been campaigning heavily with fundraisers, stand outs, talks and events like Saturday's "community day" at The Range off Curran Highway.
"We are very happy with the turnout today," Alcombright said. "We always wish for more people but we are competing with family vacations and beach days because this has got to be one of the best days of the summer."
The weather was hot and muggy on Saturday with clear skies. The event, which ran from 11 to 2, included miniature golf, a bounce house, bean-bag tossing, face painting and free cotton candy, hot dogs and ice cream cones.
Range owner David Bond, a candidate for City Council and a member of Alcombright's fund-raising campaign, said hundreds attended the three-hour event.
"The campaign was looking for a place to hold the event and even though I am not into self-promotion, we have enough room here at The Range that we could accompany the steady crowd that came out today," said Bond. "Even though it didn't look like it, there was at least 400 people coming and going throughout the day."
Alcombright described the free food and activities as a way of thanking contributors to the campaign.
The city councilor says he's been doing a lot of outreach both to neighborhoods and to surrounding communities. He's taking on the state's longest serving mayor in John Barrett III this Nov. 3. Barrett's also done some fund raising and campaigning, but not to the extent that Alcombright has so far. But his annual birthday celebration several months ago drew hundreds of well-wishers.
North Adams, however, is beginning to divide along color lines — blue for Barrett and green for Alcombright — as campaign signs have been popping up in windows, on lawns and on bumper stickers. Headquarters of the opposing camps are barely two blocks apart, with Alcombright in the Flatiron building at the end of Eagle Street and Barrett near the corner of Ashland and Main. At least two debates are expected between the two mayoral candidates this fall.
Alcombright's fundraisers include a spaghetti supper being held at the American Legion in North Adams on Sept. 10 and a buffet dinner and DJ at the Bounti-Fare in Adams on Oct. 3 that's being themed a "Building Bridges" night.
"We are holding the event in Adams as a show of support for other communities," said Becky Cohen, Alcombright's event coordinator. "We would like to connect all towns — Adams, Williamstown, Clarksburg and Florida. People living in those towns are all invited. This is not just a North Adams event."
Cohen said she's joined the campaign because Alcombright "has a fresh vision and many good ideas for the city of North Adams." Other supporters include downtown businessman and former city councilor Keith Bona, who's hoping to return to the board this November.
Bona's face painting table under one of the tents was a huge hit with the kids. Children munched on hot dogs while they waited in long lines to get their faces painted with Bona's beautiful artwork of flowers, dragons, butterflies, cats and spiders.
A graphic designer by nature, Bona bought some paints, tried a few designs out on his daughter and decided that he would bring his new-found hobby to the event. Everyone was very impressed, including 8-year-old Katrina Hotaling, who waited in line for a face full of flowers and a butterfly on her cheek.
"We came out to the event because we are keeping our options open in this election," said her mother, Sheila Hotaling. "We would like to get as much information on both candidates as possible." |
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