Election 2015: Rudd Calls for New Vision, New Leadership
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I write this about 10 days before the preliminary mayoral election in North Adams. Having been the first to return my papers, I had hoped for a one-to-one contest with current Mayor Dick Alcombright. That would have been a stimulating debate about the real issues and solutions. I had hoped that John Barrett would not enter the race despite the constant rumors I was hearing. However, he did enter the race and he still has his campaign machine working.
I understand the realities of local politics; my chances are now a very uphill climb, almost like an Independent trying to win a national election when the country is divided into Democrats and Republicans. North Adams is deeply divided into the Barrett and Alcombright camps — and to hope that residents will support someone new is probably beyond reasonable hope.
However, I will make my case on Tuesday at a debate sponsored by the North County Care Coalition and focused on the hospital closing and economics. That is a huge issue and one that will allow challengers to make the argument that things would not have happened under different leadership, and Alcombright trying to defend his actions by stating that the closing was beyond his control.
The truth is, it was mismanaged by all the politicians and since its closing, the mayor has not been a leader for our community. There is a chance to force the hospital to open again — with beds and a maternity ward — but it will take strong and smart organization. I know how to do that. If I'm defeated, I'm very worried about its prospects.
The other big issues of past elections remain the issues of this year's contest. Our downtown is as bleak today as it was 16 years ago before Mass MoCA opened. We have not been attracting new residents and new development to make any measurable difference. As the city struggles in every corner, the past two years have been incredibly disastrous. In addition to losing our full-service hospital, the city lost a $300,000 lawsuit which both mayors mismanaged, we lost our newspaper, and we've had a net loss of stores on Main Street.
Each year, taxes go up, fees go up, services go down, and the biggest kick in the stomach for residents is that their property values continue to decline. Our quality of life is crumbling as our problems and bills increase. We can't keep taxing the same folks more and more. We need to attract new residents and new investment. But that's been obvious for many years — during both administrations.
With more than 40 years of business experience and a track record of successful projects in North Adams, I believe that I have the answers. In a very short summary, we can activate our downtown by removing all parking meters, and installing a paid VIP lot at the museum; that will make us more money than before and stimulate visitors to park on Main Street. I want to open a full-service tourist office in the lobby of City Hall, with new signage. I want to provide shuttle service between the downtown and the museum entrance — all paid by advertisers. Those efforts (and others) will put customers on our sidewalks instantly.
Studies clearly indicate that business creation is done by residents. To stimulate new residents and new businesses, I want to upgrade the existing home occupation ordinances to encourage "live/work" spaces in our residential districts (not just for artists, but for all professions). We could have been first in the country to do this; now, even the new town manager of Adams is proposing this. It's not too late; if done properly, this will create a stampede of interest in the vacant housing stock and raise property values.
Even the proposed bicycle trail is not being planned wisely. Barbara and I ride our bikes often, and we enjoy "destinations." Instead of forcing the trail through residential neighborhoods and bypassing our business district, we should route the trail into Heritage State Park, Main Street and Mass MoCA.
Similar to European bike lanes, we can easily create a safe bike lane along Route 2 towards Williamstown, with plastic pipes separating the bike lane from traffic (which are easily removed for winter months; I suggest using green lanes, with yellow dividing lines and poles). This will increase property values along Route 2 while showing off our attractions and businesses.
In other areas, I want to bring North Adams into the 21st century. Some services need economy of scale to function properly and economically — like trash collection. With government processes, I want to streamline how City Hall operates and make it pro-growth, pro-business and pro-customer. A culture change is needed as the current mayor operates very similarly to his predecessor, despite differences in personalities.
Finally, a fight to return our hospital will pit our city against the direction that BHS/BMC is heading. But fight we must, before tragic deaths occur and before it becomes the economic kiss of death that offsets any positive actions that any new mayor might attempt. Alcombright is wrong in accepting BMC's line that a full-service hospital is not economically sustainable. BHS/BMC has legally lost its charitable property tax exemption for the North Adams property; if elected, I would send BHS a $500,000 tax bill — that will get its attention. I'm a believer in the carrot and the stick — and in this case, we can bring out the stick.
Residents might never get to see how well I could mange to repair our systems. However, I hope my proposals, outlined more specifically on www.NorthAdamsMayor.com and Eric Rudd for North Adams Mayor on Facebook will be read and carefully considered by all residents.
I'm running for mayor because I saw no one else stepping forward with innovative and long overdue measures. Two men have occupied the mayor's office for 32 years. Being mayor should not be a permanent position. I believe it is time for a change, but if the political camps remain as they have been, I will be defeated and we will have to wait several more years before someone new takes the office. When will voters learn that to elect the same two men over and over again but to expect different results is not going to work?
Artist and developer Eric Rudd is running in the preliminary election on Sept. 22 for a spot on the 2015 mayoral ballot.
Tags: campaign statements, election 2015, NorthAdamsElection,
