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Michael Bloomberg and Tricia Farley-Bouvier are both seeking the Democratic nomination for the House of Representatives.

State Rep Candidates Battle It Out In Pittsfield Gazette Debate

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Incumbent Tricia Farley-Bouvier said the position is not an entry-level job and her opponent doesn't have the background to take it on.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Michael Bloomberg has been using a phrase "0-for-25" in describing incumbent Tricia Farley-Bouvier's legislative record.
 
That drew the most heated discussion Monday night during a debate between the challenger and Farley-Bouvier, both seeking the Democratic nomination as state representative for the 3rd District. 
 
Bloomberg has attacked the two-term representative on her record and she responded Monday by outlining a number of bills she served leadership roles on. 
 
"The unanswered question is, you have proposed over 20 pieces of legislation which you have been the lead sponsor on and not one has passed," Bloomberg said.
 
Farley-Bouvier responded that that line of thinking shows how little Bloomberg understands the legislative process. Work in the Legislature isn't about who has his or her name written as the lead sponsor but how a team gets results, she said. Farley-Bouvier said U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren hasn't passed a piece of sponsored legislation on the federal level but remains influential and effective.
 
"Being a legislator is being part of a team," she said.
 
She said she served leadership roles in co-sponsoring the recently signed Equal Pay Act, helped usher through laws requiring gas companies to repair leaks, served a leadership position through the Progressive Caucus in pushing through new transgender protections, and repealing a law from the 1980s that restricted people with drug violations from getting driver's licenses back. In the Gateway Cities Caucus, she helped create the Transformative Development Initiative that now brings a full-time fellow to focus on development in the Morningside neighborhood for three years.
 
"Tyler street has the opportunity to be completely transformed," Farley-Bouvier said.
 
Bloomberg shot back that there are hundreds of co-sponsors to bills and that a legislator should be judged on writing and passing legislation tailored for the district and bringing  back money through budget amendments. Bloomberg said Farley-Bouvier has brought back less money to the city of Pittsfield through budget amendments in the last five years than any of the other Berkshire representatives brought back to their districts just this year.
 
"Where you have been the lead sponsor, those are the bills that didn't pass. Where is the team helping to pass those bills?" Bloomberg said.
 
Moderated by retired radio news anchor Larry Kratka and put on by the Pittsfield Gazette at Berkshire Community College, the two Democratic candidates expressed their views on an array of issues. The winner of the Sept. 8 primary will face independent Christopher Connell in the general election for the seat, which encompasses nearly all of Pittsfield.
 
Starting with a ban on non-domesticated animals recently passed by the city, both candidates said they would support it on a statewide level. Farley-Bouvier added that she'd like to see legislation like that start on the local levels first and grow upward.
 
"It's been really driven from the local communities to the state level," Farley-Bouvier said. "I would be interested to see how that grassroots effort works the way around the commonwealth."
 
She called for a similar path for a ban on single-use plastic bags, which is also heading through the local process in Pittsfield and has been passed in Great Barrington. Bloomberg, however, said that type of legislation needs to take a backseat to economic development and education.
 
"I didn't hear anybody tell me their biggest issue was a plastic bag ban," Bloomberg said of his interactions with Pittsfield voters. 
 
When it comes to education, Bloomberg says the state isn't spending money wisely. A penny on the sales tax goes to fund the building of new high schools through the Massachusetts School Building Authority at the same time the system is underfunded. He'd rather see the state keep those dollars and put them toward supporting the local districts.
 
"They tell us that buildings are the most important thing for teaching kids in education," Bloomberg said.
 
The question was about the state's financial condition. Farley-Bouvier rejected the notion that the state is overspending and instead needs to find ways for more revenue.
 
"Massachusetts is not overspending," Farley-Bouvier said. "Massachusetts does not have a spending problem, Massachusetts has a revenue problem."
 
That's why she is supporting the fair-share amendment, which raises a 4 percent additional tax on income generated over $1 million. She said that would make a significant impact on funding for education and transportation.
 
Bloomberg agreed that the state isn't overspending but says to generate more revenue, more taxes aren't needed but rather a stronger focus on economic development. He said taxes in Pittsfield have risen significantly over the five years Farley-Bouvier has been in office, making it increasingly difficult for homeowners.
 
"This city has not seen private section economic growth in 30 years," Bloomberg said. "We need to focus on the local economy. We need to focus on jobs and education. We need to lift all tides in the city of Pittsfield."
 
Bloomberg touted his experience working in finance in New York City as a background that would make him  effective as a state representative. Farley-Bouvier, however, retored that the state representative job is "not an entry-level position." 
 
"I am happy at any time to put my resume side by side with my opponent," Farley-Bouvier said, boasting of her 30 years as a resident and a dozen as a city councilor, director of administration for former Mayor James Ruberto and the last five as state representative.
 
Farley-Bouvier says she is accessible and collaborative when it comes to the job. She says she is constantly in conversation with the mayor, school superintendent, city councilors, the School Committee, and others in the community to handle issues.
 
"It is really teamwork that gets us to where we need to be," Farley-Bouvier said, using the term "team Pittsfield" as she had throughout the campaign. "I am in really close contact with the mayor, with the city councilors, with the superintendent, and with the school committee." 
 
For the incumbent, that means listening to and supporting what the residents of Pittsfield and the leaders in the city want. When it comes to the proposed Walmart Supercenter at the William Stanley Business Park, she is supportive of an open process with many questions and answers so the right decision can be made. 
 
"My role isn't to tell the people of Pittsfield how they should think about this," Farley-Bouvier said.
 
Bloomberg has been a vocal opponent of the project, saying it is bad economically for the city. He said he didn't take that position until after numerous meetings with officials with the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority, which controls the land, digging into the financials, and analyzing the impacts. 
 
"I personally do not think this proposal as presented is good for the city of Pittsfield," Bloomberg said.
 
Bloomberg also opposes Farley-Bouvier's bill to pilot a vehicle-miles traveled tax. He said it wouldn't help Western Massachusetts and shouldn't have been a priority of Farley-Bouvier. The VMT was vetoed by the governor. 
 
"We have the most miles to travel here ... We don't have the public transportation Boston has, we don't have these resources," Bloomberg said. "The answer is for focusing investment on programs that work like public transportation."
 
Farley-Bouvier has been criticized for the program that she says has often been misconstrued. The bill wasn't to implement such a tax but to run a study with 500 volunteers participating to get a better handle on it. She said the state's revenue from the gas tax is diminishing and further down the road, changes are going to have to be made to fund infrastructure projects.
 
"We are facing a crisis when it comes to having that revenue, because of a really good problem. The really good problem is we are getting more and more fuel-efficient cars," Farley-Bouvier said.
 
She said she has questions about the privacy, how out-of-state visitors will be taxed and more. But, she said there could be different amounts charged depending on where the vehicles are traveling and time of day, making it a possibility to create the infusion of revenue without unfairly taxing Berkshire County.
 
"There are still so many questions out there that I don't feel comfortable with," Farley-Bouvier said. "There are too many questions to answer and we need to gather this data to inform us."
 
Farley-Bouvier does support the state moving to all-electronic tolls on the turnpike. 
 
"It is absolutely better for our environment. There will be a lot less congestion on the pike," she said. 
 
But, the transponders haven't been used much in Berkshire County and for years Exits 1 through 6 were toll-free. She's sponsored programs to bring the transponders to the farmer's market and Third Thursday to make them more accessible for residents.
 
Bloomberg said while he supports "moving into the 21st century" he has concerns about jobs being lost. While it may only be a few, "five or 10 jobs matter to the people of Pittsfield," he said.
 
"How is this going to impact those families. There are plenty of people from Pittsfield who work at the Lee tolls," Bloomberg said.
 
When it comes to the Department of Children and Families, Bloomberg said the department is underfunded especially with a growing number of families in poverty, dealing with drug addiction, or crime. 
 
"They need more funding to help those families," Bloomberg said.
 
Farley-Bouvier sat on the subcommittee for Children, Families, and Persons with Disability. She said she headed an effort to create a subgroup to really investigate the department to try to make lasting changes. 
 
"We had a lot of headlines around children losing their life, children being abused, and it is not OK to just pay attention to this department in times of crisis," Farley-Bouver said.
 
She said in the wake of tragedy, she remembers legislators speaking to the television cameras.
 
"So many of us know so little about this department, really know about this department, and that's why I pulled these people together," Farley-Bouvier said.
 
One thing the group found was that "it doesn't seem to matter right now how much money we throw at this department, they are having trouble bringing the caseloads down." Farley-Bouvier said social workers are continually leaving and the state needs to find ways to retain that workforce.
 
Farley-Bouvier also supports moving toward a single-payer health care system. She said she'd like the state to create a "public option" and allow residents to "vote with their feet." She thinks that would be the start toward moving toward a full single-payer system. Bloomberg said he'd like to see single-payer on the federal level and vowed to sponsor a bill to study the impacts and how to roll it out in Massachusetts.
 
When it comes to the medical marijuana, Bloomberg said the state botched rolling that out. He said it is a drug just like tobacco or alcohol and needs to be controlled so as not to allow youth access. However, he believes the recreational marijuana ballot question will likely pass in November and, if so, he wants the state to have policies in place the ensure tax money generated is spent on education or other priorities.
 
"If this measure passes in November it is on our 160 state representatives to figure out how this is going to work," Bloomberg said.  "I believe this is going to pass in November based on all of the poll numbers."
 
Farley-Bouvier supports medical marijuana and would actually like to see Pittsfield use it as an economic benefit. 
 
"We could be growing medical marijuana right here in Berkshire County and I'd like to see that here," she said.
 
She thinks there are still problems with who has the ability to get medical marijuana and recognized frustration with the way it has been implemented. She'd also like to see hemp products be made.
 
Both candidates support the state allowing Syrian refugees to relocate here.

Tags: debate,   Democratic Party,   election 2016,   primary,   state representative,   


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MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.

Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.

BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.

The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.

It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.

Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.  

Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street. 

The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.

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