The upshot: Adam Hinds won the state Senate seat being vacated by Benjamin B. Downing and state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier retained her seat representing Pittsfield. Both defeated their opponents by wide margins.
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal will also return to Congress after easily besting two challengers.
Also passing was Pittsfield's adoption of the Community Preservation Act by an impressive vote of 15,331 by 4,169.
The statewide ballot questions were an up and down, with recreational marijuana and the banning of confinement cages for livestock passing; another slots facility and lifting the charter caps going down.
Clarksburg hit 78 percent turnout and Pittsfield 70 percent.
Clarksburg Nearing 80 Percent Turnout
Clarksburg is hoping for the highest turnout and was well on its way by a little before 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Some 884 voters out of the town's 1,137 registered voters had cast ballots. That's 78 percent with still an hour for the polls to close. Town Clerk Carol Jammalo said the traffic had been busy and steady all day, even as more voters came in ones and twos to put their ballots the town's vintage ballot box.
Poll worker Barbara King wrote a little poem about their Election Day, a tradition she's been doing for years.
Barbara King writes poems to remember elections in Clarksburg. On her desk is an illustration by Norman Rockwell of a small-town election.
"This Is Some Election"
The minute the town clerk said
it's time to vote,
Inside of 10minutes 15 did vote
And I quote,
Boy! Are we going to be busy. The ballot box workers will get dizzy.
We have seen people here today
We haven't seen for many a day.
I guess voting for President is more
Important to do,
Then voting for our town crew.
Everyone is glad this campaign is done
And we'll find out who has won.
Adams & Cheshire
Adams election workers wait for more voters to show up. The numbers had eased off by afternoon with the expectation of a rush as people get off of work.
There was a rush of voters in Adams on Tuesday morning but that had leveled off by the midafternoon. Some 2,569 people had voted by 3 p.m. out of the town's 6,000 registered voters.
"It has slowed down a bit but we were busy first thing this morning ... I hope we get more," said Town Clerk Haley Meczywor. "We have five more hours to go, and I think people get out of work at 5 and come down."
Early figures show a 67.9 percent turnout in Adams.
Like many of the polls in the county, Cheshire was also lacking of signs and supporters, but that may pick up at people get out of work.
"I Voted" stickers have been hard to come by but in Cheshire, they were giving out lollipops for casting ballots.
By 3:30 p.m., some 1,295 had voted out of the town's 2,420 registered voters, more than 50 percent.
"It has been very steady today ... last presidential election we had 1,800 people," said Town Clerk Christine Emerson. "I am hoping for 2,000."
Midday in Williamstown
Voters cast ballots in Williamstown.
Turnout was steady but manageable at Williamstown Elementary School at midday. Town Clerk Mary Kennedy reported there was a line when the polls opened at 7 a.m., but it was not as long as some other years, and poll workers have been able to quickly work people through the process.
About 17 percent of Williamstown's registered voters (873 of the 5,004 voters on the checklist) voted during the early voting period that concluded on Friday.
Kennedy agreed that the high turnout for early voting helped keep the Tuesday turnout numbers more manageable.
"So far," she joked, as she cast about in vain for some wood to knock on. "About 6 or 7 o'clock is when it could get interesting."
Outside the school, the full parking lot was the only real sign that voting was going on inside. At midday, there were no representatives present campaigning for candidates at the local, statewide or national level. A sign indicating the line past which campaigning was prohibited appeared to be superfluous.
Instead of real live campaigners, the only presence for any of the candidates were signs promoting Clinton, state Senate candidate Adam Hinds and Al Terranova, a late write-in candidate for the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee.
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Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.
More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.
Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.
One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly.
"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."
Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.
Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.
One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly.
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