Blackmer Kicks Off Campaign for Legislature
Blackmer is one of five candidates so far announced for the 1st Berkshire seat.
Before a group of about 30 well-wishers at the Bounti-Fare Restaurant, Blackmer on Thursday recalled how as a child growing up in Williamsburg, she was stunned when her classmates started to believe there was no Santa Claus.
"I said, 'My parents don't have any money. My dad's not working. My mom's taking care of us. They don't have money, but I have this bear that Santa brought me last year,' " Blackmer said. "I convinced the whole class that there really was a Santa Claus.
"Years later, I found out my mom made the bear."
It was a lesson in generosity that Blackmer took to heart.
"Taking care of people and creating an environment where we can all succeed is something that's deeply ingrained in me," she said.
Her friend and former colleague on the North Adams City Council, Jennifer Breen, praised Blackmer for her work as a civil servant and a volunteer.
"Lisa has walked the walk," Breen said. "She has volunteered for just about every single thing in this city. She has volunteered for the [Fall Foliage] Parade every year, rain or shine — mostly rain — she's always there with her clipboard. She has volunteered for everybody else, for every woman in this community.
"I think this is her time. She has paid her dues."
Breen was one of several current or former North Adams officials on hand for Blackmer's kickoff event. Among those in the crowd were Councilors Wayne Wilkinson, Keith Bona and Benjamin Lamb, School Committee member Tara Jacobs, and North Adams mayoral candidate Thomas Bernard.
Also in attendance were Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts President James Birge and Antoinette Cariddi, whose sister, Gailanne, died in June while serving her fourth term as the 1st Berkshire state representative.
Blackmer is one of four announced candidates on the Democratic side for the office; hoping to join her on the Oct. 10 primary are John Barrett III, Stephanie Bosley and Kevin Towle. One Republican has announced for the race, which ultimately will be decided in a Nov. 7 special election.
The 1st Berkshire District includes Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, Hancock, Lanesborough, New Ashford, North Adams and Williamstown.
Blackmer pledged to continue Cariddi's legislative agenda, including a bill requiring community hospitals to conduct a yearly public meeting, creating a cultural corridor from Williamstown to North Adams, anti-idling legislation and "do not call requirements and compliance."
"That's been one of Gail's things for as long as I've known Gail, so I would continue all of those efforts," Blackmer said.
"I will continue Gail's commitments to the economy, to schools, to the environment, but most importantly, I will continue her work for you, the people of Northern Berkshire," Blackmer said.
Blackmer also laid out some of her own priorities, including a focus on health care that was one of a couple of applause lines in her 10-minute speech.
"I believe all Americans — rich and poor, young and old — should have access to great health care and not be stuck in a dead-end job or go bankrupt because they got sick," she said. "If the Republicans in Washington insist on kicking people off the Affordable Care Act, I will continue to work for a Medicare for all system in Massachusetts and show the rest of the country how it's done."
On education, she promised to fight for reforms to the commonwealth's "outdated and inadequate" foundation aid formula that does not take into account the needs of rural cities and towns. And she said the region needs stronger public transportation, both in the form of passenger rail service to the east and an enhanced Berkshire Regional Transit Authority.
"Our cities and towns need every last penny they can get from the state," Blackmer said. "Our dwindling populations and tax bases create a struggle for many of our Northern Berkshire towns. We are having difficulties providing needed services for our residents.
"I will make sure that everything we are due from Beacon Hill comes home, and I will push to maintain and increase our local funding, including school funding, regional transportation and Chapter 90 roads."
Blackmer praised the work of the Berkshire County Education Task Force and pushed for regional cooperation more generally as a solution for some of the fiscal problems facing Berkshire County municipalities.
"We can't let 'the right' brand us as tax-and-spend Democrats," she said. "There are logical ways to save the taxpayer money, without harming local services. Sharing services and personnel — some of the examples that already exist include the veterans' agent, the animal control officer that North Adams and Adams are sharing right now and Gail's proposed regional disability commission."
And one more project that could strengthen the ties between communities in the 1st Berkshire District drew another spontaneous round of applause for Blackmer on Thursday evening.
"We will finish the bike path and name it after Gail," Blackmer said.
Tags: campaign event, Democratic Party, election 2017, special election, state representative,
