Letter: Tom Bernard for Mayor

To the Editor:

I am writing today to share my support for Tom Bernard for mayor on Nov. 7. I have gotten to know Tom well over the past eight years and have come to respect his knowledge, willingness to listen, thoroughness and thoughtfulness. Tom has a passion for North Adams that starts with his family and extends to the community as a whole.

The role of a mayor has many facets. At times you must be a cheerleader for your community; Tom has that energy. Oftentimes you must be a strict leader with the ability to set standards and willingness to hold people accountable; Tom has that ability.

A good mayor must understand all perspectives, even if you do not always agree, it is imperative to understand all viewpoints; Tom possesses that vision. Our future growth will rely on a leader that is able to navigate challenges, hurdles and even roadblocks; Tom possesses the agility to do that.

Our region will be faced with the need to find new collaborations and even thoughtful consolidations; Tom possesses the relationship building skills to accomplish that. Our next mayor will need to possess a variety of skills, strengths and knowledge. I believe that person is Tom Bernard.

Please consider all the skills and assets Tom Bernard will bring to City Hall and to our community as our next mayor when you vote on Nov. 7.

Glenn Maloney
North Adams, Mass.

North Adams to Begin Study of Veterans Memorial Bridge Alternatives

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:21AM / Monday, April 15, 2024

Mayor Jennifer Macksey says the requests for qualifications for the planning grant should be available this month. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Connecting the city's massive museum and its struggling downtown has been a challenge for 25 years. 

 

A major impediment, all agree, is the decades old Central Artery project that sent a four-lane highway through the heart of the city. 

 

Backed by a $750,000 federal grant for a planning study, North Adams and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art are looking to undo some of that damage.

 

"As you know, the overpass was built in 1959 during a time when highways were being built, and it was expanded to accommodate more cars, which had little regard to the impacts of the people and the neighborhoods that it surrounded," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey on Friday. "It was named again and again over the last 30 years by Mass MoCA in their master plan and in the city in their vision 2030 plan ... as a barrier to connectivity."

 

The Reconnecting Communities grant was awarded a year ago and Macksey said a request for qualifications for will be available April 24.

 

She was joined in celebrating the grant at the Berkshire Innovation Center's office at Mass MoCA by museum Director Kristy Edmunds, state Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver, District 1 Director Francesca Hemming and Joi Singh, Massachusetts administrator for the Federal Highway Administration.

 

The speakers also thanked the efforts of the state's U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, U.S. Rep. Richie Neal, Gov. Maura Healey and state Sen Paul Mark and state Rep. John Barrett III, both of whom were in attendance.