Healey Wants to Address Housing, Transit, Mental Health
Maura Healey stops at a booth on the Common during Third Thursday.
"Berkshire County is just a region where people really know how to collaborate and work together and it's a beautiful part of our state, it's a region rich with history of innovation, of arts and culture, of possibility," she said.
"But I also know people are hurting here and right now we need to invest in Berkshire County. We need to support investments in housing and transportation and these are things that I think a lot about and then I want to act on and deliver on as governor. I had a great day, touring a lot of Berkshire County today, and sitting with people, listening to people, and learning more about some of what is happening."
Healey's main takeaways were a need to address the county's housing crisis, invest in transit projects, and bring more mental health resources to the region.
She spoke at length about these issues earlier in the day at a coffee hour in North Adams and a luncheon with North County officials, and was later given a tour of the North Adams decrepit public safety building.
The city has been under order from the U.S. Justice Department to address its accessibility failings and has been fined by the state for its condition. Healey was the latest in a long list of officials who've been given a tour in hopes of getting some funding.
"The conditions are terrible, and they need they need to be addressed," Healey said when asked about the building.
"And we need to fund public safety buildings. We need to fund public safety buildings here and across the state and it's really terrible to look at the infrastructure and to see the need and the state's got to help out, make this happen."
State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump has proposed creating a fund for municipal and public safety buildings similar to the Massachusetts School Building Authority to address such needs.
"I think that's an interesting idea and one we should absolutely consider," Healey said when asked about Bump's proposal.
"I will say this: we've got to fund our public safety facilities and that's clear to me."
Healey said she learned more about how transit used to be in the county a century ago.
"It's a shame that we've lost our rail and the trolleys went away but this region many, many years ago was far more connected," she said.
"And it is our responsibility as a government, the state and the commonwealth of Massachusetts, to bring that back and that's what I that's what I want to work on."
Transit projects that Healey would like to see move forward are the east/west rail, the Northern Tier rail, and support for the regional transit authorities.
State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier and state Sen. Adam Hinds joined Healey (Hinds had introduced her in North Adams) at Third Thursday and facilitated a number of introductions to community members.
Healey, a basketball player, also took some time to toss some balls with Hinds and community members.
Tags: election 2022, governor,
