North Adams Gets More City Council Candidates

02:21PM / Friday, April 28, 2023Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There is some potential for new faces on the City Council and School Committee this year, though it's too early in the election season to make any predictions.

So far, four of the nine incumbent city councilors have taken out papers for re-election: Keith Bona, Peter Oleskiewicz, Bryan Sapienza and Ashley Shade. They've been joined by five challengers: Colin Bain, Robert Cardimino, Emily Johnson, Deanna Morrow and Ronald Sheldon.

Both Cardimino and Sheldon have run unsuccessfully in the past; the other three are newcomers. Cardimino is the first candidate to return nomination papers, handing them in on April 26.

Sapienza and Shade were the first incumbents to pull papers. A few other councilors have said they were waiting to make a decision but Bona pulled papers this week after being slapped with his first Open Meeting Law violation, saying he did not want to end his tenure on a bad note. Bona will be running for an eighth consecutive term although he also served a couple terms in the 1990s.

Oleskiewicz will be seeking his second full term after being appointed to complete an unexpired term in 2020.

Tara Jacobs is the only School Committee incumbent to pull papers so far. She is seeking a third term. Newcomers Cody Chamberlain and Eric Wilson have also pulled papers for the three four-year seats up for election.

All three incumbents on the McCann School Committee have taken out papers for re-election: Peter Breen, George Canales and William Diamond. Diamond returned his papers on April 27.

Jennifer Macksey is running for a second term as mayor and, to date, has no challenger.

Nominees must submit the signatures of 50 registered voters for any of the offices up for election. Papers must be received by the Registrars of Voters by 5 p.m. on Aug. 1; the last day to withdraw is Aug. 17.

A preliminary election will be held if there number of candidates is double the seats open plus one. For example, at least three candidates or 19 for City Council.

A preliminary election, if necessary, will be held on Sept. 19; the general election is Nov. 7, both from 9 to 7 at St. Anthony's Parish Hall. The last day to register to vote is Sept. 9 and Oct. 28, respectively.

These dates are correct and an update from a previous schedule issued by the city clerk's office.

Tags: election 2023, municipal election,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

North Adams Shop Offers New & Vintage Games to Play

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:18PM / Saturday, February 21, 2026

The shop is located in the corner of the Oasis Plaza, next to the ice cream shop.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A new card shop is bringing old and new games and trades to Oasis Plaza.

Renzi Retro and Repair owner Christian Richardson opened last Friday at 150 American Legion Drive, right next to the ice cream shop.

Richardson grew up collecting and playing different types of video games. He was recently selling games and cards on Facebook before deciding to find a space last month.

"I really just liked video games. I play a lot of video games, and I just started collecting them. And then one day, I was like, Oh, why don't we try seeing if I can make some money doing it?" he said.

His shop is filled with older game consoles, Pokémon cards, sports cards, and video games new and old. He hopes to give people a better deal than other places.

"We're just trying to be different. We're trying to give people better prices than they're given other places. Since prices have got kind of crazy and it's hard to live nowadays, so we're trying to make it a little bit easier," Richardson said.

His shop will also take in items like consoles, cards, and other game accessories for trades or cash back.

"We pretty much take anything in, from cards to retro to modern games to consoles, accessories," he said.

He plans to get televisions and host tournaments on Sundays in the future.

"Tournaments are going to be a big thing that we're going to be working towards. We're also be working on getting TVs set up for certain days so people want to come sit down," he said.

Richardson wants his shop to be a space for people to gather and have fun.

"I just want to get more people off the streets. I mean, the area is not always the best, and people get involved in the wrong things around here," he said. "I just want to be able to bring people in at a younger age and give them a place to be able to play cards, or at some point, we're going to get TVs up so they can play video games. And I just want not everybody to be stuck on the streets and give them something to do in the community."

He hopes to one day expand and create a room dedicated to game play.

"I really want to get a whole store set up just for people to be able to come and play video games and and that's it not to buy things, but more of a place with a membership where you come and you play games, or you you do tournaments all day," he said.

His store is open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

View Full Story