Green Party's Miller Joins State House Race

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
09:34AM / Friday, June 10, 2011Print Story | Email Story

Miller announced his candidacy at the local Green-Rainbow Party June meeting.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After reeling in 45 percent of the vote last year, Mark Miller intends to make another run for the state House.

Miller announced his candidacy for the 3rd Berkshire District seat in the state House of Representatives on Thursday to a crowd of about 30 at the Berkshire Greens June meeting.

"We’re going to win this time," Miller said at Baba Louie’s restaurant. "Last year, I thought this incumbent needed a challenge. Starting late and with insufficient funding and organization, I got 45 percent of the vote. That is a good foundation for this time around. This year we are starting early. We are organized."

The announcement came the day after current Rep. Christopher N. Speranzo was nominated by Governor Deval Patrick for the lifetime position of clerk-magistrate of the Central Berkshire District Court. Miller had planned the announcement before Speranzo’s nomination but said he was aware that it could come at any time.

Miller lost to Speranzo by less than 1,000 votes in November.

If Speranzo is approved for the lifetime appointed position, a special election will be held. Ward 2 Councilor Peter White also announced his candidacy for the seat — hours after Speranzo‘s nomination was announced.

While Miller will be running as a representative for the Green-Rainbow Party, he said he wants to be the "independent voice" in the House.

"I’m proud to be Green and I’m proud to be independent," the former Berkshire Eagle editor said. "We need to work together across party lines, Greens, Democrats, Republicans and independents."

Miller boasts of decades of work with various newspaper — as a reporter, editor and columnist — before turning his interest to studying economic development, energy and the environment.

"My main focus this year, as it was last year, is on resilient, secure, green local economies; Medicare for all, fair taxes; transparency in government; commitment to public education," Miller said.

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Pittsfield Wants People to Know Where Free Public Wifi Is

By Brittany PolitoiBerkhshires Staff
04:46AM / Friday, September 18, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city wants it to be clear where people can connect to free public wifi— which expands beyond downtown.

On Tuesday, the Parks Commission approved "Free Wifi" signage at The Common, Riverway Park, and Durant Park. Community members can access the internet without charge in these locations, as well as in downtown areas.

Two years ago, Pittsfield received a $99,972 Digital Equity Implementation Grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. This allowed the city to take a comprehensive look at digital equity and determine where to focus attention.

"That was a lengthy process that we worked on, and there was a lot of public input. We did some surveying. We met with a lot of focus groups; [Berkshire Regional Planning Commission] was the group that spearheaded that for us, and one of the things that came up was the lack of accessible wifi," Director of Community Development Justine Dodds reported. "Particularly in the westside."

Throughout this process, residents also wanted to see connectivity at the nearby Westside Riverway Park.

In 2023, Pittsfield was selected to participate in the Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program launched by the state and MBI, focused on ensuring residents can use the internet to conduct day-to-day activities. A digital equity plan also qualifies Pittsfield for additional grant funding.

Around 16,000 city households qualified for the Federal Communications Commission's affordable internet program that ended in 2024.

Dodds said adding Wi-FI and signage to Durant and Riverway Parks is a small piece of the larger digital equity project. Signage is already downtown, and the city plans to hire the same designer for the expanded wayfinding so it is cohesive.

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