NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Candidate for state representative Stephanie Bosley kicked off her campaign with promises of a fresh perspective and positive change.

 

"I am running for this seat because I have witnessed firsthand how a state representative can create positive change throughout a community and be there for people when the rest of the world isn't," Bosley said Thursday evening to a gathering of around 40 or so at her campaign kickoff party at the Richmond Grill.  

 

Bosley is vying against three other candidates — John Barrett III, Lisa Blackmer and Kevin Towle — for the Democratic nomination to fill the remaining term of the late Rep. Gailanne Cariddi. The winner of the Oct. 10 primary will face the Republican candidate, Christine Canning-Wilson, in the special election on Nov. 7.

 

The 1st Berkshire District includes Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, Hancock, Lanesborough, New Ashford, North Adams and Williamstown.

 

Bosley's father, Daniel Bosley, who held the 1st Berkshire seat his daughter is aspiring to for 24 years, introduced her and sang her accolades.     

 

"She is filled with compassion for those in her district and she is filled with the knowledge and experience from past jobs," he said. "I would tell you even if it wasn't true that she is the best candidate for the job but I can tell you unequivocally she is the best candidate for the job. She will work for you, she will never forget where she came from and she will never forget who sent her there."

 

Stephanie Bosley thanked her campaign team and all those who attended her kickoff event, including state Rep. Stephen Kulik, D-Worthington, City Councilor Keith Bona and Planning Board members Brian Miksic and Paul Hopkins, who were there as she briefly outlined her platform. According to her campaign, 80 people signed in and more than 100 attended throughout the evening.  

 

She acknowledged that she hasn't held any office before but neither, she pointed, had other local representatives before being elected such as Jane Swift or Adam Hinds, past and present state senators.

 

Bosley said she not only wants to strengthen education in the Northern Berkshire County district but also to work to change the state Chapter 70 education aid formula by advocating for a three-tiered funding system: a different funding formula for urban areas, suburban areas and rural areas.

 

As for the economy, Bosley said the district needs more than just a tourist-based economy. She said she wants to work with local educational institutions and help train people for higher-paying tech jobs. 

 

"We must stop training people for the minimum-wage jobs and we must start training people for the jobs we want in the area," she said. "If we have the trained workforce, the jobs will follow."

 

Bosley said on the environmental front, she wants to link the economy to the environment while supporting farms and protecting the ecology. 

 

"We need to make sure as we improve the economy we don't destroy what makes the Berkshires a special place," she said. "It is one of the most, if not the most, beautiful places on Earth."  

 

Bosley said she also wants to keep championing clean energy in the Berkshires while making sure alternative energy generation facilities are placed in sensible areas that do not affect the region's natural beauty.  

 

Cariddi, a longtime city councilor before her election to the State House in 2010, was a mentor, said Bosley, and showed her that a woman can enter politics and use her voice to help the community.

 

Her father agreed. 

 

"There is no higher calling I think than political office and there is no higher calling than helping your fellow man and that is what Gail did," Daniel Bosley said. "She did it right up to the day she died so we owe her a great deal of thanks, our hearts, our memories and we want to make sure we keep her with all of us."