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Election 2019 Debates & Candidate Forums

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North Adams City Council Forums

Wednesday, Oct. 23, 6:30 p.m. / HiLo club, 55 Union St.
 
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts students in professor Samantha Pettey's "State and Local Politics" are hosting two candidate forums for City Council candidates in conjunction with the North Adams Chamber of Commerce.
 
The two events were split between the 14 council candidates running for nine seats and the seven candidates running for school committees — five candidates for three seats on the North Adams School Committee and four candidates for three seats on the McCann School Committee.  
 
At each event, candidates will meet informally with members of the community from 6:30 to 7 p.m. and a public forum will take place from 7 to 8 p.m. Parking is available in designated lots on Canal Street, on Willow Dell and on Union Street.
 
Sunday, Oct. 27, noon / Northern Berkshire Community Television, 64 Union St. 
 
iBerkshires is hosting a candidate forum in the TV studios from noon to 3 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.
 
Candidates will be able to meet with the public for about an hour and will have an opportunity to give an introduction or statement beginning about 1 p.m. Afterward, written questions will be taken from the audience that one or more candidates may answer.
 

Pittsfield Mayoral Debates

Monday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. / BCC's Robert Boland Theatre.
 
Berkshire Community College, in partnership with the Pittsfield Gazette and Pittsfield Community Television, will host a debate between Linda Tyer and Melissa Mazzeo, moderated by Tammy Daniels of iBerkshires.com.
 

Pittsfield School Committee & Council Forums

Monday, Oct. 21 / BCC's Connector building
 
6 p.m.: Pittsfield School Committee forum with Mark Brazeau, William Cameron, Dan Elias, Alison McGee, Tom Perrea, Dennis Powell, and Katherine Yon. The seven candidates are running for six School Committee seats.
 
7:30 p.m.: At-Large City Council with Alexander Blumin, Yuki Cohen, Richard Latura, Jay Hamling, Peter Marchetti, Earl Persip, Peter White, and Auron Stark. The eight candidates are running for the four councilor at-large seats.
 
The debates are hosted by Berkshire Community College, in partnership with the Pittsfield Gazette and Pittsfield Community Television. Both debates will be moderated by Larry Kratka.
 
Tuesday, Oct. 29 / BCC's Koussevitzky Room 111
  • 6 p.m. Ward 1 between Helen Moon and Kenneth Warren Jr.
  • 6:30 p.m. Ward 4 between Chris Connell and Michael Merriam
  • 7 p.m. Ward 5 between Patrick Kavey and Jonathan Lothrop
  • 7:30 p.m. Ward 6 between Dina Guiel Lampiasi and Joe Nichols
  • 8 p.m. Ward 7 between Anthony Maffucio and J. David Pope
The debates are hosted by Berkshire Community College, in partnership with the Pittsfield Gazette and Pittsfield Community Television. Both debates will be moderated by Jim Arpante.
 

Williamstown Fire District Forum

Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. / Williamstown Town Hall
 
The League of Women Voters of Williamstown is sponsoring a forum for the candidates running for two newly created seats on the Prudential Committee, which oversees the fire district. The forum will be recorded for broadcast by WilliNet. Candidates will make opening and closing statements, and members of the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions; League member Krista Birch will moderate.
 
Candidates for the 18-month term (serving until May 2021) are David R. Moresi and Gerard J. Smith.
Candidates for the 30-month term (serving until May 2022) are Richard Reynolds and Bruce Macdonald.
 

Concluded Debates

Pittsfield Mayoral Debate held Tuesday, Oct. 15, 6:30 p.m.

 
 
North Adams Council & School Committee held Tuesday, Oct. 15, 6:30 p.m.
 
School Committee candidates Emily Daunais, Robert Moulton and David Sookey; and council candidates Wayne Wilkinson, Marie T. Harpin and Bryan Sapienza appeared at this forum that is being broadcast on NBCTV. It was sponsored by Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts students in professor Samantha Pettey's "State and Local Politics" and the North Adams Chamber of Commerce.

 


Tags: candidate forum,   debate,   election 2019,   


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Clarksburg FinCom, Select Board Agree on $1.9M Town Operating Budget

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The town is looking at an operating budget of $1,859,413 for fiscal 2025, down a percent from this year largely because of debt falling off.
 
Town officials are projecting a total budget at about $5.1 million, however, the School Committee is not expected to approve a school budget for two more weeks so no final number has been determined.
 
Town officials said they've asked the school budget to come in at a 2 percent increase. Finance Committee member Carla Fosser asked what would happen if it was more than that. 
 
"Then we would need to make cuts," said Town Administrator Carl McKinney, adding, "I'm a product of that school. But at the same time, we have a town to run to and, you know, we're facing uncertain weather events. And our culverts are old, the roads are falling apart. ... ." 
 
The assessment to McCann Technical School is $363,220, down about $20,000 from this year.
 
The major increases on the town side are step and cost-of-living raises for employees (with the exception of the town clerk at her request), the addition of a highway laborer, an increase in hours from 16 to 24 for the town accountant, and insurance and benefits that are about $70,000. There is a slight increase for employee training and supplies such as postage.
 
Select Board Chair Robert Norcross at Wednesday's joint meeting with the Finance Committee, said the town's employees are hard-working and that wages aren't keeping up with inflaction.
 
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