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North Adams mayoral candidate has apologized for a text made two years ago but is facing other allegations.

North Adams Councilor Apologizes for Text

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A declared mayoral candidate is apologizing for an inappropriate text message more than a week after the message was first posted to a Facebook chat group. 
 
City Councilor Jason LaForest had sent Emily Bryant a text with clapping hands and the hashtag "hottie" in 2019. Bryant, who is married, posted the message and her response (which started with "Dude, don't go there ...") to the North Adams Chat group. 
 
LaForest in his public apology on Facebook (with a Jason LaForest for Mayor logo) wrote that Bryant was someone he was "acquainted with briefly" in 2019 and he had sent the post in response to a workout selfie she'd posted as a compliment. 
 
"While the sole intent of this message was one of encouragement and support, it was obviously perceived otherwise, and I wish to extend my sincere apology to her," he wrote. 
 
LaForest does not address Bryant's other complaint against him — that he, a licensed practical nurse, discussed with other people her postpartum depression after a complicated birth and making comments about her in public. This information allegedly came from someone close to him. 
 
Bryant's post was removed (and reposted and removed) after administrators for the page said they had been threatened with a lawsuit. Bonnie Sunn, one of the administrators, posted on Feb. 26 they had been split on keeping the post up. 
 
"Some of us decided that the public figure in a position of power should have accountability. The subject of this post decided to block the administrators instead of having a conversation. He is now threatening to sue us if we don't remove all posts and comments related to the accusation," Sunn wrote. 
 
WAMC Public Radio on Tuesday spoke with a number of people about the allegations and posted comments that LaForest made to chat page administrator Sher Bernasconi, which included that he had dated one of Bryant's friends and "this nothing more than an opportunistic and silly way to get back at me, even thought it's not her place to do so."
 
The friend LaForest was referring to is Stefani Forrest, who has backed up Bryant's claims in Facebook posts. LaForest told Bernasconi it was a lie. 
 
WAMC's Josh Landes spoke to City Councilors Jessica Sweeney and Keith Bona, with Sweeney saying she had tried to mediate between Bryant and LaForest and that he had turned down the chance to apologize. Bona told WAMC that LaForest "was seeing" different women and that weighed on the council in relation to his pitch in 2019 to be elected council president. Neither Bona nor any other councilors referenced LaForest's relationships at the time and he was elected as vice president.
 
After LaForest's public apology, Bryant posted on her Facebook page: 
 
"Let me start off by saying I will give him credit for apologizing for one issue with him I've addressed," she said. "It's taken almost a full week to get him to admit to any wrongdoing, and the messages he has addressed are only one small piece to this puzzle."
 
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Clarksburg Sees Race for Select Board Seat

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The town will see a three-way race for a seat on the Select Board in May. 
 
Colton Andrews, Seth Alexander and Bryana Malloy returned papers by Wednesday's deadline to run for the three-year term vacated by Jeffrey Levanos. 
 
Andrews ran unsuccessfully for School Committee and is former chairman of the North Adams Housing Authority, on which he was a union representative. He is also president of the Pioneer Valley Building Trades Council.
 
Malloy and Alexander are both newcomers to campaigning. Malloy is manager of industrial relations for the Berkshire Workforce Board and Alexander is a resident of Gates Avenue. 
 
Alexander also returned papers for several other offices, including School Committee, moderator, library trustee and the five-year seat on the Planning Board. He took out papers for War Memorial trustee and tree warden but did not return them and withdrew a run for Board of Health. 
 
He will face off in the three-year School Committee seat against incumbent Cynthia Brule, who is running for her third term, and fellow newcomer Bonnie Cunningham for library trustee. 
 
Incumbent Ronald Boucher took out papers for a one-year term as moderator but did not return them. He was appointed by affirmation in 2021 when no won ran and accepted the post again last year as a write-in.
 
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