Letter: Bernard Endorses Bond for Mayor
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To the Editor:
As I prepare to conclude my service to the city of North Adams, and as I explore my options for the next chapter of my career, I've had the opportunity to talk about my work and my experience during job interviews as well as the chance to engage in a lot of personal self-reflection. Right now, Lynette Bond also is going through her own job interview, along with the public vetting that those of us in public service know well. As a North Adams voter, and therefore as one of nearly 9,000 members of the "hiring committee" for our next mayor, I recommend Lynette Bond wholeheartedly for the top job in the city of North Adams.
I've known Lynette for years. The content, message, and tone of her campaign are consistent with the character and integrity Lynette has demonstrated in her work with MCLA and the town of Adams, her service on the North Adams Planning Board, and her advocacy and leadership on behalf of our North Adams students and educators. In speaking with her over the course of her candidacy it's clear she has a deep knowledge and understanding of municipal and fiscal management, education, public safety, and economic development. What's more, Lynette has the grit and resilience to tackle the constellation of issues that cross the mayor's desk on any given day.
Great leaders ask focused, insightful, and pointed questions. They dig deep in order to understand, get to the heart of the matter (including the human concerns that inform decisions), identify options, alternatives, and outcomes, bring stakeholders together, and come away with a deeper awareness and a decisive plan of action. Lynette has demonstrated that she personifies these core competencies. I know this is how she will operate as our next mayor, and how she will lead and collaborate with city staff.
Lynette also possesses the compassion and empathy that are essential for any leader, and the awareness that true empathy is demanding. Leadership takes more than just telling people what they want to hear or reducing persistent challenges to soundbite solutions or tough-talking slogans. As she has demonstrated during her campaign, and during the Colegrove Elementary Park School project, Lynette takes the time to listen, learn, understand, and engage. She puts in the work to explain issues and options, to help people understand there are very few easy answers, and to be candid about the hard work, trade-offs, and sacrifices required to move our community forward, even when that candor is unpopular and challenges us to move beyond our comfort zones.
This combination of insight and empathy enables a leader like Lynette to speak with a strong voice and to set a tone. Lynette has demonstrated that she will be a champion and partner for the residents of North Adams and our needs at the local, state, and national levels. She will advocate for our neighborhoods and neighbors, our students and educators, our first responders and the lives and property they protect and serve, and the opportunities to welcome, recognize, and include all perspectives, voices, and ideas in building a shared, inclusive, bright future for everyone in North Adams.
Our next mayor must not merely possess and model insight, empathy, and advocacy. She must apply them to lead our community in responding to major challenges and opportunities in education, public safety, infrastructure, public health, economic development, critical incident response — and more. Because here's the thing: there's no such thing as a typical day in this job. It's character, temperament, and resilience — welded to the knowledge and experience Lynette possesses — that make the difference.
Lynette Bond is the candidate better suited to provide that degree of empathetic, informed, decisive leadership with and for the residents, educators and students, businesses, employees and colleagues, visitors, and the voters of North Adams.
I ask you to consider and recognize Lynette Bond's capability, potential, and vision with your vote on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Thank you.
Thomas Bernard
North Adams, Mass.
Thomas Bernard is the outgoing mayor of the city of North Adams.
Tags: city election, election 2021, endorsement, letters to the editor,
