Letter: Bernard Endorses Bond for Mayor

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.

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.

North Adams Unveils Hometown Heroes Banners

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
04:30PM / Friday, May 22, 2026

Carol Ethier-Kipp holds up the first aid kit her father used as an Army medic in World War II. See more photos here. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City of North Adams honored its own on Friday afternoon, unveiling 50 downtown street banners representing local veterans who served — and continue to serve — the community and the country.

 

More than 300 residents packed the front lawn of City Hall as the community took a moment to reflect on its "Hometown Heroes" during the morning unveiling ceremony.

 

"In a city like North Adams, service is personal. The men and women we honor today are not strangers to us. They are our neighbors, our classmates, our parents, our grandparents," Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the crowd. "... These banners are far more than names and pictures hanging along our streets. They are visible reminders of the values that define North Adams: courage, sacrifice, humility, duty, resilience, and the love of country. They remind every person who passes by that this community remembers our veterans."

 

The banner program launched exactly a year ago. Veterans Services Agent Kurtis Durocher opened applications in October and spent the next six months working with families to bring the project to Main Street and over the Hadley Overpass. 

 

"We gather to recognize the brave men and women from our community who have served or who are currently serving in the United States armed forces," Durocher said. "These banners are more than images. They bear a tribute to service, sacrifice, courage, and pride, and they remind us that the freedoms we enjoy every day have been protected by our neighbors, family members, friends, and Hometown Heroes."

 

Each banner features a portrait of a veteran alongside their military branch and dates of service.

 

Durocher noted that the program was something residents clearly wanted, pointing to how fast applications flooded his desk. He praised the volunteers who stepped up to get the banners made and displayed — including city firefighters and Mitchell Meranti of Wire & Alarm Department, who were installing them as late as Thursday night.