PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Yuki Cohen is seeking a second term as councilor at large and said she wants to to focus on decision-making with high levels of ethics, morality, and integrity.

 

Ten years ago, Cohen first sought comfort in the Pittsfield community while going through a divorce and later decided to open a successful bar downtown. She wants only the best for the place that welcomed her with open arms.

 

But she has had some stumbles with her bar, Methuselah Bar & Lounge, which was shut down for nearly a month by the Board of Health for violating pandemic regulations.

 

Cohen said she owns up to her mistakes but believes that the situation was somewhat politically charged during a time of "fear and trauma." 

 

"Some of it I feel was politically targeted, I know I have made some mistakes, but the numbers show the true extent of the consequences of the errors," she said. "I have learned a lot from the entire experience and I dust myself off and feel incredibly grateful and fortunate I get to try again, with more wisdom this time, and determination to be and do better."

 

In preparation for her second bid for council, she has been reading the wisdom of philosophers such as Carl Jung and Marcus Aurelius and found that a common theme in her studies is leadership through the lens of virtue.

 

"One of one philosophers mentioned that the prime role of a leader is to have the highest level of morality and integrity," she said.

 

"I'm not saying that I am the epitome of all that, but I am aware of it, and I would like to always be conscious of making decisions based on that, having the highest level of ethics, morality, and integrity."

 

As the proprietor of Methuselah, advocating for small businesses — especially during the economic recovery from COVID-19 — is close to her heart.  

 

Cohen is also a former wealth manager on Wall Street and prioritizes lowering the residential and business tax rate.  

 

"Tax is a big thing, lowering taxes for the elderly growing up on a fixed income, and now inflation's rearing its head, food costs, rent costs, and housing costs everything, how do we how do we give some respite to our older population on a fixed income, and I think that's tied into having more thriving small businesses come to alleviate some of that, that's my other focus," she said.

 

"I also know a lot of bigger business owners whose tax rate is almost double what their residential rate is, it could be some deterrent to bringing businesses here and also keeping some of the businesses here. That's the other thing, we have to somehow figure out how to take steps toward having more revenues coming through to the city in terms of taxes."

 

Cohen realizes that the council doesn't have direct decision-making for the schools other than approving the budget, but she would love to see improved equity and an "equal playing field" in the Pittsfield Public School system.

 

This comes from her roots as an immigrant coming from a very poor area in South Korea.

 

"In Korea, we left because back then, in 1971, it was a third-world country, and I see how Korea has turned itself around during my lifetime, so we're talking like 50 years. They went from a third-world country to what it is today and leading the steps that helped South Korea get there, it was through education, really strong, great, valuable education to the population," Cohen explained.

 

"I would love to see us take steps towards that, it breaks my heart to see our numbers in terms of the breakout in income in Pittsfield, I know Helen is a huge advocate for equitability and I would love to somehow keep doing her work, make sure that that doesn't fall to the wayside."

 

Cohen's colleague Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon is not running for re-ection.

 

After moving from Korea, Cohen spent nine years in Brazil before moving to the United States and launching her career in New York City. She spent more than 20 years as a financial adviser and has a master's degree in finance and management.

 

She opened Methuselah in 2015 to contribute to the cultural landscape of downtown Pittsfield and won election as an at-large councilor in 2019.

 

When she went through a divorce about a decade ago and moved to Pittsfield, she sought comfort in the community and knew immediately that this is where she wanted to put down roots.

 

"I did everything that I was supposed to do as the dutiful immigrant daughter of Asian parents: I got straight As, I got my graduate degree, I entered the workforce, I was in corporate America, I lived in New York City, and I absolutely loved it," she said.

 

"I don't regret any of those decisions, but I have to say, in terms of how I feel today about my life, I feel very grateful, and really at peace with the business that I created, with my daughters living here and where they've grown up, and the friends that I have in the community that's here.

 

Cohen currently serves on the council's Finance subcommittee and the Cultural Development Board. She said one of the more interesting things the council had grappled with over her term is the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

 

She enjoyed the banter and brainstorming around the subject in thinking about what the city can do in response and where resources can be allocated to create a better policing and wider governmental system.

 

In the future, Cohen would love to participate in the revitalization of North Street and help tackle the many issues that are intertwined with drugs in the city.

 

She has done a lot of listening to the wisdom of her colleagues in this term, as many are longtime councilors, she said, and she wishes to use those skills in her next term and take action on important topics.