Letter: Why I Support Paul Mark

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To the Editor:

I've known Paul Mark all his political life, and we couldn't ask for a better person to be our next state senator in Boston. Paul is an experienced and practical progressive who will hit the ground running in the state Senate.

In 2010, Paul was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives to serve the 2nd Berkshire district. And ever since, he has fought for working families, calling for Medicare-for-all, higher-education funding reform, student debt relief, funding for vocational programs, and major transformative solutions to the climate crisis, among other issues.

Yes, Paul knows what it means to work. He came from humble circumstances to earn associate, bachelor, master and doctoral degrees, and finally a law degree. He was able to do it because union benefits made it possible, and he wants others to have the same opportunities. That's why he fights for good-paying jobs in our communities and access to affordable transportation and high-speed broadband internet for all our communities.

Western Mass. needs experienced representation in Boston. I've already mailed my ballot for Paul Mark. I hope you'll soon do the same.

Lee Harrison
Williamstown, Mass. 

 

 

 


Tags: election 2022,   


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Williamstown Town Meeting Debates, Passes by Large Margins, CPA Grants

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — As it has done nearly every time since the town adopted the provisions of the Community Preservation Act, town meeting Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to respect the decisions of its Community Preservation Committee and award the CPA grants recommended by that body.
 
Among the last actions of the nearly three-hour meeting were the approval of two heavily-discussed CPA grants, one of which generated a negative advisory vote from the town's Finance Committee.
 
That grant went to the Sand Springs Pool and Recreation Center, a $20,000 allotment of CPA funds to renovate and expand facilities at the facility.
 
The Fin Comm voted, 3-5, not to recommend town meeting OK the expenditure, and several residents took the floor at Tuesday night's meeting to argue against approving a grant that the center plans to use to improve its sauna.
 
"Why would we do such a thing?" asked Donald Dubendorf. "I understand we have 'recreational purposes' under the act, but why would we do such a thing when we are in dire straits in other areas, like housing?"
 
The executive director Sand Springs took the microphone to explain that an infrastructure investment in the sauna is part of a strategy to make the facility a year-round town asset and improve the non-profit's revenue stream.
 
Enhanced revenues, in turn, allow Sand Springs to keep its entry fees lower and provide scholarships to families of limited means, Henry Smith said, including in the summer months, when it is "the only public, guarded waterfront in town."
 
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