Berkshires to Vote for President, State Ballot Questions

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Voters will hit the polls on Tuesday to elect a new president and state and federal officials and decide ballot questions.

Polls for the general election are open in Massachusetts from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.  For Pittsfield, more than 27 percent have chosen to vote early.

City Clerk Michele Benjamin reported Monday that 2,087 people came into City Hall to vote early in person and the city processed 6,539 mail-in ballots for a grand total of 8,338 ballots.

This represents 27.37 percent of the 32,821 registered voters.

Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris is facing Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump for the presidential seat. Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice president, and Trump selected U.S. Senator J.D. Vance.

Also appearing on the presidential ballot are Jill Stein for the Green Party, Chase Oliver for the Libertarian Party, Claudia De La Cruz for the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Randall Terry for the Constitution Party, and Cornel West as an independent.

Berkshire County voters will also choose a U.S. senator, a representative in Congress, a state senator, and representative in the Third Berkshire, and vote "yes" or "no” on five questions.

U.S. Senator

Democrat: Elizabeth Warren (Cambridge)
Republican: John Deaton (Swansea)

Warren was inducted into the U.S. Senate in 2013. She is running for her third six-year term. In the 2023-2024 term, she sits on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, the Community on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Aging.

Her platform is about consumer protection, equitable economic opportunity, and the social safety net.

Warren's proposed Ultra-Millionaire Tax focused on families with a net worth of more than $50 million, roughly the wealthiest 75,000 households. They would pay a 2 percent tax on every dollar of their net worth above $50 million and a 6 percent tax for every dollar above $1 billion.

Deaton, a trial attorney, describes himself as a "Champion for other underdogs."

In his memoir "Food Stamp Warrior," he outlines the poverty, violence, and abuse that encompassed his upbringing and how he defied the odds, eventually becoming a judge advocate at a Marine Corps Air Station.

Deaton feels Warren's politics are extreme. Relating to immigration, he wants to secure the border, end so-called "catch and release," and reform the asylum process while expanding legal immigration. He was endorsed by the Berkshire County Republican Association after a visit to the Berkshires in August.

Representative in Congress for the First Mass District

Democrat: Richard Neal (Springfield)
Independent: Nadia Milleron (Sheffield)

Richard Neal has served in Congress for 36 years and is running for his 19th term. Originally representative of the Second Mass, he was elected in 2013 to represent the First Mass after redistricting. From 2019 to 2022, he served as the chair of the Committee of Ways and Means, whose jurisdiction includes tax and revenue legislation. He is currently a ranking member. Neal is a supporter of gun safety measures, clean energy, health-care access, immigration, and human rights.

Nadia Milleron is seeking a congressional seat after her 24-year-old daughter, Samya Stumo, was killed in March 2019 when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed just after takeoff. The aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX, has been the subject of multiple lawsuits and one had a door panel blowout earlier this year.

She hopes to shield the First Congressional District — and beyond — from corporate interest and has also expressed a need for advocacy for the middle class, increasing social security benefits, single-payer healthcare, and addressing the housing crisis.

Senator for the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden Districts

Democrat: Paul Mark (Becket)
Republican: David Rosa (Dighton)

Paul Mark, formerly state representative, is running for his second term in the state Senate. Rosa, a veteran and retiree, has run unsuccessfully in previous elections including for Congress.

Third Berkshire Representative

She is running on sustainable growth and innovation, enhancing housing, greater mental health services and workforce development.

Unopposed

Running unopposed in the general election are John Barrett III (North Adams) for representative in the First Berkshire; Tricia Farley-Bouvier (Pittsfield) for representative in the Second Berkshire; Tara Jacobs (North Adams) for Governor's Council in the 8th District; Lisa A. Denault-Viale (Windsor) for Berkshire County clerk of courts; Patsy Harris (Hinsdale) for Central Berkshire register of deeds and Maria Ziemba (Adams) for Northern Berkshire register of deeds.

Questions

Questions 2 and 5 have generated the most conversation, dealing with the state-required MCAS exam and hours wages for tipped workers.

Question 1: Should the state auditor have the authority to audit the Legislature?

Question 2: Should the state eliminate the requirement that a student pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests (or other statewide or district-wide assessments) in mathematics, science and technology, and English to receive a high school diploma?

Question 3: Should Transportation Network Drivers have the right to form unions to collectively bargain with Transportation Network Companies to create negotiated recommendations concerning wages, benefits, and terms and conditions of work?

Question 4: Should persons aged 21 and older be able to grow, possess, and use certain natural psychedelic substances in certain circumstances?

Question 5: Should the minimum hourly wage an employer must pay a tipped worker increase over five years on the following schedule:?
• To 64 percent of the state minimum wage on January 1, 2025;
• To 73 percent of the state minimum wage on January 1, 2026;
• To 82 percent of the state minimum wage on January 1, 2027;
• To 91 percent of the state minimum wage on January 1, 2028; and
• To 100 percent of the state minimum wage on January 1, 2029.

 

Companion Corner: Buster at Berkshire Humane Society