Letter: If Oleskiewicz & Sapienza Won't Stick Up For Us, Why Should We Vote for Them?
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To the Editor:
Elections in a small city can often feel like neighbors coming together to create a government that represents their hopes and dreams for their home community. Early voting has begun, and on Nov. 4, we will find ourselves once again awaiting the results.
Several incumbents and newcomers have shown heart, passion, and willingness to step up, above and beyond, to face the current and future challenges our community is facing. Unfortunately, others have shown a level of apathy or cowardice that is not only holding us back, it is making us less safe.
This past March, North Adams City Council voted on a resolution to be a sanctuary city for trans and gender expansive people. Prior to this, North Adams councilors have voted to adopt a Safe City Resolution in 2018, and a resolution in January 2025 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, or intersex and HIV status.
That same week in March, a bomb threat was called into the trans-owned business Wander in Pittsfield. At that March council meeting, a local individual recounted a moment where a family member used slurs against them, and was silenced by Council President Brian Sapienza under the guise of "respect," unaware of the irony that the speaker was trying to show the disrespect trans and gender expansive individuals endure daily, from strangers and family alike.
Most cishet white individuals do not fully understand what it is like to have your identity be at the crux of government policy, let alone policy that dehumanizes and strips away human rights. While some people feel that this is performative, others hold tight to the idea that the place they call home is willing to put forth effort to protect them. Marginalized and oppressed communities do not experience the same level of comfort, equality, or equity as the white straight folks reading this.
While a full course on equity and diversity is beyond the scope of this piece, we have never all been treated equal in the history of this country, and thus some have had to fight harder. Equity is not just "everyone is treated equal" but "everyone is given access, support, and care, regardless of their identities." Sometimes equity looks like a helping hand to offset the institutional oppression. Justice is then the effort to remove those oppressive barriers.
Councilor Pete Oleskiewicz stated that he voted "No" because he "didn't like resolutions" but didn't want anyone to take it personally. Perhaps he missed the part of the discussion when his fellow councilors stated clearly why this resolution should be viewed differently, for the safety of our community! Councilor Sapienza stated he did not agree, but did not elaborate.
These two councilors outright voted "No" to keeping city resources secure from use against anti-trans actions; "No" to acknowledging the danger that this current federal administration has placed upon trans and gender expansive community members; "No" to inclusive, equitable access to health care. While they are offered all the gender-affirming care they want, while they feel safe walking home at night, while they are comfortable in their identities, similarly just a few feet away sit counselors and constituents who wake up every day with worry about their access to health care, their safety at work or their kids' safety at school, or simply their safety stepping out of their homes as their full, unique self.
When a "No Kings" resolution came up for consideration in May, Oleskiewicz and Sapienza voted no again! But our city has shown over and over where our values lie, and we deserve councilors that reflect those values, represent us all in all our diversity, and have the courage to stand up for the safety of each and every one of us.
When all the votes are counted, we will all still be neighbors, and we need to continue working together to make this community the best it can be, whoever may win, and whoever may lose. So when you go in to vote (and early voting has already started at City Hall), we hope that you will vote for some of the numerous great candidates that have shown their dedication to our city, with the courage and care that we deserve.
Nash Macdonald, Drury High student (who was gaveled down)
Cody Chamberlain, North Adams School Committee member
Miranda Smith-Hunt, North Adams, Mass.
Heidi Shartrand Newell, North Adams, Mass.
Craig Feuerzeig, North Adams, Mass.
Tags: election 2025, municipal election,
