Letter: Vote to Re-Elect Macksey as Mayor

To the Editor:

It's that time when voters will again get to make their choice for mayor. This year Scott Berglund is challenging Mayor Jennifer Macksey.

Other than being a political newcomer and a fairly new resident to the city, little is known about Mr. Berglund. I know he's twice defeated cancer and while I sincerely congratulate him on beating the beast, it is not a credential for overseeing a municipality with a $50-plus million budget.

He says if elected there will be "transparency" in his administration. Ironically, his campaign has been anything but transparent. Not once, even in the mayoral debate, did he cite any qualifications to be mayor. What experience does he have? What's he bringing to the table? In fact, what does he even do for work? I've never seen or heard that reported.

Throughout the debate with Mayor Macksey his replies to questions were riddled with "from what I hear", "people tell me," and "it's my understanding that ... ." Not one answer was specific to his personal knowledge of anything nor did he talk about any firsthand experience he has. He recited a wish list of things he'd like to do but not once said how he'd get them done or paid for.

On the flip side, Mayor Macksey has a strong financial and administrative background. Prior to being mayor, she served in several administrative roles in the city including treasurer/tax collector and has administrative backgrounds in education through positions at MCLA, Southern Vermont College and the Northern Berkshire School Union.

As mayor, she is not only the city's chief executive but is also chairman of the School Committee and School Building Committee. Under her leadership, the Police Department is now housed in an ADA-compliant facility; she worked with Berkshire Health Systems to re-open our hospital after 10 years; her administration obtained grant money for work on the Ashland Street corridor (including new sidewalks); the Brown Street bridge is slated to re-open and a new elementary school is being built with the majority of the cost being paid for by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

Mayor Macksey is a lifelong resident of North Adams who knows its history and cares about its residents. She's not the Johnny-Come-Lately trying to persuade you that after just two years in town, he can fix things without telling you how. I urge everyone to join me on Nov. 4 in voting to re-elect Jennifer Macksey as mayor of North Adams.

Paul J. Moriarty
North Adams, Mass.

Health Secretary Tours Berkshire Food Project

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
05:56PM / Thursday, November 06, 2025

Executive Director Matthew Alcombright explains how the project's free lunch program works. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — State Health & Human Services Secretary Kiame Mahaniah wound up a trip to the Berkshires on Tuesday with stops at the Berkshire Food Project, North Adams Regional Hospital and the Brien Center. 

 

The secretary, escorted by state Rep. John Barrett III, Tricia Farley-Bouvier and Leigh Davis, was in Pittsfield in the morning for roundtable at the Pittsfield Community Food Pantry.

 

Mahaniah said he'd been to a few pantries in the Boston area recently, and spent Monday in the Pioneer Valley and Tuesday in the Berkshires as "food security days."

 

"I'm hearing that people are terrified about the changes that are coming. I'm hearing that even before the changes came, inflation has really caused a spike in people's need, and that here in the Berkshires, in particular, all the things that make life difficult, sort of further negatively affecting people's ability to access food, be it public transportation or transport or jobs or so that. So that the data is also striking," he said. 

 

"And I think it's also what I always when I'm always impressed about when I come to the Berkshires, is just how well the different organizations are able to collaborate. It's just amazing what people in the what organizations and the Berkshires do, what communities do with so little."

 

Some 1.1 million state residents were set to lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds this month as the government shutdown continues through orders from the Trump administration, although SNAP benefits have not been affected by previous shutdowns. A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the use of reserve funds to continue the program but that could mean recipients getting 50 percent to 35 percent, or less, of their regular allotments.

 

Gov. Maura Healey advanced $4 million in funds for November, to be added to the $4 million provided monthly to Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance program. But that's not enough.