Hinds Wins Democratic State Senate Primary
Adam Hinds hugs a support at Hotel on North on Thursday night.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Adam Hinds says over the last seven months if his "head was off the pillow" he was working on his campaign for state Senate.
And it paid off.
Hinds won the Democratic nomination on Thursday in a three-way race. He claimed victory at Hotel on North and will now face Republican Christine Canning-Wilson in the general election.
While he may have won the first step, Hinds says he is going to be getting right back to work toward filling the seat being vacated by state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, who opted not to run for re-election.
"We're going to keep to the same message. It is based on the fact that we can do politics differently. We can ensure that it is inclusive and ensure that it is positive and staying focused on the issues. Drawing on my background of being involved in negotiations and being involved in critical issues here in the district, that demonstrates what we will focus on," Hinds said.
Hinds won the nomination over Andrea Harrington and Rinaldo Del Gallo, both local attorneys. Harrington ran closely behind Hinds in the polls but ultimately conceded the race when it clear Hinds had the numbers.
"It was a great race. We thought it was going to be close, we didn't know what was going to happen. We were hearing a lot of enthusiasm but it was a tough race. I learned a lot and it was fun. I'm grateful for my opponents because they made me a stronger, better advocate," Harrington said.
Harrington is now throwing her support behind Hinds saying, "I absolutely endorse Adam Hinds 100 percent. I'm excited to help him become our next state senator in November." Del Gallo, however, already believes Hinds will be the next senator.
"I really like Adam. It was kind of hard to go up against him. I didn't know Andrea but I knew Adam and I liked him. He is a very likable guy, he comes from a great family. I think he'll serve the district well. I like Chris Canning a lot, she's a wonderful person. But, historically, the Democratic primary decides it. I think Adam is the next state senator and I wish him all the best," Del Gallo said.
Del Gallo wasn't surprised by his polling numbers, far behind Hinds and Harrington, because he expected it. But, throughout the numerous debates and campaigning, Del Gallo, who ran as a "Bernie Sanders Progressive," believes his campaign was successful in bringing out issues that moved Hinds and Harrington farther to the left, specifically when it comes to wealth inequality and the environment.
"We knew by the end of June that we didn't have a chance of winning at all. There was a real debate whether to stay in a race where it wasn't possible, there was clearly no path to victory. One of the reasons we decided to stay in it was because we knew we were pushing these guys to the left. I think we really did that," Del Gallo said. "In June, I didn't know where they were on the political spectrum and I hopped into the race and pushed them far to the left and that was good."
Hinds said he has "nothing but respect for his opponents."
"When you are going through a grueling process like this, we've shared a lot of knowing glances of exhaustion. Going through this with them has been great," Hinds said.
The district represents 52 cities and towns, the largest in the state, so neither Hinds nor Harrington had a good sense going into Thursday who would be victorious.
"I certainly wouldn't claim that I was confident. The race really tightened up in the last week. To me, it was really about doing everything we can until we reached that finish line," Hinds said. "We had people calling right up to the last minute. We had an office full of people doing those calls. We were sprinting until the very last moment."
Harrington said she was "cautiously optimistic" but the ultimate results were "a huge question mark" until polls closed.
Sherwood Guernsey, founder of the Democratic advocacy group the Berkshire Brigades, said the race came down to Hinds making "connections with people" that the other candidates did not and his track record.
"I think the race came down to integrity and Adam was all about integrity and being a proven leader. Nobody else in the race has ever proven what they could do. He took policy and the progressive Democratic ideas that all of the candidates have and he converted them to action with the Pittsfield Community Connection, with Employ North Berkshire. He showed the people what he could do and he was a really good listener and cared. In today's world people respect that," Guernsey said.
Guernsey said he quickly supported Hinds in the campaign because of his work with the Pittsfield Community Connection and the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition. He said Hinds "understands the problems and understands people."
Another supporter of the Hinds campaign was 9-year-old Jared Senzel, who volunteered his time to work on the campaign.
"I made phone calls. I didn't really do any canvassing — I did do that in my last campaign but not this time. I got some signs," Senzel said. "I've been in politics for about three years."
The Richmond Consolidated School student said politics have become a hobby for him and he's participated in three prior campaigns — that of Hillary Clinton, former Mayor Daniel Bianchi, and now Hinds.
"I feel great. I feel like we were a success and, hopefully, we can be another success for the general," Senzel said.
When it comes to the general election, Hinds said he will continue doing what he has been doing.
"I'm going to be focused on the big challenges and being a strong voice for working families, and standing up for education funding, and making sure we can deal with energy costs and accelerate the transition to green energy. To me, those priorities aren't going to change," Hinds said.
The voter turnout will be much different in November. In the largest city in the district, Pittsfield, which had a state representative race, only 20 percent of voters turned out. In towns without a House race, the numbers were dismal. Lanesborough reported just 11 percent of voters cast ballots.
At 2:30 in the afternoon election worker Ron O'Brien at St. Elizabeth's Parish in North Adams said only 400 out of the 8,861 registered voters in North Adams voted. Less than 10 percent of voters bothered to cast ballots in the end.
"It has been very very slow," O'Brien said. "We had a line in the beginning, just two people but it was a line …usually it gets better around 4 but then it just dies. It is amazing how many people don’t know there is an election today."
Clarksburg had only 21 votes cast shortly before 11 a.m. but managed to get up to 75 before the polls closed.
Adams faired slightly better and at 3 p.m. Adams Town Clerk Haley Meczywor said 438 out of the 5,849 voters made it out to the DPW Garage to vote.
"We have been really busy and have been trying to keep the crowd away," Meczywor joked. "We might have had four or five people at once in here at the most. We have two now, and that’s not good."
At 3:30, Cheshire Town Clerk Christine Emerson reported similar low numbers with 171 of the 2,273 registered voters casting ballots at the community center.
"It's like watching paint dry," Emerson said.
Those numbers are reflective throughout the state. But, when it comes to the general election, a much higher turnout is expected because the presidential election drives higher participation.
Hinds said having a primary gives him a head start on that election cycle. He said the primary "gets our name out there and quite frankly, as a first-time candidate I needed a long runway for name recognition. So that helps going into the general."
Guernsey called the seat "the most important position in this county by far" and is dedicated to helping Hinds win it. He said the seat is "critical" to the state's Democratic Party.
"The position of state senator is incredibly influential because there are only 40 of them in the state. To have our senator be a Democrat with the Democratic values that they bring to it is absolutely critical to be able to get the legislation passed that we need," Guernsey said. "It is the most important position in this county by far."
While Harrington fell short of the votes, she said she wouldn't take anything back. She said she is proud of the campaign she ran and looks to take the belief she found in supporters in the race and turn it into something else for the community — what, she doesn't know yet.
"I'm amazed by the support I gathered. I had the biggest labor unions supporting me. I had people out today really beating the bushes trying to get people to the polls. I'm really overwhelmed and honored and humbled by the support of just so many people who have helped throughout the campaign," Harrington said.
Tags: Democratic Party, election 2016, primary, State Senate,
