North Adams Mayoral Candidates Meet In 1st Debate Tonight
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city's 2009 campaign season truly begins tonight as the two candidates for mayor meet in the first of two scheduled debates.The incumbent, John Barrett III, and challenger Richard Alcombright will face off in Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' Church Street Center at 7 p.m. The debate is sponsored by the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce and hosted by MCLA. The moderator is Timothy Farkus of The Berkshire Eagle.
The debated will be taped by Northern Berkshire Community Television for later broadcast on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 8 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. on Channel 17.
Barrett is seeking a record 14th two-year term. The state's longest-serving mayor is running on his broad experience, governmental connections and his record on steering the city through some of its toughest times.
Alcombright, a local bank executive, has spent seven years on the City Council. The popular councilor is running on a vision of educational, housing and economic improvements through consensus-building and transparency.
While the 90-minute debate will not be televised live, iBerkshires readers will be able to follow and comment on the event through our live blog. This will be our second live-blogging event and we're excited to use this new application. We'll, of course, have the story and photos to follow, along with audio and, if possible, video.
Unfortunately, the signal at MCLA was not strong enough to carry the live blog application and we had to cancel the attempt. We hope to try it again soon. Apologies to anyone who had planned to participate.
