Lanesborough Returns Incumbents to Office
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Voters returned both incumbents in the only two races on the town election ballot on Tuesday.
Michael Murphy was elected to a second term on the Select Board with 172 votes; Barbara Davis-Hassan polled 142 votes and Deborah Maynard 131.
Murphy said earlier on Tuesday that he was feeling "cautiously optimistic" about the election though there were good candidates running against him. He has served on the Cable Committee, the Finance Committee, as well as other panels and organizations in the community.
"I would much rather be pleasantly surprised than overly disappointed," he said.
For Finance Committee, incumbent Jodi-Lee Szczepaniak-Locke outpolled Kristen Tool, a member of the former police station committee, by 235-197.
Running unopposed were Sherri Wilson for library trustee and Joe Trybus for Planning Board.
Turnout for the annual election was 448, or 18 percent of the town's 2,470 registered voters.
About 260 votes had been cast by 4 p.m. on Tuesday; for the last election, the town had a little over 600 voters.
Town Clerk Ruth Knysh said voting had been steady and for the most part and free of conflicts. Most people are casting a vote in person rather than by absentee ballot.
"I think they're eager to," she said. "People enjoy it."
Knysh said there has been a good amount of candidate interest this year.
"It seems like they really have the best interest in serving the town and I think that’s great," she added.
The three Select Board candidates had set up tents outside of the polling station.
Maynard, who is a Planning Board member, was a newcomer to the political race. Her campaign has been positive and she is "waiting to see where the chips fall."
"I’ve been going to the Select Board meetings for about a year now and I thought this is something I'd like to do," she explained. "And so I threw my hat in the old ring."
Maynard decided to run for the seat to make local government more transparent for all residents.
"Even myself when I attend the meetings there are things that come up, issues that come up that I know nothing about and I think we need to have more background information," she said. "When you see something on the warrant, it needs to be explained, I think, a little bit more so there is more transparency as far as that goes and why the Select Board votes the way they do."
Davis-Hassan serves on the Planning Board, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Economic Development Committee Authority, and a representative for the town on the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.
She unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Select Board a number of years ago and was asked to be involved with the Economic Development Committee in 2016.
"I want to have just a more civil discourse in meetings, make sure that there's professionalism at the table, work in the best interest of the town, of course, make sure there's a fiscal responsibility when decisions are made right," she said.
She has sat in on Select Board meetings for at least eight years and said she goes "way back to the days of the old school." She was hoping voters were looking for someone with experience and capacity in local government.
In May, the State Ethics Commission's Enforcement Division ordered a show cause alleging that Davis-Hassan violated the conflict of interest law by representing Berkshire Mall owner Durga Property Holdings in local tax and infrastructure matters and by participating as a Planning Board member in a proposal to rezone the mall.
She cited two letters of support that colleagues wrote about the situation and was confident she would be exonarated.
"I am very happy to say that people that serve with me came out and wrote because they're the ones that are right there and there were two of them. There was one on economic development, Tom Voisin, and then there was one on the Zoning Board of Appeals, Bill Mattheisen," Davis-Hassan said.
"The Planning Board members are all on board with me. They all know that I'm not the kind of person. I mean, if you really think about it, how can I go on a board and do something with six other people there that all I've taken conflict of interest [training]."
Murphy said the feedback on his campaign had been good but that it was hard to gauge how people will vote, but added, "no matter how it comes out and no matter how it comes out, I will sleep well tonight."
He ran three years ago to get a permanent home for the town's police force, which he still thinks is a priority. He also wants to focus on balancing taxes and services in the community and being responsive to the senior population and the entire community.
Murphy said his responsiveness to the citizenry is one of the things that he prides himself on.
"I listen. I respond. I'm not afraid to say you've changed my mind and I'm sometimes hopeful that I've changed yours," he said.
Murphy has been in favor of both police station proposals that were voted down by the town, the most recent one being a nearly $6 million plan that was rejected during a special town meeting in March. A new committee has since been formed.
"I was really pleased with the work that the second committee did for over a year and I think although they incorporated the ambulance squad into that, which was not expected, I really supported their thinking behind it," he said.
"They felt there was a need. They also felt it expanded opportunities for funding, low-interest loans and grants that we wouldn't otherwise have access to, and I felt that they came up with another great plan. It's hard when people focus on that bottom line of $5.9 million. That's hard. I get that. We understand that but I really think that the committee thought it through and came up with a plan for something that's going to last 40 years and we'll see where it goes. Maybe the third time's the charm."
