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No Preliminary Election in North Adams

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There will be no preliminary election in North Adams this year. 
 
But there will definitely be some changes on the City Council with only six incumbents running for re-election in November. 
 
Tuesday at 5 p.m. was the deadline to get in 50 certified signatures to run for office. 
 
Jennifer Macksey is being challenged in her run to retain the corner office by Aprilyn Carsno, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor two years ago and was eliminated in a preliminary election. 
 
Richard David Greene and Rachel Branch also had taken out papers; Greene did not return signatures and Branch moved out of the city.
 
City Council incumbents Lisa Blackmer, Keith Bona, Bryan Sapienza, Ashley Shade, Peter Oleskiewicz and Wayne Wilkinson will be on the ballot.
 
Current Councilors Jennifer Barbeau, Marie T. Harpin and Michael Obasohan did not take out nomination papers. 
 
Hoping to fill those three empty seats — or unseat one or more incumbents — are Colin Bain, Peter Breen, Robert Cardimino, Andrew Fitch and Deanna Morrow. 
 
Bain is a recent McCann Technical School graduate; Breen is a retired computer science teacher who serves on the McCann School Committee and the city's Licensing Board; Cardimino has been a frequent candidate for council; Fitch has worked in inclusion and community engagement and is a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals; and Morrow is a recent graduate of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts who works in residential recovery. 
 
A total of 11 candidates will vie to be among the top nine vote-getters.
 
Emily Johnson, Jon Schnauber and Joshua Vallieres had also taken out papers but did not return them or return the required amount; Ronald Sheldon, a prior candidate, was not able to get his signatures notarized in time. 
 
Four candidates are running for three seats on the School Committee: incumbents Tara Jacobs and Alyssa Tomkowicz and newcomers Cody Chamberlain and Eric Wilson. 
 
Three candidates are running for the three seats on the McCann School Committee: George Canales, Peter Breen and William Diamond. 
 
The city election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 28.
 

Tags: election 2023,   municipal election,   


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Neal Secures $700,000 for North Adams Flood Chutes Project


Mayor Jennifer Macksey at last August's signing of an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal has secured $700,000 in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' budget to complete a feasibility study of the Hoosic River flood chutes.  
 
The Corps of Engineers is in the midst of a three-year, $3 million study of the aging concrete flood chutes that control the passage of the river through the city. 
 
North Adams has ponied up $500,000 as part of its share of the study and another $1.5 million is expected to come from state and federal coffers. Neal previously secured $200,000 in the fiscal 2023 omnibus spending package to begin the feasibility study. 
 
The additional funding secured by Neal will allow for the completion of the study, required before the project can move on to the next phase.
 
Neal celebrated it as a significant step in bringing the flood chutes project to fruition, which he said came after several months of communication with the Corps.
 
"The residents of North Adams have long advocated for much needed improvements to the city's decades-old flood chutes. This announcement is a substantial victory for the city, one that reaffirms the federal government's commitment to making this project a reality," said the congressman. "As a former mayor, I know firsthand the importance of these issues, especially when it comes to the safety and well-being of residents. 
 
"That is why I have prioritized funding for this project, one that will not only enhance protections along the Hoosic River Basin and reduce flood risk, but also make much critical improvements to the city's infrastructure and create jobs."
 
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