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Williamstown Election Papers Available Wednesday
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The papers are due by to the town clerk's office with at least 28 certifiable signatures by March 20. The election will be on May 8 and the town meeting will be on May 15. The deadline for warrant article submissions is March 26.
Current Board of Selectmen Chairman Thomas Sheldon is up for re-election for the three-year post. There are two positions on the Elementary School Committee, both three years and are the seats of Jennifer Trainer Thompson and Adam Filson. Christopher Winters' five-year seat on the Planning Board is also up for election.
Additionally, a three-year term on the Northern Berkshire Regional Vocational School District, three-year term as a library trustee and both a five-year and a two-year term on the Housing Authority that are up for election.
The deadline to register to vote in the town election is April 18. The presidential primaries registration deadline is Feb. 15 and the election will be on March 6.
The elections and the town meeting will be held at the Elementary School.
Sen. Scott Brown Asserts His Independence At Pittsfield Stump
.jpg) U.S. Sen. Scott Brown says he has visited the area more than any Senator in recent history. |
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Brown kicked off campaigning last week and stopped in at the Ralph J. Froio Senior Center to meet with voters on Wednesday. There the Wrentham Republican assured voters in the heavily Democratic region that he is not a "rock thrower" and can work with Democrats.
"I am doing exactly what I said I would do, which is to read the bills and see how they affect Massachusetts, our country, our debt and our deficit, and vote. I am the most bipartisan person in the delegations by at least 20, 25 points and probably one of the most in the entire United States Senate," Brown said. "At a time when we need problem-solvers and not rock throwers, that's a good thing."
Brown propelled to victory in the 2010 special election with help from Republicans nationwide, a victory that shook the political structure. Shortly after, the rightest of the right-wingers had their hopes crushed by Brown's voting record. Yet, that support came mostly because of his opposition to the national health care bill, now known derisively as Obamacare, and that he has not wavered on.
"I will look you right in your eye and tell you, the only people who are cutting half a trillion dollars, that's $500 billion, from Medicare is the Democrats when they rammed through the health care bill," Brown said.
While health care may not have gotten him clapping at Tuesday's State of the Union address, Brown said he was clapping for some of President Barack Obama's policies such as immigration reform and the insider trading bill. But when it comes to taxes and deficits, Brown leans right.
"There are so many things we agree on and if we can put the partisanship aside, we'd be a much better country," Brown said.
That independence is what Brown will emphasis in the 2012 campaign, which is shaping up to be against Elizabeth Warren. Warren has already scared most Democratic candidates out the ring and garnered national attention.
 Brown returned to the senior center after visiting it a year ago. |
While Massachusetts is considered one of the Democratic strongholds, Brown isn't convinced that it is a "blue state." The state has voted for Republicans besides him including former Gov. Mitt Romney, who Brown is supporting in the presidential election. That's one of the things Brown loves about the state, the residents vote for people and not for the parties they represent, he said.
In the Berkshires, Brown is hoping to fare better than his last campaign against North Adams native Martha Coakley. The only Berkshire town Brown won then was Otis.
Recognizing the ever-present feeling of exclusion here, Brown pointed his background of living in Dalton, eating at Teo's and driving up and down North Street. He has visited the Berkshires more often than any U.S. Senator in recent history, he said. Mayor Daniel Bianchi greeted Brown with appreciation that he "knows how to get to Pittsfield."
However, there were also a one or two missteps in that regard by Brown on Tuesday such as when he said the Berkshire Wind Project on Brodie Mountain was still not operating because of permitting red tape. The residents were quick to point out that the turbines are currently operating.
Adams Election Papers Available Jan. 30
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The papers must be returned to the Town Clerk's office by March 19 for the May 7 election. On the Board of Selectmen, there will be two seats for re-election - one of which is the three-year term of Jason Hnatanko, who will not seek re-election. The other is for the three-year term of current Chairman Arthur "Skip" Harrington.
There are also seats available for moderator, town clerk, assessor, board of health, two library trustees, three parks commissioners, planning board, cemetery commissioner, two redevelopment authority, a Northern Berkshire Regional Vocational School District, two seats on the Adams Cheshire Regional School District (a representative from Adams and Cheshire) and many town meeting members. The full list of seats are available below.
For residents who want to vote in the presidential primary on March 6, registration is required by Feb. 15. The deadline to vote in the town election is April 17. The state primary election is on Sept. 6 and the state election is on Nov. 6. The full calendar is available below as well.
Adams 2012 Election Calendar
Adams 2012 Offices for Election
Brown Making Campaign Swing Through Pittsfield
 U.S. Sen. Scott Brown shaking hands in Pittsfield last August at a chamber event. |
Brown will be in Pittsfield from 3:15 to 4 p.m. to visit with senior citizens at the Ralph J. Froio Senior Center on North Street. The senator was last in Pittsfield in August, when he addressed the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce.
The Wrentham Republican is closing his second year in office but will have to win in November against a Democratic candidate to get a full six-year term. The former state senator is currently completing the term of the late Ted Kennedy.
The senator will also stop at the Kenmore Diner in Worcester at 10:30 a.m. and at Milano Importers in Springfield at 1:15. The events are being promoted as part of Brown's campaign kickoff, which launched last week with a speech in Worcester.
The senator's campaign website is here.
Writer, Activist Shein Joins 1st Mass Race
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Shein posted the announcement on his Facebook page Monday, saying "It's time to get big money out of politics, fix our broken democracy, make clear that corporations aren't people and money isn't speech ... ."
A self-described progressive Democrat, he has been involved with the Occupy Wall Street movement in South County and has outspoken against the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, which granted personhood to corporations regarding political spending.
In protest, Shein's campaign is Human People for Shein and he's not accepting donations of more than $99. No corporations; no PACs.
"We need Democrats in Congess who will tell the truth about the insidious role of money in politics and do something about it," he writes on his website, www.billshein.com, calling for public funding of elections.
Shein was raised in New York City and moved to the Berkshires a decade ago. His op-ed column, "Reason Gone Mad," has won three National Press Club Award for Humor and appears in The Berkshire Eagle. He's never run for office but did work on Paul Simon's presidential campaign in 1988 and for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee after graduating from Tufts University in 1990.
He wrote jokes for Al Franken on Comedy Central's "InDecision '92" and "ran for president" as faux candidate Will Markson in 2004. He also occasionally contributes to Red Crow News when he's not raising ducks.
On his site, Shein said he's running for the Democratic nomination on campaign reform, including banning contributions from lobbyists; a fair and progressive tax code; economic development that promotes local enterprises; a national health-care program; quality education; addressing climate change and promotoing a foreign policy based on diplomacy not violence..
Also running for the Democratic nomination is Middle Berkshire Register of Deeds Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr. and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, whose Springfield district is being consolidated next year into the 1st Mass. No Republican has so far announced for the seat. U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, who currently represents the 1st District, is retiring.
State Election