NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Daniel E. Bosley, candidate for Berkshire County sheriff is refusing to accept campaign donations from employees at the Berkshire County House of Corrections (BCHOC) and asked his opponent to take a similar pledge and return any such donations.

“For too long, I have witnessed people donating to a candidate because they are afraid they will lose their job if they don’t write a check. People should be hired and promoted based on their ability, performance and experience; not on the size of their political contribution. The next sheriff will have to make a lot of decisions regarding personnel upon entering office. There should be no question that these decisions are made on merit, not campaign checks,“ the candidate said in a statement.

Bosley stressed that it is important for the public and employees to have confidence that the system works based on merit.

“This issue came up in a debate last week at MCLA. My opponent said that personnel issues shouldn’t be made based on contributions. If that is true, then neither of us should be accepting contributions from potential employees. I have never taken a contribution from one of my employees. It’s just not a good  practice, policy,  and doesn’t inspire public confidence," he said.