• Mayoral Candidate Moulton Has Action Plan for North Adams • Alcombright Rallies Supporters at Campaign Event • Alcombright, Moulton Spar in First Mayoral Debate • Crime, Finance Return in 2nd Alcombright, Moulton Debate

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There will be a change in government in the city by Tuesday night, and how different it will be depends on which chief executive voters chose.

Polls will be open Tuesday from 9 to 7 p.m. at St. Elizabeth's Parish Center (Wards 1, 2, 3 & 5) and Greylock School (Ward 4.)

It's a duel for the corner office between longtime friends Richard Alcombright, the incumbent, and Robert M. Moulton Jr., the challenger.

Alcombright is running for a third term for mayor on the progress he's made over the last four years, and his intention to continue along that course. He has pointed to a growing Main Street, the retention and expansion of jobs at Crane & Co., regional partnerships with law enforcement and municipalities, and two landmark initiatives: the Conte School renovation and the privatization plans for Heritage State Park.

Moulton, however, insists that the city hasn't prospered enough and says the incumbent hasn't done enough to combat crime. He is calling for hiring more police and personnel for other city departments, including inspection services, and creating a city-operated charter school, although he has not detailed how those would be funded. He also said he would not support the current deal to privatize the Heritage Park and would instead look for different investors.

No matter who's mayor, one thing is certain: The City Council for 2014-15 will have a very new, likely very younger, face than it has had for years. Links to candidate profiles and forums can be found here.

Five of the dozen candidates are under the age of 35; nine are under the age of 50. The oldest candidate is age 77. Still, differences between the candidates are more a matter of degree than distinction.

Four of the candidates are incumbents, with Keith Bona, 45, having the longest tenure. A local businessman and McCann Technical School graduate, he is running for a third term but spent eight years on the council in the 1990s, making him the veteran with 12 years total.

Incumbent Lisa Blackmer, 49, is seeking a fourth term. She has served as vice president of the council, represents the city on the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and works in accounting and human resources at Wheatleigh.

Incumbents Jennifer Breen, 34, and Nancy Bullett, 58, are each seeking a second term. Both are city natives who operate their own practices: Breen is an attorney and former assistant district attorney and Bullett is a physical therapist.

Past candidates trying again for a spot on the council are Eric Buddington, 40, Michael Hernandez, 42, and Robert Cardimino, 77.

Buddington works in information technology and is a musician and musical instructor, Hernandez is a real estate agent, and Cardimino, a retired GE worker, is a part-time landscaper.

The newcomers include Benjamin Lamb, 28, Joshua Moran, 31, Kate Merrigan, 34, David Robbins, 33, and Wayne Wilkinson, 62.

Lamb is assistant director for student involvement at Williams, Moran is a civil engineer, Merrigan is a program coordinator for the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition and Robbins is a National Guardsman and property manager. Wilkinson, a commercial assessor, is new to the council but not to City Hall, having been a longtime member of both the Planning Board and Mobile Home Rent Control Board.

The candidates are in general agreement that the city should continue the master planning process, that the Conte School renovation is a done deal and that they support plans to privatize Western Gateway Heritage State Park. The exception is Cardimino, who believes privatization should not be done at the expense of the nonprofits, including the city's history museum, currently in the park.

All agreed that crime is a serious concern and that more attention needed to be paid to preventative action such as community organizations, education and drug use. Breen, Blackmer, Moran, Lamb, Bona and Cardimino agreed that hiring more officers would also be helpful, although there would have to be a plan for how to pay for them.

The top nine vote-getters will be seated on the next City Council.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Three City Council ward seat, councilors at large and School Committee races will be decided Tuesday.

Proposed Pittsfield City Charter 2013

Forum 1: Michael Hernandez, Benjamin Lamb, Kate Merrigan and Wayne Wilkinson

Forum 2: Lisa Blackmer, Keith Bona, Nancy Bullett and Robert Cardimino

Forum 3: Jennifer Breen, Eric Buddington and Joshua Moran

 

Many weeks ago, I spoke with Bob Moulton when he informed me he was going to run for mayor.  Bob assured me that he would run a clean campaign and that he would respect our long term friendship and that of our families.

The campaign until this week has been very quiet and Bob has been an admirable challenger debating his points of view. At this 11th hour, however, he has decided or has been told to begin to degenerate this campaign by unfounded lies.

Two recent flyers that came to my house and I am certain to most households stated the following:

1. "I gave out tax deals to influential friends."
For those of you who know me, I have spent my entire adult life building my integrity. I have NEVER given one penny to any friends in tax deals.

2. "By shifting the tax rate, I gave Walmart, Time Warner, National Grid, Verizon and others tax breaks." Not one of those entities received a tax break ... they paid their fair share.

3. "I gave out more than $700,000 in pay raises."
That number is the total of additional contracted compensation to all city and school employees over the past four years. That represents less than 1 percent increase each year. I trust you value our teachers, firefighters, police, DPW and office workers enough to understand that these increases were earned and were among the lowest in the state. Mr. Moulton only needs to do the math.

4.  "I entered office with nearly $3.5 million in reserves."
That could not be further from the truth ... he fails to mention that I also entered office with a $2.6 million deficit in the budget and an unfunded and mismanaged insurance issue amounting to $800,000 left me by former Mayor John Barrett.

5.  "Bob's priority will always be what is best for the forgotten middle class of North Adams."
We have a population consisting of 17 percent poverty, 60 percent low to moderate income ... what about them? I have acted on behalf of and in the best interests of all of our residents.

6. "$80,000 a year will be spent on swanky new school administrative offices on Main Street when space could have been found in a city-owned property."
The School Department leased office space for some 35 administrative workers for a three-year lease at $69,000 annually with the first year heavily discounted to under $50,000. All city buildings including City Hall were considered with none able to accommodate that many people. The School Department was spending over $100,000 annually at Conte and two other buildings to house administration. This move saves the district more than $30,000 annually.

7.  "Invest in a state-of-the-art curriculum starting in Grade 1."
Mr. Moulton is so uninformed that he only needs to look online at the school website to see that we have a curriculum for each Grade K-12, that is mandated by the Massachusetts Frameworks and the Federal Common Core.

It is very unfortunate that Mr. Moulton has resorted to "slinging the mud" this late in the race. He has not proposed ONE idea that has substance. He says he has an action plan: what is it? He will hire more police: how will he pay for them and will it be on the back of a volunteer fire department?

The city voted to do the Conte School renovation project: he has yet to clearly answer whether or not if elected, he will scrap Conte. He told the MCLA Beacon he would, WGBY Public Television "everything was on the table" and during the radio debate he claimed he would support it. Which is it?  

He has said that he will stop the privatization of Heritage State Park ... a project that I have been working on for three years that promises over $6 million in investment and will put the park back on the tax rolls.

I simply don't get it, saving all of these lies and empty promises for the 11th hour. I am fully convinced that collectively and transparently, we have moved this city forward over the past four years. Please read the information that you have received from both of us very carefully and make an informed decision.

Richard Alcombright is running for a third term as mayor of North Adams.