By: Patrick Ronan On: 09:49PM / Wednesday May 12, 2010
NORTH ADAMS — Daniel E. Bosley officially launched his campaign to become Berkshire County sheriff on Wednesday night, and he had a message for those who believe he's not qualified.
He said a strong sheriff needs ample experience in government and budget control, and nixed the idea that being a police officer inherently makes a candidate qualified.
Bosley, the district's longtime representative, kicked off his campaign for sheriff with nearly 200 supporters.
"Don't let anyone try to simplify the role of sheriff," he said in front of a crowd of about 170 supporters at the American Legion. "It is complex and complicated, and we need a person who has experience in all of these areas and not just one area of this job."
Bosley, who is currently serving his 12th term as state representative of the First Berkshire District, will run against Thomas N. Bowler, a Pittsfield Police detective, for the office of retiring incumbent Carmen C. Massimiano Jr.
Some of the supporters in attendance Wednesday included Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts President Mary Grant, City Councilors Lisa Blackmer and Alan Marden, and former Mayor John Barrett III.
"Dan Bosley is a longtime friend, and we certainly worked together for the entire time I was
Former Mayor John Barrett III, a good friend of Bosley's, attended the campaign launch.
mayor," Barrett said. "He has done a lot for the First District, Berkshire County and the state of Massachusetts. I just think he's top shelf."
Bosley, a Democrat, gave a sampling of the initiatives he would implement as sheriff, including an "intake and assessment process" that creates work programs for inmates based on their individual skill sets. He said these programs would benefit Berkshire County communities by ensuring that less people would reoffend.
He commended Massimiano for creating the Juvenile Resource Center in Pittsfield, but Bosley has some ideas for expansion.
"This center is the crowning achievement of Sheriff Massimiano's tenure," he said. "Every other sheriff in Massachusetts wants a center and we need to find ways to keep it open and make it truly county wide."
Southern Berkshire District Court Probation Chief Alfred Barbalunga opened the event by introducing Bosley's daughter, Stephanie, who then introduced her father. Barbalunga contemplated running for sheriff, but pulled out of the race at the end of April.
"Him and I are very similar philosophically," Barbalunga said of Bosley. "We're big believers in management and rehabilitations that has nothing to do with policing whatsoever."
On Thursday, June 3, Bosley will be the keynote speaker at the Northern Berkshire Community Coalitions 24th annual meeting at the Williams Inn.
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
People come and go at these events; Bosley did not speak until nearly 8 p.m. but this picture taken earlier happened to catch a number well-known people. That's why we used it.
I did not mean to suggest that you were misrepresenting numbers. Come to think of it, there was probably no reason for me to cite the headcount of the picture (other than perhaps "Peeps" saw that picture but didn't read the article).
I apologize if you thought I was trying to discredit your reporting.
My point was that I really didn't know what number of attendees amounted to a "win" for the Bosley camp, but that 170 people seemed like a victory in terms of head count.
The cities of Pittsfield and North Adams will hold municipal elections for mayor, city council and school committee in 2015
You may vote absentee: if you will be absent from your town or city on election day, have a physical disability that prevents you from voting at the polls or cannot vote at the polls because to religious beliefs.
Former Mayor John Barrett III, a good friend of Bosley's, attended the campaign launch.
State Election
