ADAMS, Mass. — Voters will decide two races on Monday, including for treasurer/collector.

Melissa McGovern-Wandrei and Kelly Rice are vying to complete the two years left on the term being vacated by retiring Holly Denault.

Originally from Clarksburg, McGovern-Wandrei has been the Clarksburg tax collector, and more recently treasurer/tax collector, for a total of 15 years. She is currently the president of the Berkshire County Treasurer and Collectors Association.

She is a Massachusetts certified treasurer/collector.

"I am experienced," McGovern-Wandrei said. "I know all of the laws, and I have a 95-97 percent collection rate in Clarksburg, which is very good."

McGovern-Wandrei now lives in Adams with her husband, Lenny Wandrei; some of their children have been in the Adams school system.

"Adams is a good place to raise your children, and it is very community orientated," she said. "The people in Adams have been very supportive of me."

McGovern-Wandrei said she is the most qualified person for the job.

"There is a lot to this job, and I think a lot of people think it is just an accounting job," McGovern-Wandrei said. "It takes a certain kind of person to do this job well, and I think that person is me."

Rice is originally from Savoy but has lived in Adams for nearly 30 years.

"I love Adams," she said. "Adams is a small little tight-knit town, and I like it."

Rice said she worked as the cafeteria manager for Hoosac Valley High School for 14 years, taking care of bookkeeping and all deposits and reconciliations.

Rice said she has also worked for the town as the building inspector's administrative assistant. She moved from there to the financial assistant for grants in the Community Development Department.

"I take care of millions of dollars through all of the grants we have had for the past eight years," she said.

Although not certified, Rice said she has learned the proper skills for treasurer/collector position through her involvement in the town government and also has gained a strong work ethic.

Rice said she wants to help Adams.

"I live in the town of Adams, and I need to take care of the town of Adams," she said. "We need to get some revenues back in for all of the leans and takings, and I would be proud to be part of that."

Also on the ballot is a race for a three-year selectmen's seat; candidates for other offices attended a forum last month.

The town election is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, May 5, at the town garage.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Unless someone launches a write-in campaign, the pool of elected officials is going to stay mostly the same.

By Tuesday's deadline to submit nomination papers for the next election, only incumbents returned papers and there is no competition for any of the seats. And, there are a number of seats with no candidates.

For selectmen, only Henry "Hank" Sayers returned nomination papers. Sayers was elected last year during a special election to replace Robert Barton, who resigned after winning a seat on the School Committee. Longtime School Committee member Regina DiLego is also looking to return to that board.

Two Finance Committee seats are on the ballot, but only one candidate -— incumbent Christine Galib — submitted paperwork. William Steven's seat is also up for election but he did not take out nomination papers.

Planning Board is the same, with two seats and only one candidate. Ronald Tinkham returned papers for the five-year term while Robert Rubin did not submit papers for a re-election campaign.

Three Sewer Commission seats and a tree warden position also saw no candidates. However, the Board of Selectmen are proposing to move both of those posts to appointed positions because of a perpetual lack of interest in serving.

Robert Reilly submitted his paperwork to return as moderator. Jane Stevens and Prudence Barton are both running for re-election as library trustees. And Amy Szczepaniak is looking to return as a cemetery trustee.

The election is on June 17.

To the Editor:

Recently the select board in Cheshire gave up their hands and stated there was nothing they could do to stop Dollar General from locating in the heart of our community.

The citizens of Cheshire have told me, "They don’t understand why the select board didn't act sooner to prevent this type of a business from locating in the historical center of our town."

Dollar General or any business that generates new taxes and employment opportunities should be welcome in our community, provided they are compatible with the historic and community values that make Cheshire such a special place to live. A place that has that small New England look and feel to it, a place where most of grew up and a place where we want our children to live.

It has been said by many that if you drive into a small town as see a Dollar General type store in the historic middle of the town, it shows is some way a lack of leadership and forethought of its elected official.

In this case, the proposed business clearly does not meet these criteria nor the wishes of the citizens of Cheshire. Is there anything we can do to stop this? I say YES!

If elected on Monday, May 5, the first thing I would do would be to meet with the Dollar General developers and try to convince them to look at other better suited sites in Cheshire for their store. A site that I feel would be more appropriate and should be considered by them would be the site of the Old Country Charm restaurant. The site is not being used, and the traffic patterns are better and safer. I would also meet with the current owner of the property to see if there is some alternative(s) to selling to a developer. This may include, but not limited a purchase by the town.

Seeking grants to purchase the historical site(s) contacting organizations like the Berkshire Natural Resource Council or the Historic Preservation commissions to help arrange a purchase of the property.

It should be noted that when the town of Greenfield was faced with the prospects of a Walmart locating in their community. They realized the impact that it would have on their community and banded together to stop the development. We can do this together!

It should also be noted that when a mall was proposed on Route 7 outside of Pittsfield, then Governor Dukakis used his authority to block the development, by refusing to permit a "curb cut" on to the State-owned road. We should be working with Governor Patrick, who has been very supportive of the small-town life in the Berkshires, to request that a "Curb Cut" be denied, based upon traffic-related problems.

 Other items that should or could be done are:

1. A moratorium on this type of development. This is common practice as we can see in the battle over the building of gambling casinos or fracking

2. Request a study of the impact on the impact of the developing on such items as A. The available of Water. B, Title 5 and how the developer plans on meeting those requirements.

C. Asbestos and PCBs removal (A study should be done to see if the site/building has any of these.) D. a neighborhood impact study

These are only of the few ways to insure that any development meets the needs and historic nature of our community. What I see is lacking is the wiliness to take on these challenges. These or any other steps must be taken before any building permits are issued.

Once issued, as we can see in the case of the town of Sheffield, there would be little we could then do. It is clear that action must be taken soon!

It is important to let your elected officials know how you feel about this matter, but it is more important that you exercise your rights and vote this Monday

Respectfully submitted,

James. M. Boyle
Cheshire, Mass.

James Boyle is running for the Board of Selectmen in Cheshire.
 

ADAMS, Mass. — Newcomer Jeffrey Michael Snoonian is challenging incumbent Michael Ouellette for a three-year selectman's seat in Monday's election.

Snoonian, 41, of 1 Berkshire Square, is originally from Lawrence, but has been visiting Adams for years became a permanent resident last year.

"I came up here not knowing a lot of people, and even though I wasn't born here, they treat me as such," Snoonian said. "I really do feel a civic duty to give back, and now that I'm here full time I want to get involved."

Although new to politics, Snoonian has worked in construction for nearly 20 years. After selling his house and business, he decided to permanently move to Adams.

Snoonian believes that he can bring a new perspective to the Board of Selectmen, which is currently comprised of longtime residents.

"I definitely think bringing in a different perspective, along with the other four guys on the board who have grown up here, helps," he said.

Snoonian wishes to make Adams more attractive to families as a place to live. He does not foresee large manufacturing jobs arriving, but rather sees Adams as a good place for people to commute from.

"In Adams, right now, we need to make it much more attractive for families to live in so even if they might work in Lenox or Bennington, they would want to settle down in Adams," he said.

Snoonian said he sees the budget cuts in the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District as a main issue in the town and region.

"The school budget keeps getting cut, which is a big concern and when the time comes it seems to get cut again so that will probably be priority No. 1 for me," he said.

Snoonian also sees plenty of tourist attractions in Adams that have been underutilized, and believes advertising areas such as Mount Greylock even more could be financially beneficial for the town.

"I'm big into tourism," he said. "The mountain to me is underutilized and is a big selling point."

Ouellette has been on the board since 2008, and is completing his second three-year term.

"I have lived here all of my life," Ouellette said. "My parents lived here and my grandparents lived here, so I have roots here, and I am committed to the town."

Ouellette was a town meeting member for 18 years and had been a member of the Zoning Board for 10.  He currently is a delegate to the Metropolitan Planning Organization and a member of the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority advisory committee.

An engineer, he retired from the former GE in Pittsfield after 34 years. He has also worked in real estate development and taken part in land subdivisions in Adams and Lanesborough.

He also thinks the town can take greater advantage of Mount Greylock through the Greylock Glen, thinking Frisbee golf courses would be a great attraction.

Ouellette said the technical abilities he gained from GE and working in real estate development makes him an asset to the Selectmen: "I think I bring a very broad talent to the board."

Ouellette said he was instrumental in getting the votes needed to hire current Town Administrator Jonathan Butler and "did his homework" on that vote by conferring with state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, for whom Butler used to work.

"I am not a rubber-stamp selectman, and I want to do what I think is in the best interest of the community," he said, adding, "I do my homework, and that's what it's all about."

He supports regionalization whenever possible to achieve efficiencies and cost savings.

"Anything we can work together with as a team with North Adams, Cheshire or Williamstown, we should try to do," Ouellette said. "I think you can get better services at a lower cost."

If re-elected, he would make sure an effective Department of Public Works director was hired for the now open position. He also would push for a clearer focus on the old middle school building and concentrate on solving the financial issues in the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District.

"I think that our school is suffering, and we need to do something there," he said. "I want to push to have our board work with the school board."

The election will be held Monday, May 5, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the town garage.

Charlie Baker, in the middle, introduces himself to voters at Joe's Diner in Lee on Tuesday.

LEE, Mass. — Republican Charlie Baker says if he is elected governor, every time state revenues increase it will all go back to cities and towns.

The gubernatorial candidate met with potential voters over lunch at Joe's Diner on Tuesday. Baker has been all over the state preaching the need for more jobs, better education and improved communities.

"I spent most of my time talking about what I call the big three — jobs, schools and communities. Those aren't Republican, Democratic or independent issues, it is just what people worry about and what I worry about," Baker said. "We need more good schools, stronger communities and frankly, more jobs."

Baker has particularly noticed a disparity of school performances. Even in the same school systems, some schools are ranking high in student achievement while others are not. And he sees a lack of communication between the schools that are succeeding and those falling behind.

"We don't have those conversations. We treat them all like they are the same — they're not," Baker said.

Meanwhile, vocational, technical and career schools are "going under the radar" despite providing a great service. He wants those schools to have a greater emphasis in the state conversations about education and officials should be "more aggressive" in supporting them.

"They are really tied into local employers. They are working with the latest and greatest equipment. And they link together for kids the purpose of an education and opportunity for work," Baker said. "They are really doing a great job"

Meanwhile, the cost of education is growing for municipalities, eating up a majority of their budgets. Baker and running mate Karyn Polito say any time state revenues grow, local aid needs to grow at the same amount. That includes aid to both schools as well as municipal operations.

"If state revenue grows 5 percent, local aid grows 5 percent. Over the past five or six years, state spending has gone up six or seven billion dollars while local aid has gone down by $500 million," Baker said. "It puts tremendous pressure on cities and towns."

When local aid doesn't keep up with the costs, that puts more pressure on families who have to fund the schools through property tax increases and higher fees.

"As the state's tax revenues has been growing, they haven't been sharing that with the cities and towns," Baker said.

The same idea goes for Chapter 90 road funding. Baker said not enough money is being released to help cities and towns repair roads heavily damaged by the harsh winter.

"We're $600 million ahead of budget on the revenue side at this point in the fiscal year. We should be able to find the resources to help cities and towns dig out what for a lot of people was a tough winter," he said.

The former chief executive officer of Harvard Pilgrim said there is still a lot of "anxiety" about the economy. And while there are some sectors — such as what he calls the "inside [Route] 128 knowledge economy" — doing well, others are not.

Baker is in his second campaign for governor and says his experience will help him this time around.

"I can't tell you how many businesses I talk to, especially small ones, who just say that the way stuff works around here is so much more complicated than it needs to be," Baker said.

"A really simple example is in a lot of states you can get an LLC [limited liability corporation] to start a business online and pay $25 for it and it takes you a half an hour. In Massachusetts, you get an LLC and you have to pay $500 every year and a lot people will tell you it is so complicated that you need to hire someone with a legal degree to figure out how to fill it out and get it in."

Baker is calling for a full regulatory review to find ways to make it easier for businesses to operate.

"We've got to be competitive economically. We need to dramatically improve the speed of issuing permits and licenses, and our cost of pretty much everything," he said.

But he also knows that not every area of Massachusetts is the same. While in the eastern part of the state, costs are the biggest issue, the lower costs in the west is a strength. Each region has its own strengths and Baker said he would set economic plans for each region within the first six months after he is elected.

"I want to have within six months of taking office is to have strategic principles in place for every city in Massachusetts so I know what is expected of us and they know what is expected of them. We can hold each other accountable and go get it," Baker said. "If you don't have a stated set of goals and objectives, you won't get it done. Period."

The effort would mostly be led by local officials in conjunction with his administration.

Tuesday was Baker's second campaign stop in the Berkshires. He met with the Berkshire County Republicans in January.

He announced in September and came out of the Republican State Convention in March as the sole nominee. However, tea party candidate Mark Fisher is suing the party over the voting procedure and says he will have enough signatures in time to be listed on the ballot for governor

This is the second consecutive time Baker has been the Republican nominee; he lost to Deval Patrick in the 2010. He believes that campaign experience will help do better this time.

"You don't want to run the same race twice. But there is no doubt that having done this before I have a much better understanding about how it works and what to expect," Baker said.  

"I also know a lot more about Massachusetts. You learn a ton doing this. You spend a year and a half of your life criss-crossing the state, you get to know a lot about places you wouldn't know about otherwise."

This time, Baker says he is hearing more talk about education and bringing more viewpoints to the State House than last time.

"Four years ago, nobody really cared about one party running Beacon Hill. It never came up. Now there are a lot of people I talk to, including Democrats, who say this one-party stuff is bad. It's unaccountable. It's not transparent," Baker said.

What has also changed is that there is no incumbent. Patrick is not running for re-election, leaving the seat open. Currently, there are six Democrats seeking the seat, one independent and Baker. He feels that plays to his strengths because he stands on the same ground to "make my case to the voters."