Mount Greylock School Election Causes Confusion

By Stephen DravisWilliamstown Correspondent
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Chris Dodig was technically turned out of his seat on the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee by Sheila Hebert, who's already serving on the committee.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Sheila Hebert burst out laughing when told she won a seat on the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee.

The joke was: She did not want to win.

Hebert, who already is serving out a term on the committee, actively encouraged everyone she knew to vote for one of the other candidates vying for the single open Lanesborough seat on the committee.

But when the votes were tallied on Tuesday, Hebert had 1,630 votes (1,067 from Williamstown; 563 from Lanesborough). Her opponents, Chris Dodig and Mark Schiek, had 1,256 and 537, respectively.

"Are you kidding me?" Hebert asked when reached at her home on Tuesday night. "I'm a little shocked, to be honest.

"They do a Lanesborough newsletter electronically, and each of us put out statements, and in mine I said, 'I encourage you to give your vote to one of the other two candidates so they have a chance to get in.'"

Dodig, like Hebert, is filling out an unexpired term on the committee for members who resigned mid-term. Dodig's term expires at the end of November. Hebert’s current seat has two more years on a four-year term.

Hebert told iBerkshires.com in October that she did not want to win the seat Dodig currently occupies because it would require Williamstown's and Lanesborough's Boards of Selectmen to appoint someone to fill the seat she currently holds.

That may be the scenario the towns now face.

Or, it may not.

Lanesborough Town Clerk Judith Gallant said Tuesday that Hebert may be able to avoid displacing Dodig yet.

"She can write a letter declining the position, and then it would go to the next top vote-getter," Gallant said. "I think that's how it works. That's what we'd do in a town election.

"But I could be wrong. It's been known to happen."

Hebert said she will consult with Gallant on Wednesday to see what can be done.
Tags: election2012,   MGRHS,   school committee,   


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Pittsfield Council to See 10-Year Charter Review Report

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Following almost two years of work, the Charter Review Committee has made its recommendations to the City Council.

Tuesday's council agenda includes the committee's report dealing with governance items such as the charter objection, term limits, and financial procedures. Every 10 years, a panel reviews the City Charter, which defines the city's structure of government.

"The Charter Review Committee was established by city ordinance in May 2023. Its first meeting took place on August 7, 2023, under the direction of City Solicitor Stephen Pagnotta," Chair Michael McCarthy's executive summary reads.

"Solicitor Pagnotta informed the committee that its mission is to offer recommendations to city government concerning the Charter."

The charter objection was the most discussed issue throughout the preview process.  Members determined "the City's interest in a functioning government is not served well by a Charter' Objection being made by a sole Councilor."

The nearly 50-page report proposes amendments to Article 2 Section 9C, Charter Objection, to allow for discussion, require three supporters, and be prohibited when it pertains to the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

"The Committee felt strongly that the budgetary process should not be held hostage to a Charter Objection. The process of approving a budget under the Charter involves months of hearings with firm calendar restrictions, leading to a budget that must be in place before each fiscal year begins," McCarthy wrote.

"A Charter Objection during this process would have the potential to disrupt and delay the budget being in place on July 1 of each fiscal year."

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