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The council heard from seven of eight candidates seeking to fill its vacant seat.

North Adams Council Selects Oleskiewicz to Fill Vacant Seat

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council voted to fill its vacancy with the 10th highest vote-getter in last year's municipal elections.
 
Peter Oleskiewicz was nominated by Councilor Wayne Wilkinson and elected by unanimous decision (with Councilor Jessica Sweeney absent). The owner of Desperados Mexican Restaurant was 103 votes short for a seat on the nine-member council last November. 
 
"Once I was No. 10 in the election and this is the reason I was able to get back on council, because the council thought you're the 10th finisher," Wilkinson said in giving his reasoning for nominating Oleskiewicz. "All the other candidates I think are very well qualified and the only reason I nominated Mr. Oleskiewicz is because he got more votes than five North Adams city residents to be on the council. I think this position deserves to be an elected one, not appointed one."
 
Oleskiewicz will fill the unexpired term of Robert Moulton Jr., who resigned after remarks he made on his public access show about Black Lives Matter and COVID-19 were condemned by colleagues and constituents. The council decided to solicit interested candidates, as it did in 2017 when then Councilor Nancy Bullett resigned. Wilkinson, who had finished 10th, was selected to complete her term. 
 
Oleskiewicz said he applied as a candidate because of his 10th place finish, "otherwise I probably would have just waited until the next cycle."
 
"But being the 10th vote, I see myself as laying the groundwork in the previous election," he said. "And I think I also proved enough to the community that I was worthy enough to be given their trust."
 
He said he had a deep seated interest and love for the community and that until the pandemic, he had attended all the meetings. 
 
"So I pretty much have been paying attention and trying to stay up on top of things so, hopefully, when the time came, I could fill that seat and it make it a smooth transition," Oleskiewicz said. "I just like to state what an awesome community we live in. ... I would very much like to give back. So I would like to come to the seat with an open mindset with no bias, and I want to work with my peers."
 
Other candidates who had run for council in the past included Brian Sapienza, a member of the Public Arts Commission; Ashley Shade, a civic, political and LGBTQ activist; and Ronald Sheldon, who wants to be a voice for the city's disabled. Also expressing interest were newcomers Howard Carter, an attorney and former Navy SEAL; Gina Consolini, a registered nurse; Wayne Gelinas, who is resurrecting the historic Wigwam; and J. McConnell, a software developer. Each spoke about their interest in serving and their backgrounds, with the exception of Consolini, who did not attend the meeting. 
 
Council President Paul Hopkins and several other councilors thanked the candidates for seeking to serve the city and encouraged them to consider running for office next year. 
 
 "So very impressed by the comments that we heard tonight the caliber of those who willingly held their hand up and I think all of us who are councilors now know how difficult that can be," said Hopkins. "I say for the record, I hope to see some of you run in the future."
 

Tags: board vacancies,   North Adams City Council,   

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North Adams' Bernard Calvi Honored for Making the Ultimate Sacrifice

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — When Pvt. First Class Bernard Calvi died in a prisoner of war camp in World War II, his cause of death was listed as "dysentery, malaria and loss of hope," mourners were told during Tuesday's funeral service at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church.
 
Calvi's captors got it wrong.
 
The 23-year-old Calvi's story was one of hope.
 
"We find solace in knowing that he now rests in the arms of our savior, experiencing the life promised to all who believe," the Rev. Dariusz Wudarski told the mourners.
 
"Let us bow our heads in solemn remembrance of this hero who laid down his life for us and also for all heroes who have laid down their lives. Their sacrifice was the greatest act of hope, reminding us of the cost of freedom and the responsibility we share."
 
Wudarski celebrated the Rite of Christian Burial 82 years after Calvi was buried in a mass grave in the Philippines' Cabanatuan Prison Camp after the forces of Imperial Japan overran the island nation in 1942.
 
B.J. Calvi, the grandson of Bernard's brother Julius, delivered the eulogy at Tuesday's service, sharing the detail about his granduncle's cause of death but focusing more on the brief life he led and the lasting impact on the Calvi family.
 
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