Letter: Lynette Bond Represents Change
To the Editor:
I am a new resident, having lived here part time for almost 10 years prior. I'm honored to have started a small business (www.thestudio-atbeavermill.com) to provide a much needed service to our community. If the COVID era has produced one positive thing, it's that I now proudly call North Adams my home.
I am what many here would describe as an "outsider." I did not grow up in this town, state or part of the country. I did, however, grow up in a very small town with little to no economy in a very conservative state. I know what lack of change looks like. I know what it feels like to have no vision and to experience little to no progress. I know what communities can become if nothing changes. I know the narrative, and in some ways, I once played a part in that story.
Eventually, I figured out that to change my life I needed to change the story I told myself about myself. I needed different conversations focused on solving problems rather than lamenting the past. I wanted a better life, so I created one. The first step was the hardest, and that was identifying the things in my control that I could change — today.
I hear a lot of amazing people in this community craving change, telling themselves a similar tired, outdated story. I feel the weight of the past in their words and see it clearly in their actions. Decades of stagnation drives the local narrative, yet clearly change is desired. Lynette Bond represents change. She has improved this community in her past work while proudly raising her family here. She has a vision for the future that begins with different conversations towards different outcomes. Her expertise and vision speak to the very thing I hear people wanting: change.
As an outsider who sees not only the potential but the current beauty in North Adams; as a small-business owner who understands the difficulty in thinking differently to live better; I encourage you to vote for Lynette Bond, the representative of change.
Michael Eagle
North Adams, Mass.
Tags: city election, election 2021, letters to the editor,