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Attorney Timothy Shugrue takes out papers on Wednesday for Berkshire district attorney with his wife, Joann.

Two Challengers Emerge for Berkshire District Attorney

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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Robert Sullivan launched his campaign late last year. 
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Well-known Pittsfield attorney Timothy J. Shugrue has entered the race for district attorney. 
 
Shugrue is the second candidate to announce a run against first-term incumbent Andrea Harrington; Robert Sullivan, of Lee, a former assistant DA, launched his campaign last year. 
 
Harrington hasn't formally announced but has been actively fundraising and has nearly $19,000 on hand. 
 
Shugrue took to social media to make his initial statement.
 
"Many of you know me as an attorney, husband, father and friend. I'm a trial lawyer with over 36 years of litigation courtroom experience in all of Western Massachusetts," he wrote.
 
Shugrue also is a former assistant district attorney, in Springfield, but has been in practice as a private attorney for 28 years.
 
He is a founder of the Berkshire County Children's Advocacy and Domestic Violence Center. 
 
"I enter this race to make Berkshire County a safe place for all the residents of our county.  I'm committed to providing experience, integrity and justice for all," he wrote.
 
Shugrue unsuccessfully ran against then District Attorney David Capeless in 2004. 
 
Sullivan announced his campaign late last year.
 
Originally from Boston, he graduated from New England Law in Boston. He moved to Berkshire County and was assistant district attorney under Capeless.
 
He now has his own practice in Central Berkshire.
 
Sullivan has been critical of Harrington in the past. According to his campaign website:
 
"Now my county needs a change. It needs a chief prosecutor that doesn't follow the trends of politics that reach far beyond our county, but rather focuses on the needs of the residents of Berkshire County. It needs a chief law enforcement officer who puts community safety and accountability over the false rhetoric of a certain political caucus or movement."
 
Harrington defeated Capeless' first assistant, Paul Caccaviello, who held the position in the interim when Capeless stepped down in 2018.
 
The election is in November.

Tags: district attorney,   election 2022,   


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BEAT Looks to Decarbonization of Last Berkshire Peaker Plant

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Environmentalists feel community cooperation may help move the needle on the county's last peaker plant transitioning to clean energy.

During Wednesday's Berkshire Green Drinks event hosted by the Berkshire Environmental Action Team, Rosemary Wessel discussed possible green outcomes for Pittsfield Generating Co. on Merrill Road.

"It might be in the interest of the city to leave behind yesterday's technology and start looking at what a clean energy future might look like," said Wessel, No Fracked Gas in Mass program director.

"By replacing it, decarbonizing our last peaker power plant could show that Pittsfield is forward-looking, an environmentally minded place that is friendly to the natural surroundings. Environmental tourism is a big part of Pittsfield and it makes sense to get rid of this last bit of fossil fuel technology that's still hanging around."

Peaking power plants — also known as peaker plants — run when there is a high demand for electricity. Facilities on Woodland Road in Lee and Doreen Street in Pittsfield were shut down in 2022 and have been removed entirely, with usable parts auctioned off.

The remaining is Pittsfield Generating Co., owned by Hull Street Energy. Both the owners and the city have expressed interest in decarbonization, Wessel reported, but a joint meeting has not yet occurred.

She said everyone sounds willing but it hasn't moved yet.

"We'd like to see Pittsfield Generating have a discussion with the city about how to make the transition work," she said.

"They're interested in transitioning, they just haven't found a path yet and I really think that community cooperation might help push that forward."

Possible decarbonization scenarios include adding battery energy storage systems to operations, converting fossil fuel turbines to BESS, or converting to BESS and solar.  BESS uses batteries to store and release electrical energy.

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