WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The most obvious difference between the two candidates for the 1st Berkshire seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives was the first issue the pair addressed in a Thursday evening forum.

 

Incumbent John Barrett III immediately focused on his long career in public service, recalling his days as a county commissioner, his decades as the mayor of North Adams and his nearly five years on the job in Boston.

 

Newcomer Paula Kingsbury-Evans emphasized her youthful enthusiasm, the ties to the Northern Berkshire community she formed as a student at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and her ties to a Boston-based progressive political organization.

 

"I am a talker," Kingsbury-Evans said. "I know that about myself. And I love talking to the constituents. My favorite part of the campaign so far is to be able to hear what strengths and weaknesses residents think the community has.

 

"While I may not have any formal government experience, we are electing new officials to offices every single day and giving them the opportunity to learn how to be a member of the political side of their community. I am endorsed by an organization called Incorruptible Mass, which has 13 other candidates, so I'm not going into the State House alone. I'm going in with friends by my side and allies."

 

Barrett pointed out it is not yet known how many of those 14 Incorruptible Mass candidates will win their primaries on Sept. 6 and emphasized his own connections in Boston and how they will help constituents back home.

 

"When you walk into the State House, it's important that you have strong relationships," he said. "I think that is part of the reason why I was able to bring … financing for Mass MoCA to the city of North Adams and also with the Greylock Glen project in the town of Adams. Relationships, that's how it happened."

 

Barrett and Kingsbury shared a platform created by the Williamstown chapter of the League of Women Voters. The event was hosted by the Williamstown Police Department in its training room and filmed by the town's community access television station, Willinet.

 

On Tuesday, Sept. 6, the two will face off in the Democratic primary to represent Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Williamstown, Florida, Hancock, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, North Adams, New Ashford, Peru, Savoy and Windsor on Beacon Hill. Since there are no Republican candidates entered in the party's primary for the seat, the winner of the Sept. 6 Democratic primary will be the presumptive representative for the next two years.

 

Barrett, who was the winner of a four-person race in a 2017 special election to replace deceased  state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, is facing his first primary challenge as an incumbent.

 

The two rivals expressed similar positions Thursday on many of the major issues, including abortion rights, single-payer health care, the environment and support for higher education.

 

They diverged on some others, including on a question submitted online about whether they would support a minimum wage and mandatory day of rest for agricultural workers.

 

Both candidates said they were not aware of a push in the commonwealth for that particular labor reform, but Kingsbury expressed unequivocal support for the idea. Barrett stressed the importance of supporting the small family farms throughout his district.

 

Both said the state should do more to increase the availability of affordable housing, but they focused on different approaches.

 

"This is actually a very prevalent issue for me," Kingsbury said. "Exactly a year ago, I got my first apartment in North Adams, and it was a tireless search. It took months and months of contacting people. … As our population is declining, one of the ways we could increase our population is by encouraging the young people from both colleges in this district to stay in the area.

 

"That's very difficult to do without having housing that is affordable to a recent graduate or a current college student."

 

Barrett pointed to the need for state support to rehabilitate existing housing stock.

 

"Affordable housing has been very important to me going back to my prior life in politics, including what we tried to do in the City of North Adams," he said. "This state is set on – in the policy coming out of the administration – building new housing. We have to start rehabilitation of existing properties in the state of Massachusetts. I filed three bills seeking money so we can rebuild our neighborhoods across this state, especially out here.

 

"Instead of letting [homes] fall to the wrecking ball, we should be working to rehabilitate them, make them affordable. Start developing affordable housing programs by taking these dilapidated properties, fixing them, creating a low-interest mortgage with a low down payment so the young starter family can have the ability [to own a home]."

 

One of the most pointed exchanges of the night came early on, after Kingsbury identified transparency in government as one of her top priorities if elected to the House. Barrett countered by defending his own personal transparency, saying he has always been upfront about all votes he has cast in the full House and in committee and asking Kingsbury directly what vote she would like to know about.

 

Kingsbury responded by asking Barrett why he voted against a bill that would have required identification of all House members' votes in committee. Barrett replied that only two Democrats in the progressive caucus on Beacon Hill voted differently than he did on the bill in question.

 

At that point, moderator Jennifer Howlett jumped in and reminded the candidates that the event was designed not as a debate but as a joint forum for them to talk about issues and moved on to the next topic.

 

A topic where the candidates slightly part ways is same-day voter registration.

 

Barrett said he supported the reform but had concerns about the ability of municipalities to execute it.

 

"Right now, we have automatic voter registration, which I voted for and supported very strongly," he said. "We have done everything we possibly can. But right now, in the city of North Adams, they could not handle same-day voter registration – as it was proposed.

 

"With automatic voter registration, if you go in to get your license, you go in to get anything related to the state, you can automatically be registered. Right now, you can be registered right up until, I believe [Aug. 26]. We've got to make sure we do [same-day registration] right, but I want to be perfectly clear that I voted for same-day voter registration."

 

Kingsbury argued that same-day registration would help encourage voter participation, particularly among young voters.

 

"This is also something I'm passionate about implementing in our state, especially as a recent college graduate," she said. "Encouraging young people to vote is often a more difficult thing to do, especially with all the deadlines and you forget to turn your papers in, and without same-day registration, you're not able to vote in the election.

 

"Especially with this primary coming up, the MCLA students are just now returning to campus, and they are not able to register in time to vote in a primary, which I think is disgraceful, truth be told. This is a very important issue, especially as we get more young people involved in politics."