Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, who is challenging Congressman Richard Neal in the Democratic primary in the 1st Massachusetts House district, spoke in Berkshire County Tuesday. Morse is opposing a cleanup plan mediated between communities along the Housatonic River and General Electric by the EPA. The plan, announced in February, will be the latest cleanup effort on the waterway and a 13-year, multimillion dollar undertaking. GE dumped chemicals into the river for decades from a Pittsfield plant in the mid-20th century. Neal supports the plan. Morse tells WAMC why he’s joining locals in protesting the creation of a new landfill for hazardous chemicals in the county.
The Neal campaign responded in a statement to WAMC : “This was an agreement negotiated by local town officials over many years, so it’s ridiculous that Alex Morse is chasing a headline by telling local electeds what to do now. If Alex spent more time doing his day job then the state wouldn’t have taken over Holyoke Public Schools -- something he is actually directly responsible for, despite his efforts to pass the buck."
