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North Adams swears in new city council

Nine North Adams, MA city councilors stand on a stage behind a long desk with their hands raised as they are sworn in to office.
Josh Landes
/
WAMC
The swearing in of the new North Adams, Massachusetts city council at Drury High School on January 1st, 2022.

The city of North Adams, Massachusetts held a swearing-in for its new city council on Saturday.

The new class of municipal leaders is the most diverse in North Adams history, with Michael Obasohan and Ashley Shade as the first person of color and transgender person to serve on the 9-member body, respectively. Incumbent Lisa Hall Blackmer was chosen to serve as council president for the new two-year term.

“I would like to see the city divest itself of much of our surplus city owned properties," she said. "That would spur economic development increase our tax base without putting a burden on our homeowners. Beginning construction of a new public safety building must be a priority.”

Peter Oleskiewicz was voted Vice President of the council. Last term, the body saw three resignations in a political cycle dominated by scandal.

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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