Soncere Williams is a forensic social worker running to represent Ward 2 on the Pittsfield City Council. The ward covers both residential and industrial sections of Pittsfield – including the former campus of General Electric alongside the Morningside neighborhood – radiating outward from the city’s core toward the northeast. Incumbent Charles Kronick, who has often found himself at the center of controversy over his first two years, has pulled papers for a second term. Alexander Blumin is also in the race. Williams sat down with WAMC to talk about her first foray into politics, and why she thinks her life experiences have prepared her to best represent Ward 2.
WILLIAMS: Social work really is at the heart of a lot of the things that we're facing, and especially now with bringing in more social workers on the police station, bringing in social workers for the Public Health Department. I think it also has a really important place in the city council, just to really bring people's perspective, people's experiences, to light, bring it at the forefront of all the work that we do.
WAMC: From your work doing social work in the Berkshires, can you give me a sense of some of the narratives or themes of life in the Berkshires that maybe you feel like are not well represented from elected officials currently?
So, for the ones that are, I would say, are not necessarily represented are probably going to be a lot of the disadvantaged groups that face a lot of barriers and challenges every day. Not just in the city, but in systems in general. I think those who maybe don't have a very high income, those who have experienced any sort of community violence, domestic violence, childhood trauma, mental health, substance use. I think that we're starting to bring those voices forward, we're starting to talk about it. But I think that there's a lot more that these individuals have to say and a lot more ideas that they have for helping our city improve that doesn't necessarily get brought to the table.
Looking at Ward 2 specifically, tell me a little bit about what you know about that community and how you'd like to best represent it should you be elected to the council?
Ward 2 actually a pretty, pretty diverse ward. There's a lot of different sections. So you have a nicer neighborhood that's right up off of Dalton Ave and the Allengate community. But then you have some really, really out of sight out of mind neighborhoods, especially back behind First Street in the Morningside community that maybe haven't gotten as much attention. I know we have a lot of work going on on Taylor Street now with all of the roadwork, the sidewalks coming in. We have a lot of empty storefronts. We have a lot of buildings that definitely could use some revamping on the outside. But we also have a lot of just dead areas. You have a lot of the GE sites, you have a lot of vacant buildings, vacant homes, vacant lots, and it's a lot of places that just really need some of that attention to bring it back to life.
What are your thoughts on the current representation of Ward 2- Charles Kronick? He is running for re-election after his first term. And any thoughts on Mr. Kronick and his leadership in Ward 2?
Um, so I think some of the ideas that he has brought to the council I think are valid. They're valid concerns that people have brought to him. I don't necessarily think it's representative of the voices of the entire ward, but I do think that some of those concerns he has echoed really well. But maybe not in the most professional format. I think there is a feeling of a lack of collaboration between city councilors and between other city officials, but also a lack of listening to all of the constituents of Ward 2.
When you pull the camera back a little bit and look at broader issues in Pittsfield, what comes to mind to you as things that you'd like to see the council be more proactive on or approach in a different way?
So, I think fiscal responsibility, just being a little bit wiser with our spending, while also making sure that we address some of these issues. You know, people talk about the potholes, the sidewalks, those things do have an impact on people's personal life between vehicle repairs or tripping on the sidewalk. So, I think that those are important. But I think it's important for us to make sure we are being fiscally responsible, doing it in a way that is going to be forward thinking, looking towards what the cost is going to be in the long run to maintain these things. I think we're starting to move towards that. When it comes to some other issues that have really been brought to light, especially in talking to Ward 2 constituents, we have a growing mental health crisis, we have a growing substance use crisis, and we have a lot of houselessness. I like to use word houseless, because Pittsfield is their home. They're not homeless, this is their home. They just don't have a house. You know, and I think those issues, we kind of feel really lost and helpless as to where we can go. But being a social worker, there are innovative ideas, there are innovative ways that we can start to address that, and instead of looking at what we can't do, I think it would be really great to start looking at what we can do, what is within our power to do in Pittsfield.
We're, of course talking during a mayoral election in Pittsfield. The two largest names on the marquee so far are the current city council President Peter Marchetti and the former Ward 6 Representative John Krol. Any thoughts on that contest? Are you endorsing in the larger mayoral race?
So, I think for now, especially being a new candidate, I'm new to politics, it's not something I've been trained in, I don't know that I would necessarily want to endorse anyone this year. I do know in some of the things I've heard from both of them, they've both talked a lot about revitalizing Pittsfield, bringing it back, focusing on getting those businesses here. They've also both spoken about the mental health crisis, although not too much in detail. So, I think that they both kind of have some of that idea of what's going on in the community, but I haven't had a chance to sit down with either one of them. That is something that I'm planning to do. I know I've reached out to a number of people, both on city council and the city, in trying to have those conversations. So, I don't think I would endorse either one of them. But I do like that they are talking about those issues that are faced by so many.
Now, you've mentioned mental health crisis several times in our conversation. Last year, the community experienced a tragedy where a young man in the midst of a mental health crisis, Miguel Estrella, was shot to death by the Pittsfield Police Department, which prompted a lot of conversations about what mental health means in Pittsfield. I'm interested in what are your thoughts on that subject as it pertains to police oversight and how the city offers emergency responses to folks? Talk to me about that.
It's a very complex issue to talk about. I do think that looking into how we are policing our streets, but also how we approach mental health crisis, and is that something that should be handled by the police department? Or should we be look be looking at other opportunities, other methods of trying to help those that are in need? I think it's a tough question to ask just off, you know, without a lot of information about what might be already going on. But I do think that we can find a way to help address the needs of those who are struggling with mental health or substance use without involving police. More social workers is definitely something I would like to see. A lot of that is tough. It's not necessarily something the city can change. We can't change the reimbursement rates for social workers. But we can maybe do some advocacy, or also see how we can actually bring people together, bring various agencies and organizations together as a collaborative to address these issues. Mental health, substance use, and houselessness, they all kind of go hand in hand. So, bringing all of those people to the table is really important. And taking a collaborative stance. Right now, I think a lot of places kind of work in silos and not really working well together. But I would like to see us actually bring everyone together to the table to start talking about what we can do to address those issues.
If you had to identify and elevate one issue about Ward 2 or Pittsfield in general that you feel like is under discussed or does not get a seat at the table, what would that issue be?
I would say, although it's had its conversations at the table, I think, especially right now, one thing we're not talking about enough is our housing situation, which is impacting people all over the city. It's impacting homeowners with inflation, rising costs of everything, but it's also impacting renters. I think that's a conversation that we really need to start having, how we're going to make sure we create housing stability for everybody, especially our younger generations. They are going to be our workforce down the road, a lot of them are leaving. There's not a lot of opportunity for them to obtain housing, and employment is another topic that kind of goes hand in hand with that. So, looking at making sure we're able to provide a city that people do have housing opportunity across the board, but also helping people to connect to those resources that might be able to assist them if they are struggling,
Any last words on your pitch for Word 2? Tell me the sort of the nugget, the elevator pitch on your campaign.
So, for those who do know me in Pittsfield, they've already heard this. But one thing I would like the people to know is I'm a person who has real lived experience. I have experienced a lot of the major social issues that many of our population faces. I've come up through a lot of barriers and challenges myself. But on the flip side of that, I've also been in business administration, and now for about 17 years, but social work for just over 10 years. I got my master's degree. So, I have this unique perspective to be able to look at things from all of the different perspectives that we're kind of facing. So, knowing as a homeowner what those tax increases mean, or knowing as a renter the difficulties when the rent rates keep going up or when the neighborhood isn't necessarily the greatest. So, being able to have those different perspectives, but also that professional perspective and that social work lens to bring to the table I think is a really unique combination that enables me to understand from everyone's point of view, and that's something that I don't think we see a lot.
