The race is on to fill the 3rd Berkshire House seat in the Massachusetts legislature. For over 20 years, Democrat Smitty Pignatelli of Lenox has represented the Southern Berkshires on Beacon Hill. Now that he’s not seeking re-election, Leigh Davis of the Great Barrington selectboard and Patrick White of the Stockbridge select board are in running the Democratic primary. As WAMC first reported last week, Lenox select board member Marybeth Mitts has also joined the fray. While Mitts filed with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance as a Democrat, she tells WAMC that she’s running as an independent.
MITTS: Well, when we moved to the Berkshires in 2001, as of 2003, I ran for the Lenox school committee, and I was on the school committee for nine years. The final year of that, I was the school committee chairwoman. Then I was on the master plan commission in 2018 until we completed it in 2020. I've been a select board member for the last five years. I ran for that in 2019, and I'm in the middle of my second term.
WAMC: Are there any examples of issues that you've dealt with on the Lenox select board that you feel like would translate well to the 3rd Berkshire seat?
Thank you for that question. Yeah, affordable housing, I think is a real issue, and clearly, it's a nationwide issue and problem. I've been on the affordable housing trust since about 2016, 2017. I've been the chairwoman for the last five years, and it was very important to us to be able to use a piece of land in town to develop affordable housing opportunities, whether they be ownership or rental. We got a few proposals back that were rental housing proposals that failed at town meeting when the governor still had a supermajority in place for any zoning changes. So, the developer ended up coming to Lenox and finding his own piece of land. The company is getting ready to break ground on that particular project, there should be a 65-unit, mixed income rental housing project breaking ground in the next 90 days, and I think that's a really great example of the advocacy that I've provided for affordable housing in town of Lenox.
Now, why the 3rd Berkshire seat right now? What do you think makes this moment right for a Mitts state representative on Beacon Hill?
Well, I have a significant amount of experience at the local and federal level. Housing is one of my passions. I started at [the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development] in Washington DC at the beginning of my career as a Presidential Management Fellow. I went to California with my husband and started my own affordable housing professionals firm, helping middle income families with housing rehabilitation programs and first time homebuyer programs. You know, Smitty stepping aside at this point in his career to enjoy his retirement, he's done so much for the Berkshires. He's done a terrific job of advocating for us at every level of government, and I respect the fact that he's been my 3rd Berkshire District representative, literally since I moved to the Berkshires. He's been a very strong advocate for everything that we face in our rural, suburban communities here in Western Mass, and I thank him for his service.
Now, you alluded to your experience for expanding and developing affordable housing in Lenox- What are some issues that you think you would want to address on the district-wide level, should you win the vote for the 3rd Berkshire seat?
Okay, well, mental health and addiction services are very important to me. For the last six years, I've served on the board of the Brien Center, the Berkshire County's community mental health and addiction treatment center. Expanding mental health services in our region is a top priority because we have a shortage of mental health providers and public safety mental health specialists in large part due to low reimbursement rates compared to the more lucrative private practice or state mental health provider reimbursements. This is a statewide problem that won't easily be solved, but I'm going to fight to find creative ways of reallocating existing revenue and creating new revenue streams to help meet these shortfalls.
Now, when you look at yourself politically, how do you describe yourself? There's a lot of Democrats in Massachusetts, but that can sometimes of obfuscate the more nuanced appraisal of someone's personal views. What does being a Democrat mean to you?
Well, this is really interesting that you're asking about my party affiliation, because lately I find that civil discourse in all levels of government has eroded to the point that it's really difficult to properly engage with, listen to, and really hear one another's concerns. And I look at party affiliation is sort of a badge- It's like a sign that we wear that says, vote for me, I'm on your side. So, I'm running as an independent candidate, because I'm on the side of all Berkshire County residents. My record of service at the federal, military, state, local, and private sectors speaks for itself. So, I'm running as an independent, because I'll be representing everyone, all sides in the 18 towns of the 3rd Berkshire district.
So, walk us through your campaign strategy. I mean, it's already a slightly more difficult route, given that you're running as an independent in a deeply Democratic part of Massachusetts- So, how do you plan on taking on, essentially, the party establishment?
I don't feel like I'm taking on the party establishment. I feel like I'm a good voice for the Berkshire 3rd district at this particular time. As I said before, I'm going to be fighting for all residents of the 3rd Berkshire district, so my platform is going to largely be based on youth and family assistance with regard to affordable housing. I find that mental health and addiction services is really important, and women's services, with regard to organizations like the Brien Center, I have organized- not the Brien Center. I've volunteered for the Elizabeth Freeman Center on helping to coach women participating in their money class, helping them regain their independence and develop their financial skills. I've got experience in workforce development and having worked with MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board. So, getting people to use the resources that are currently in the district and expanding that so that our youth and our teams are growing and developing skills so that they can live and remain in the Berkshires. We have a dearth of people in the trades and advanced manufacturing and hospitality, which are some very important sectors here in Massachusetts, especially out here in Western Mass. And so, I think it's very important that, if people send me to Boston, I will continue to advocate for vocational training so that we can grow our local workforce and make their wages attractive enough to help keep them living and working here.
Now, as you prepare to possibly wade into statewide politics, what's your assessment of the legislature over the last year or two? And what are your thoughts on the beginning of the Maura Healey tenure as Massachusetts governor?
Well, actually, I'm completely jazzed that Maura Healey and [Lieutenant Governor] Kim Driscoll are at the top of the Statehouse right now. It's wonderful to see two women leading the state. I believe in the programming that they've gone about with breaking housing out of economic development and really putting a spotlight on housing, and it's important for every level of citizen, whether you be a very wealthy citizen or a citizen just starting out at the beginning of your career trying to find housing. I think that the legislature, you know, is, as the legislature usually is, there are competing priorities, there are always going to be those tensions and the push and pull of Republican and Democratic ideals. But I just want to be there to advocate as well as I can for the 3rd Berkshire district and all of our needs as a rural and suburban community.
Now, so far, we've heard Leigh Davis of Great Barrington, also of their selectboard, and Patrick White of the Stockbridge select board to throw their hats in the ring in the Democratic primary. What are your thoughts on the competition so far?
Well, I know Patrick White very well. He's a friend of mine, and I respect his intelligence and his efforts and his mission on behalf of Stockbridge. I do not know Ms. Davis, I've been introduced to her once, and I believe she's got an outstanding resume, and this will be a very interesting contest.
Given that you're running as an independent, have you been in contact with Mr. Pignatelli as you prepare to launch this campaign?
Yes, I definitely reached out to Smitty and we- He's basically a neighbor of mine in Lenox as we frequent the same town hall building. So, I did ask his advice and counsel about, you know, the trips to the State House and things of that nature, and he's been a good counselor to me and letting me know all of the challenges and needs of the community and I just hope that I can carry on his legacy.
Are there any decisions that Pignatelli made over his tenure on Beacon Hill representing the 3rd Berkshire that you would have done differently?
Honestly, I could not even begin to speak to that, because I think Smitty’s done a terrific job expanding our cultural and tourism sectors. He's done a great job with [Massachusetts Health Connector] and getting all of our folks better health and mental health connection services. I think he's done a great job with West-East rail, that's always been a concern of mine, and I think he's done a fantastic job of raising our visibility here in Western Mass at the Statehouse.
If you had to sum up the Mitts campaign slogan to the broader world, what is the core of your campaign? What are you offering folks in Berkshire County?
The core of my Mitts campaign would be, I'm going to represent you, I'm going to represent everyone here in the 3rd Berkshire district.
