The race is on to succeed outgoing Democratic State Representative Smitty Pignatelli, who is stepping down at the end of the term after more than two decades.
While Southern Berkshire select board members Leigh Davis of Great Barrington and Patrick White and Jamie Minacci of Stockbridge duke it out in the September 3rd Democratic primary, Lenox select board member Marybeth Mitts is hoeing her own road to November.
“I am the daughter of middle-class parents from West Hartford, Connecticut," said Mitts at a League of Women Voters forum on July 27th. "My brother and I were raised in the Catholic faith, and our family valued education and a strong work ethic. Our talk around the dinner table consisted of doing our best in school, keeping busy with sports and after school activities while both of our parents worked and finding summer work to save for college. I was the first in my family to graduate from college thanks to my parents' vision and skillful saving.”
The candidate appeared alongside White, Minacci, and Davis at the Lee event.
“So, after college and studying at the University of Maryland, I worked as a presidential management intern in the federal government," Mitts continued. "I had rotational assignments at the Hartford HUD field office, Fannie Mae, and the Senate Budget Committee, steeping myself in housing and community development work. I met my fiancé, Kevin, in Washington, DC, while he was in the Navy. So, I pivoted to financial analysis at the US Navy in shipbuilding and conversion, which allowed me to continue to work after we married and moved throughout the country and the world. After Pentagon City, Virginia, and stints at two Marine Corps Air stations in California as comptroller and deputy comptroller, I started a firm focused on housing programs in Southern California, helping dozens of municipalities administer these programs. We moved to Lenox with three kids. I've been on the Lenox PTO, a member of the Lenox school committee for nine years, a select board member for nine years, and I'm very familiar with the nonprofit sector, having worked at Shakespeare and Company, Williams College, and MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board.”
Mitts says access to transportation, affordable housing, healthcare, broadband, and livable wages contribute to the Southern Berkshires’ issues with recruiting and retaining a workforce.
“In the Berkshires, there's a quarterly economic development practitioners’ group of about 45 people who meet in the Berkshires to discuss regional issues and opportunities, share resources and collaborate and innovate to improve our Berkshire economy through the lens of their individual and collective work," she said. "As state rep, I'd be part of this group, and I'm pleased to say that for some time now we've had funding for job training programs that align with high demand sectors like advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and wellness and tourism. MassHire Berkshire Career Center assists anyone in the county looking for job search assistance, career counseling and training services. There are free training services for several sectors currently available in the Berkshires. There's a STEM pipeline funding that reaches into our schools with career pathway opportunities, supporting after school programs, summer camps and teacher training critical to our young people in the region.”
Mitts also answered a question about her plans to address housing issues in the Berkshires, where limited stock and high demand has led to high rents and asking prices for dwellings.
“I've been active in Lenox over the last seven years leading a charge on a 65-unit mixed income development that's in site prep on Route 7 and 20, as well as supporting a second 68-unit mixed income project a mile north of Brushwood, currently in a mini funding round at [the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities]. That would be 133 of the 1,000 units we are looking for in the Berkshires, 13% of the new units we'd like to see. And as a member of our housing trust, I've helped – we've helped – over 17 households in the past 10 years with down payment assistance to move into Lenox to work and go to these schools."
Pignatelli has repeatedly said he will not endorse in the race to replace him.
The general election is November 5th.
