On Tuesday, Great Barrington, Massachusetts selectboard vice chair Leigh Davis won the Democratic primary for the open 3rd Berkshire District state House seat. With 55% of the roughly 7,000 votes cast, she defeated second- and third-place finishers Patrick White and Jamie Minacci, both Stockbridge select board members. Davis now faces independent candidate Marybeth Mitts in the November 5th general election. The current occupant of the 3rd Berkshire seat is Democrat Smitty Pignatelli, who announced earlier this year that he would not seek an 11th term. Davis now moves into the final weeks of the campaign with the support of the Democratic Party behind her. WAMC sat down with her at her election night party at Barrington Brewery to talk about her win and the path forward.
DAVIS: First of all, I am very grateful for the wonderful team that I've had supporting me from day one. We announced back in May, and we had a kickoff, and I couldn't have done it without my team of supporters. First of all, Team Leigh was just awesome, and I look forward to the next two months running as a Democrat and having this great group of people behind me. I felt like I was on the right path the whole time, I felt like I was doing the good work, and whatever the outcome was, it was okay with me, because it was a good experience and working hard, I'm used to working hard, and to have this group of supporters behind me just meant so much. So, I'm on the right path, I'm strong, I'm doing it for the 3rd Berkshire district, and we're unified. The stronger that we are as a district, the stronger that we'll have a voice in Beacon Hill, and that's what I hope to bring to the 3rd Berkshire district. So, having the speaker call me was really a wonderful honor. So, I look forward to speaking with him again.
WAMC: So yeah, for those not here with us at the Barrington Brewery, Tricia Farley-Bouvier, the 2nd Berkshire State House rep, handed you the phone with the Speaker of the House [Ron Mariano] on it. I mean, what's going through your mind? You just, you're talking to something you may be working with in a few months,
I think this is the right thing to do for me and for the 3rd Berkshire district, and I'm going to work hard, I'm used to working hard, I'm used to listening and making a difference, and I really feel that if I'm put in the position as the 3rd Berkshire District rep, that I will have the opportunity to make an impact, and I'm doing it for the right reasons, and it feels good, and I'm excited, and have a good group of people supporting me. So, I'm really, really excited.
At the end of the day, what do you feel like were the issues that defined this race? What do you think that you ran on to success in the primary?
The Berkshires is such a special place. I mean, I came here not knowing anyone, I came here in a snowstorm, and I made a life for myself and my three kids, and this community embraced me. And it's just been something that through the years I've been here, I've been wanting to give back, and it's very, very natural for me to dig in and try to make a difference, and I feel like I've made a difference in my small ways, through my work with affordable housing and economic development, and now as a selectboard member, so little by little, taking baby steps. And this just opened up, and Smitty has been someone that has been a role model for me, and watching how he deals with his constituents, and he has that flair and that natural ability to connect with people. So, I hope to bring that forward and continue his service. And I come from a family of public servants. Both my parents were very involved in public service, through my dad's work with HUD and the Martin Luther King Center, and my mom's work with Sargent Shriver, so I think slowly that has really steeped in who I am as a person, and I'm feeling stronger every day, and I just, deep down, I think that this is the right thing, the right path, and I look forward to working and working hard and making a difference in the 3rd Berkshire district.
Now, basically two months until the general, you're facing Marybeth Mitts, the select board member from Lenox running as an independent. How does the game plan change for Team Davis heading into these final weeks?
Well, I am so proud to be a Democrat. I am so proud. I mean, with Kamala and it's, I feel like it's the year of the woman and the year of strength and coming together as a party. So, I couldn't be thrilled more. And just canvassing around these past two months through the 18 towns, I'm just, there's a lot of pride, and there's a lot of work to do. And I feel that the Democratic Party will rally around me, and those that are unenrolled or independent, I welcome them, and I hope that they can join us. And the more people that we have, the stronger that we are. So, I'm going to be reaching out to everyone. And in the end, we're the Berkshires. We are the 3rd Berkshire district, and working with the rest of the Berkshire delegation, I mean, that's going to make us a strong voice. We already have a strong voice, and I hope that I can join the others and be one of those voices. And having Tricia here is just, it means so much to me. It really does.
Well, I wanted to ask you about that. Of course, talking about the support of the Berkshire delegation, she just moments ago whispered to you, your life has changed now. So, what kind of support are you getting from the existing legislators? What questions do you still have for them?
Well, it's interesting, because when I heard that Smitty wasn't going to be running, I received some calls and some texts, and Tricia was one of them that said, you know what you need to do, and I heard from [State Senator] Paul Mark. And so, I kind of just took a deep breath and talked to my kids and said, am I ready? And then they said, well, we'd rather you run for something than just be at home with the cat. So, I figured, although being a cat person is probably a good thing right now, I can do both. I can be a cat person and run for state rep, so that's what I decided to do. And I've always looked to the Berkshire delegation as a strong team, and I want to be a part of that team. I want to be a team member, I want to contribute, and I want to do as much as I can to help this district. So, I'm just so proud. And having Tricia here, and I ran into Paul Mark earlier with his mom in Stockbridge, so we canvassed a little bit together, stood outside town hall, and that was wonderful. So, I know he's been supportive. And I had a great talk with [Democratic 1st Berkshire state rep] John Barrett for about an hour, and he gave me some good tips, and Smitty has always been there, so I'm really looking forward to making a difference. I know I have two months to go. I have to keep working hard and dig in and try to make sure that those who are supporting me are along with the ride, and those that haven't come over will come over. So, I'm going to be working very, very hard to do a lot of listening and outreach and try to really cement this victory on November 5th.
And what's your final word on the primary run? With this behind you, looking back, what stands out to you?
Well, first of all, I want to thank Jamie and Patrick. I mean, they ran a great campaign, and I'm very, very thankful to run against two really hard-working candidates. So that's number one. Number two, I've met so many wonderful people. I mean, I've been around all the 18 towns and had a really, a lot of in-depth conversations about people's challenges and issues and concerns and hopes and dreams. And so, it's been a learning experience. I mean, I'm a teacher. I taught in Ireland for 10 years, and I love to learn, and I love to research. So, this is kind of a natural part of that progression, is learning, doing the research, digging in and trying to make a difference, and this just carries forward in this role as a 3rd Berkshire District rep.
