Davis declared victory over independent candidate Marybeth Mitts of Lenox just after midnight on Election Night at her Barrington Brewery results party. After a prolonged wait for unofficial numbers from Lenox – one of the 18 communities in the largely rural district – the Great Barrington selectboard vice chair read off the rough tally to her remaining supporters over four hours after polls closed.
“Davis has 55.5% of the vote, and Mitts, 41.7%," said Davis to cheers. "We have not heard from Ms. Mitts, but I think that we can call it.”
Mitts, who serves on the Lenox select board, confirmed to WAMC that she conceded just minutes later.
Davis will serve as the Southern Berkshires’ new voice in the State House on Beacon Hill for the first time in over 20 years. Her predecessor, fellow Democrat Smitty Pignatelli, has held the seat since 2003. He announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election.
Speaking with WAMC in the beer garden, Davis says she’s keeping her eye on yet unresolved major pieces of legislation as she prepares to be sworn in come January.
“The climate bill- It's so close to coming out, and I'm going to be looking forward to seeing how it can benefit the Berkshires," she told WAMC. "So, looking at the siting and the permitting, and if the new bond bill goes through. So, there's, very specific things that we're going to see impacts in the 3rd Berkshire district. So, I'll be looking at that economic development bill, which is moving its way slowly, and again, there's going to be impacts there. And the main thing is making sure that this district gets the money that we are rightfully entitled to.”
The region’s dire need for accessible, affordable housing was a major issue in the race, and one that Davis leaned into heavily on the campaign trail.
She says the region is still working on fully taking advantage of Governor Maura Healey’s $5 billion Affordable Homes Act that was signed into law in August.
“I was a proponent of the real estate transfer fee, and I'm still on the committee called LOHA, which is the Local Option for Housing Affordability," said Davis. "So, I'm on this advocacy group still pushing for that. S,o I'm talking to folks in Cape Cod, talking to folks in Martha’s Vineyard about that. So there's specific policies that maybe didn't make it into the economic development bill, maybe didn't make it into the climate bill, didn't make it into the Affordable Homes Act, but it's something that I'm going to keep a track of and make sure that the 3rd Berkshire district is represented and that there is money coming towards our way.”
WAMC asked what issues Davis thinks resonated the most with voters in the 3rd Berkshire District.
“Affordability, across the board," she answered. "So, healthcare, housing, education, childcare. Being a solo parent, I just know how expensive childcare is. So, if you're working, if you're a solo parent, or if you have two incomes, I mean, more than half your salary goes to childcare. And how can you think about even working when you're trying to put your kid through childcare. So childcare, health insurance is huge, and education in general, but the big kind of wraparound issue is the environment. We're seeing what's happening with the Housatonic River, we're seeing what's happening with our trees and our forests and forest and land management, so, I'm trying to learn so much from my farmers that are in the district.”
Davis prevailed in a three-way primary against Patrick White and Jamie Minacci in September, setting the stage for her showdown with Mitts.
“The three things that I kept harping on for my campaign were affordable housing, infrastructure funds, and access to healthcare, both mental health and physical health care in the 3rd Berkshire district,” said Mitts when WAMC caught up with her Wednesday morning. “Clearly, there are issues with our infrastructure, with roads, bridges and culverts, there's, again, a lot of infrastructure money out there. I think people really heard that, that people are really upset about the fact that the Accelerated Bridge Program has gone away. And I think we really need to start that conversation again with the state, to re-engage that program and really make it a critical component moving forward. I know that [the Massachusetts Department of Transportation] is trying to interview a lot of new interns for engineering, because there are several hundred bridges throughout the state that need attention, not the least of which are in the 3rd Berkshire district, and waiting eight to 11 years to have a bridge rebuilt is a bridge too far, if you'll excuse the pun.”
As of Wednesday morning, the AP estimate for the final split was around 60-40 between Davis and Mitts, with Davis securing more than 11,700 votes and Mitts around 8,200.
With State Senator Paul Mark cruising to a victory over Republican challenger David Rosa, Davis joins the all-Democratic Berkshire Legislative delegation alongside fellow state reps John Barrett of the 1st and Tricia Farley-Bouvier of the 2nd. Neither were challenged in their re-election bids.
