New England Public Radio

In Pittsfield, A Legislative Primary About Experience And Ideas

Berkshire County has just one contested state representative race on September’s primary ballot. Vying for the seat that covers almost all of Pittsfield, Democratic incumbent Tricia Farley-Bouvier face a challenge from Michael Bloomberg, a cousin of the former New York City mayor.

Farley-Bouvier is seeking her third full term in the Massachusetts House. At a debate last week, she emphasized her legislative experience, compared to that of her opponent.

Bloomberg is a Pittsfield native who recently returned to the area after working in New York, Connecticut and Colorado. He says political experience or not, the city needs more from Boston, and from its state representative.

“We need change because we’ve seen what happens without it,” Bloomberg said. “In cities like Detroit, all the signs were there, but still, it took bankruptcy, civil unrest, chaos, for change to happen. The signs are also here in Pittsfield and for many of our neighbors in Massachusetts.”

Farley-Bouvier also made an issue of Bloomberg’s recent return to Pittsfield, saying he came back specifically to run for office. And citing Bloomberg’s LinkedIn account, she criticized his resume.

“Mr. Bloomberg hasn’t retained any paid employment for more than eight months,” Farley-Bouvier said. “An eight-month tenure at two jobs in a row would certainly raise a red flag for me. The next red flag is that by all appearances, there’s a large gap in employment since November, 2011, until the present day.”

Bloomberg says he had “amazing opportunities,”  with a start-up hedge fund and a financial firm. But he says he returned to Pittsfield because he saw a lack of opportunity for its residents. And he says, in recent months, he’s been doing his homework, literally.

“I’ve been at the University of Massachusetts — Amherst, working with professors out there studying urban revitalization around the country, visiting places like Detroit, Cleveland and Baltimore, looking at what other towns and other cities do,” Bloomberg said.

So this is a race between a political newcomer who says he’s researched what Pittsfield should do and a veteran lawmaker who says she’s already doing: working collaboratively, both in Pittsfield and on Beacon Hill.

“I’m very, very proud to be part of Team Pittsfield, where I work closely with the mayor, the (school) superintendent, city council and school committee, business leaders, cultural and non-profit leaders,” Farley-Bouvier said. “And in the legislature, teamwork is everything.”

The winner of this Democratic primary will take on independent Chris Connell, a Pittsfield city councilor, in November.

Westfield State Senator Files Bill To Block Healey On Setting Gun Rules

Massachusetts State Senator Don Humason has filed a bill to block Attorney General Maura Healey from setting rules for firearms sales in the state. This this follows Healey’s move last week targeting what she calls “copycat” assault weapons.

Healey directed gun dealers and manufacturers to stop distributing guns that she says were made with minor modifications intended to skirt the state’s assault weapons ban.

Senator Humason, a Westfield Republican, says in a statement that Healey’s actions were “an unclear and overreaching attempt to reinterpret the intention of the legislature.” Humason adds that in recent gun debates on Beacon Hill, he doesn’t remember the issue of “copycat” weapons ever coming up.

A spokesperson for Healey, a Democrat, says these guns have been illegal in Massachusetts since 1998 but the gun industry was allowed to sidestep the law, until now.

This Week On Beacon Hill

The Massachusetts Legislature restored millions in spending to the state budget during a rare Saturday session, over the objections of Governor Charlie Baker. State House News Service reporter, Matt Murphy tells New England Public Radio’s Carrie Healy, lawmakers squeezed in some work over the weekend in-between national party conventions…as they face a July 31st deadline to wrap up formal sessions.

Baker/Polito Administration Still Not Saying If Transgender Bill Would Be Signed

The Massachusetts Governor’s office still isn’t saying for sure if Charlie Baker will sign a bill that would extend some rights to transgender people in Massachusetts.

The bill would allow people to use public facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. During a swing through Pittsfield Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito repeated what the governor has said: That nobody should be discriminated against based on the gender with which they identify.

“People should be able to use facilities that match the gender that they choose,” Polito says. “When the bill comes to us, then we can look at the details of the bill and determine whether it meets our expectations.”

The bill was approved by the Massachusetts Senate last week and is now on its way to the House.

Kinder Morgan Wins Injunction Request To Build Pipeline Through Sandisfield

A Berkshire Superior Court judge has granted Kinder Morgan an injunction, allowing it to go forward with a natural gas pipeline in Sandisfield, Mass., on its way to Connecticut. But the judge did issue conditions.

Judge John Agostini wrote that federal laws give Kinder Morgan the right to build the pipeline in Otis State Forest. Massachusetts law protects state-owned conservation land, but the judge ruled Kinder Morgan would suffer irreparable financial harm if they aren’t allowed to go forward with the project.

Agostini did issue two conditions: The injunction is stayed until late July to give the legislature time to complete its review, and in case state Attorney General Maura Healey appeals. Kinder Morgan also has to put up a half a million dollar bond until it’s determined exactly how much money Kinder Morgan owes the state for the land.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Healey expressed disappointment in the judge’s decision, but said the stay “recogniz[es] the critical role of our state Legislature in determining the status of conservation land and allowing it the time to act.”

The spokesperson says the attorney general’s office is reviewing the decision and “considering our options moving forward.”

(Quiet) Talks Continue Between Wired West, Mass. Broadband Institute

Wired West and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute are still talking as the try to resolve a dispute over plans to bring broadband Internet service to rural communities.

Wired West, a collaborative of towns, wants common ownership of each community’s network. That’s something MBI, the agency overseeing state funding, has said it won’t go along with. MBI has also called into question Wired West’s funding plan.

The groups have met a half dozen times over the last month with more talks scheduled for this week. Neither side would comment on how the discussions are going, saying they agreed not to negotiate in the media. That’s a change from last month, when both groups argued their position through press releases and public statements.

Meanwhile, the southern Berkshire County town of Mount Washington, with a population of fewer than 140, received approval from the state legislature last week to create and operate its own broadband network. The bill still needs the governor’s signature.