To the editor:
We love Stockbridge for its small-town character and natural beauty. We value our open spaces, protected ridge lines … and our wildlife, woodlands, and waterways. We willingly drive 10 minutes out of town when we need a hardware store, or a supermarket, or a new pair of boots. Most of us are perfectly happy with the scale of our charming business district and want to see the rest of town kept as residential and uncrowded as it’s always been.
Yet there has been a lot of negative talk about decline. People say: we’re shrinking; there are no jobs; no kids; taxes are out of control; everybody’s getting old; we need more growth, more development.
In truth, our full-time population is amazingly stable: in 1850 we had 1,941 people and in 2020 we had 2,018. There are plenty of jobs when you count how many of us are self-employed and/or work at home. Our tax rate is one of the lowest in the Berkshires.  It’s true, we are getting grayer, but so is all of New England … and most of America.
To combat the scare tactics, we need positive-minded champions. That’s why I am voting for Jamie Minacci for Selectwoman and Kate Fletcher and Lis Wheeler for Planning Board. These candidates know how special Stockbridge is because they have lived and worked here for decades.  The Democratic Committee endorsed them because they will stand up for our town … and respect its conservation-minded heritage.
Minacci is a public-spirited advocate eager to engage all residents; Fletcher, with an advanced degree in public policy and many years of Planning Board experience, is deeply committed  to climate mitigation; and Wheeler, with her professionally honed listening skills and real estate expertise, is working to find ways to promote more moderate-priced housing.
“I do not want to trade our character, natural resources, and heritage for quick profits for a few. We are unique and we need to preserve what is special here.”— Minacci
“Stockbridge has notable cultural and physical legacies. It also has an important legacy of enlightened governance that benefits us all. We need planning board members who are committed to these principles.” — Fletcher
“I am passionate about the future of our beautiful town’s survival while understanding there are things it lacks such as affordable homes for our children to return to.” — Wheeler
Vote for Minacci, Fletcher, and Wheeler on May 17th.
Barney Edmonds,
Stockbridge
