To the editor:
I am supporting Leigh Davis to succeed Smitty Pignatelli as State Representative for the 3d District. Here’s why:
I have been active in promoting workforce and affordable housing since I moved to Egremont almost six years ago. I am on the board of Egremont’s Municipal Affordable Housing Trust; before that I co-chaired Egremont’s Housing Committee. In umpteen community meetings, forums, and programs about housing, I had seen Leigh Davis in action, because she is a leader on the issue.
Eventually l suggested we meet. When we met, I asked her to tell me her story. Leigh proceeded to tell me about moving to Great Barrington, raising her three kids here as a single mother, and the range of her work experience, including on the Great Barrington Selectboard, the Eagle Mill redevelopment in Lee, and on the staff of Construct, the respected affordable-housing nonprofit.
I was impressed. When Leigh finished, I said: “If Smitty ever decides not to run for reelection, you should run. I’ll support you.” A few months later, Smitty announced he wasn’t running, and I signed up to work for Leigh’s campaign.
Usually, candidates solicit potential supporters. Leigh didn’t need to solicit me. I reached out to her because it was so obvious that she was a natural to succeed Smitty. I had already seen her working on the South County issues that we need a state representative to address. She is an expert on the housing crisis, having actually participated in creating affordable housing and testifying in the legislature about it. She understands the connections between housing and economic development and public health and our environment. I reached out to Leigh because I knew she could hit the ground running on day one.
When a candidate asks for votes, voters should ask: “How do I know what you’ll do if elected?” I reached out to Leigh because I knew her answer: “What I’ve been doing all along.”
The issues that matter in South County are complicated. They don’t lend themselves to bumper-sticker solutions. I am supporting Leigh because I have seen that she is smart, tough, experienced, collaborative, and, most important, she gets things done.
I hope you will join me in voting for Leigh Davis in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
Doug Mishkin
Egremont
NOTE: Doug Mishkin is a member of the Egremont Municipal Affordable Housing Trust and previously co-chaired the Egremont Housing Committee; however, he speaks on his own behalf and not on behalf of either of these two entities.
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