Berkshire County — On March 5, Lenox Select Board member Marybeth Mitts became the third candidate seeking Berkshire County’s 3rd District State House of Representatives seat to be vacated by longtime official State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D) after he announced last month that he would not seek reelection when his term ends in January. Mitts is also the chair of the town’s Affordable Housing Trust, of which Pignatelli is a member.
Mitts joins Stockbridge Select Board member Patrick White and Great Barrington Selectboard member Leigh Davis in the race. According to her Statement of Organization, Mitts is affiliated with the Democratic Party.
A graduate of Mount Holyoke College (bachelor of arts in international relations and affairs) and the University of Maryland (master of public administration), Mitts describes herself in her LinkedIn post as a “vision-driven manager” and advocate for local nonprofit groups, arts organizations, and education administration. The site lists her prior experience as including a 2021 contract position with MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board as its employment outreach coordinator and as its career event planner from January 2019 to October 2020. She also served as a City of Pittsfield consultant; with Williams College (assistant director of corporate and foundation relations, manager of spouse partner resources) for a total of almost nine years; and two-plus years with Shakespeare & Company as its manager of institutional giving and event planning.
While in local office, Mitts was a member of both the Master Plan Review Commission that recommended a structure to guide Lenox for the next one to two decades and the Charter Review Commission.
The Berkshire Edge reached out to Mitts for comment and is awaiting her reply.
Additionally, both White and Davis filed their February candidate financial reports on March 1.
Davis’ bank report lists receipts totaling $4,655.62, expenditures totaling $31.06 for a February 29 balance of $4,624.56. Her largest receipts for the month were for $1,000 each from Allen Harris, the CEO of Berkshire Money Management [DISCLAIMER: Allen Harris is a columnist for The Berkshire Edge], and Peter Sears, a musician.
White’s bank report lists receipts totaling $7,090.58, expenditures totaling $432.05 for a February 29 balance of $6,658.53. His largest receipt for the month was for $1,000 from agent Kathleen White.
