Editors Note: For the convenience of our readers, we are presenting together six letters regarding the upcoming election for the West Stockbridge Select Board
Vote for Eric Shimelonis
To the editor:
We ask our fellow West Stockbridge voters to please vote on May 9. We are extending our full support for Eric Shimelonis’s candidacy for re-election to the West Stockbridge Select Board. Eric has proven himself to be a highly capable and tireless worker for the betterment of our town. Those of you who have attended Select Board meetings will already know this, as you have seen his excellent leadership in action. Let’s keep West Stockbridge great! Come out and vote on May 9.
Lori and Joe Rose
West Stockbridge
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Bannon supports Potter in West Stockbridge
To the editor:
I served with Andy Potter on the Berkshire Hills Regional School District School Committee. Andy was a terrific colleague on the committee. He was well prepared and extremely articulate. He would always listen to all sides of a discussion before making a final decision. I cannot think of a better person for West Stockbridge voters to elect to their Select Board. Please vote for Andy Potter.
Stephen Bannon
Great Barrington
Stephen Bannon is a member of the Great Barrington Selectboard.
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Piasecki endorses Potter in West Stockbridge Select Board race
To the editor:
What dreadful years we just lived through. Over a million are dead. Our economy, the world order, our children’s lives have been assaulted by chaos. It really is as if all that was solid melted into air.
I have lived in West Stockbridge for more than 20 years. My dad came to America on a boat. That side of my family lost everything in Europe. My first wife and I could have settled just about anywhere, being well-educated and with access to capital. We chose the Berkshires. Our family was supported and sustained. My second wife helped me do our part to launch our four children. I love West Stockbridge.
It probably took me 10 years to even get a sense of local politics. I served and got elected to boards, fought for the school twice and failed. I saw the influx after 9/11. Saw friends leave after the 2008 recession. I learned about the impact of GE’s closing. I learned about the mines and Italian culture.
Dramatic changes here date back to well before the Colonial Era. What has distinguished the Berkshires and its people is how they, now we, have adapted to those changes. America is change, but the character of this place is best defined by what we have chosen to keep.
Civility, collective identity, individuality, family, support for those less fortunate, the arts, creativity, openness to new people, ingenuity, rural character, generosity, and pride are a few traits that come to mind after two decades of observation.
In addition to the physical beauty, the people make this place great and distinct from anywhere else in the country. It is why people flock here.
West Stockbridge has felt the pressure of the latest wave of immigration. People are stressed. Everything is more expensive and young families are having a particularly hard time making it here. This is an existential problem, but our history tells us this is not the first of these we have successfully faced. Here, this situation is exacerbated by ill-conceived town governance led in a way that I am afraid missed the real depth and quality of our town.
Please consider voting for Andy Potter in the upcoming Selectmen’s race. He knows this place. He has no agenda, lots of skills and he is ready to listen.
Andy is ready for change, but he also knows what we absolutely have to keep.
Jon Piasecki
West Stockbridge
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Potter will serve all with respect and transparency
To the editor:
I hope West Stockbridge will grow ever more prosperous, vibrant, and welcoming to everyone. But growth shouldn’t happen at others’ expense. My business, my family, and West Stockbridge as a whole have been ill served by the current Select Board chair.
Our business, the Trúc Orient Express and residence, has been here for more than 43 years. Many businesses in town had to pivot due to COVID, but one was directly detrimental to our business and home. It’s unfathomable that a non-permitted business was allowed to have outdoor concerts that harmed my business and family — all last summer — as excessive noise levels were allowed 30 yards from both. As taxpayers, don’t we have the right to operate our business and enjoy our home in peace, without interference or disruption?
We didn’t move into a neighborhood containing an existing venue featuring loud music with amplified bass. Despite the conditions of a special permit which limits excess noise levels, this disruptiveness continues with no enforcement. Regardless of one’s entertainment preferences, intrusive noise pumping through our residence and business will never be acceptable. It would not be acceptable to anyone, nor should we be expected to tolerate it. We didn’t settle next to an airport; the airport moved to us. Parameters on a business’s operations are there to ensure everyone’s rights are protected and there is peaceful coexistence within a community.
Non-enforcement shows extreme bias, revealing an inability to understand why proper requirements are needed for legitimate businesses to thrive and coexist without conflict. Continuing to show preference for one business over another is inexcusable and speaks to poor leadership and conflicts of interest. To enforce or not enforce zoning laws or other licensing laws differently in favor of certain business over others, without a legal rationale, not only exposes deep ethical issues but is clear discrimination. This current chair’s preference is not the law.
We welcome change and growth, but we never imagined it would have such an adverse impact on our quality of life and our civil liberties due to such abysmal leadership and governance. West Stockbridge desperately needs fairness, transparency, and equity reestablished in our government. The toxicity and blatant disregard must stop. Therefore, on May 9, I will vote for Andy Potter for Select Board. Andy will serve all with respect and transparency.
Trúc Nguyen
West Stockbridge
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Andy Potter is what West Stockbridge needs
To the editor:
Andy Potter is what West Stockbridge needs. I have had the pleasure of knowing Andy for over 20 years, both as a neighbor and as a fellow school committee member for the Berkshire Hills Regional School District.
Andy, who was unanimously voted as co-chair, was a great help to me with adjusting to the role and the challenges in the position. Andy’s decisions and discussions were always very professional and thought-out, with all students and their communities in mind.
As a neighbor he is fantastic. He would shovel out our elderly neighbor’s walkways, run errands and check in regularly. Andy is a real salt of the earth person who cares about the greater good and doing what is best for his community. He is knowledgeable, committed, thoughtful, hard-working and dedicated to pursuing what is best for the Town of West Stockbridge and all its residents. With all that being said, Andy will be getting my vote for West Stockbridge Select Board and he deserves yours as well.
Molly Thomas
West Stockbridge
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Re-elect Eric Shimelonis for the West Stockbridge Select Board
To the editor:
As long-time residents of West Stockbridge, we strongly believe that Eric Shimelonis is the best candidate for Select Board and for the future of West Stockbridge. His service to West Stockbridge has brought about many positive results for our town and its future.
Eric has been instrumental in moving our town forward while tackling some long-standing issues that should have been corrected in the past but, unfortunately, were not addressed by previous Select Boards. He led the drive to professionalize the fire department, thereby improving the safety of our residents and reducing the town’s financial liability.
At times, while working for the betterment of the town, he had to endure personal attacks and accusations of being “unfair” and “not from here.” This was certainly apparent when he worked to enforce the used car permit process.
Eric has been successful in many other areas of town government as well. He has secured grants to make our municipal operations more efficient through the Green Communities Act. He has obtained new gear for the Fire Department and worked with the town of Richmond to bring in full-time EMT coverage—critical in a community with a large senior population. He has worked with town merchants in a public-private partnership to establish our largest municipal parking lot in the center of town.
When COVID hit, Eric and other Board members worked hard to support the local businesses that chose to stay open. This brought to light a 25-year-old problem with the access road to Harris Street. This issue caused public acrimony; a great deal of misinformation was circulated about Eric and the Select Board. Through it all, he tried to create a balanced solution that would work for all—not just for one business or another.
Eric is committed to our town’s extensive history and unique atmosphere. He believes in our collective progress, safety and well-being. He works tirelessly to protect our town in a civilized and respectful manner.
We hope you will give Eric the opportunity to continue his conscientious service so we can retain the special character of our town. We are confident that, with Eric on the Select Board, the issues important to the town of West Stockbridge will be addressed and improvements will be made for the benefit of all.
Jerri and Dan Buehler
West Stockbridge
