No is no: Caccaviello should drop out

Even for a woman on the planet, with all our experience having men disregard our clear “No, Thank You’s,” there remains a degree of shock when your choices are casually batted away by someone who feels entitled to get what he wants.”Would you like more of me?”

“No, thanks.”

“Have you really thought about it, though? I don’t think you know what you’re talking about, so I’m going to ignore you. I’m going to make you have to keep saying No, and even then, I might not listen.”

News of Paul Caccaviello launching a write-in campaign on the heels of his defeat to Andrea Harrington is one of those moments.

After a long primary season that included numerous debates across Berkshire County and ample opportunity for residents to learn about each of our Democratic DA candidates, voters made our decision. We said “Yes” to Andrea Harrington, and “No” to Paul Caccaviello.

We expressed ourselves clearly, selecting a new, more effective, more humane direction for our community: a model of social justice that seeks to undo the savagery of mass incarceration, that relies on data to achieve actual solutions to our addiction crisis, that takes seriously the sexual and domestic assaults of women in our community. We chose a model that will move us towards actual justice, collective public safety and a healthy community where people are being lifted out of poverty, treated with fairness, and offered the supports and treatment they need to thrive, instead of disappearing into our criminal legal system.

We said “No” to Paul Caccaviello. And now he is ignoring us.

If Paul values the community he has been charged with serving in his role as DA, then he should accept our verdict and drop out of the race. This primary season has been exhausting for Berkshire County. We would like to move forward with addressing the serious issues facing our region.

There are actual lives at stake here.

Instead, we are being pulled back into a campaign courtship that has already been decided. We have said no, and no means no — a fact that should be clear to a prosecutor.

Why is he refusing to hear us? And what does that tell us about his judgment, and his level of respect for this community?

Peggy Kern