Stockbridge — Town Clerk Terri Lemolini confirmed June 30 that resident Denny Alsop has withdrawn from the Select Board race, leaving Sally Underwood-Miller and Jorja Marsden vying for the position vacated earlier this month by Patrick White. All three candidates had returned nomination papers for the opening.
White resigned on June 10 following a heated discussion on June 5 with his colleagues regarding his nomination to be the group’s chair. At that session, Jamie Minacci was selected to lead the dais.
Alsop told The Berkshire Edge that he was prompted to throw his hat in the ring after reflecting on the Select Board hearings covering and ultimately approving a special permit to develop a 314-acre parcel at 35–37 Interlaken Road, the former DeSisto School. He said he opposed the project, questioning its potential consequences to the aquifer that lies below the property and that, according to Alsop, may conduct pollutants from the development site to the town’s water supply.
For Alsop, White’s departure prior to the end of his term left a void, “a vacuum at a particularly critical moment” in the DeSisto negotiations when “there were a lot of things which appeared to me to be left hanging.” “I can only imagine that [White] was hoping for the chairmanship to enable him to have a freer hand after the permit was granted in following up on questions such as ‘what kind of conservation restrictions will be issued and how will the limitations be specifically spelled out,’ not to mention his overall contribution to the town, his energy, and his creativity,” he said.
Alsop praised Marsden and Underwood-Miller for their service to the town. “Since then, I’ve had time to attend town meetings to talk to both candidates, and I came to the considered decision that either one of them would be a good Select Board member,” he said.
Due to his longstanding disapproval of the Interlaken Road project and its prior iteration going back to 2017, Alsop said he felt “it would be better if I wasn’t in the race.”
“What Stockbridge needs right now is a sense of calm and cooperation on the Select Board,” Alsop said. “I think it’s the best thing for the town.”
The Special Town Election to fill the Select Board vacancy is August 26. The last day to obtain nomination papers is July 3, and the last day to submit those papers is July 8. The last day to register to vote in the election is August 15, by 5 p.m.
