To the editor:
I would like to thank The Berkshire Edge for this opportunity to share why I am running as an unenrolled or independent candidate for the 3rd Berkshire District.
When Kevin proposed to me, I told him a qualified yes: I would marry him if he understood that I intended to run for Congress.
Well, that congressional campaign never happened, mostly due to intentions the Navy had for Kevin. Arriving in the Berkshires in 2001, Smitty Pignatelli was a political fixture. I focused my energies on community activism, local government, raising three daughters, and my area of expertise: affordable housing.
Over the years, I have changed party affiliation. I was raised in a conservative Catholic household, and I was Republican in my early years, as were my parents. Since then, I have been registered as Democrat, unenrolled, and Republican. I have switched parties over the years, exercising my constitutionally protected right, and to that, I answer to no one.
I last changed my voter registration in late 2023 to allow a vote in the primary of my choosing in the presidential primary on March 5.
On March 6, I reenrolled as a Democrat and pulled Democratic Party papers. In reading those papers, I immediately realized the deadline to declare party affiliation for the election had passed. Having learned I had no choice but to run as unenrolled, I embraced that reality and dedicated myself to representing all parties, not just one. (In fact, while the State House might be largely comprised of members of the two main political parties, in Berkshire County over 60 percent of voters are registered as unenrolled.) I realized my mistake, walked back into the city clerk in Pittsfield, and the Office of Political Campaign Finance assisted me in straightening out the paperwork: Let the race begin.
I might have been clearer about the details of my early candidacy, but I never lied. I did in fact choose to run unenrolled. And I have always intended to represent everyone in the 3rd Berkshire District.
I will happily put up my experience and ability to get things done against my opponent’s.
My record of activism, advocacy, integrity, and public service has never swayed. My middle-of-the-road progressivism with a dash of fiscal conservatism has served my constituents in Lenox quite well. And I will continue that service to all 18 towns of the Berkshire 3rd on Beacon Hill come January 2025.
Marybeth Mitts
Independent candidate for the 3rd Berkshire District
Lenox
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