As South County’s next rep., Davis is Berkshire delegation’s new voice
OUR OPINION
In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the contest for 3rd Berkshire District representative was called in favor of Democrat Leigh Davis, of Great Barrington. Come January, she will take the seat being vacated by longtime state Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, who did not run for reelection.
Those will be some sizable shoes to fill when she’s sworn in early next year — something that both Rep.-elect Davis and her opponent, independent Marybeth Mitts, of Lenox, acknowledged on the trail in the months leading up to Election Day. Rep. Pignatelli has been known for his warm and welcome constituent outreach, something we hope his successor continues in this sprawling 18-town district that is the Bay State’s biggest by area.
Further, a new state representative for South County means a new and hopefully resonant voice in the straining choir of the Berkshire delegation. Net population migration out of Berkshire County as captured in the 2020 census resulted in a dilution of regional representation on Beacon Hill since 2022 redistricting. That’s a concerning trend given the systemic issues, from infrastructure woes to economic development hurdles, facing our smaller, more rural communities that too often feel overlooked by state leaders in Boston.
With a clear-eyed view of that reality, we hope that Rep.-elect Davis can be a strong advocate for her district and a force multiplier for the Berkshire delegation who can bring to bear in Boston the issues and interests most important to this region’s constituents. And there is reason for that hope, given Rep.-elect Davis’ clear capability as coalition-builder and political communicator as well as her focus on critical issues like housing, affordability and sustainable development. We hope her experience in those domains — from seeking solutions in Great Barrington town government to working for a South County housing nonprofit to helping shape the Eagle Mill redevelopment project — will inform a productive presence on Beacon Hill.
Meanwhile, we encourage Ms. Mitts to continue the good work she has done on multiple local boards in Lenox.
As faithful readers of this section already know, The Eagle editorial board last month endorsed Ms. Mitts, Rep.-elect Davis’ opponent. In doing so, though, we noted that the 3rd Berk-shire electorate had a choice between two strong candidates with valuable public service experience and professional background. We were happy to see a contest that mostly stuck to issues and principles rather than innuendo and personalities — something we wish we could say more about the national political landscape.
In fact, we were happy just to see a contest. This was the only Berkshire district in which there was a seriously competitive election in either the primary or the general this year; that tracks with a commonwealth-wide trend of waning competition in State-house races that undermines democracy by not providing voters a real choice in who represents them.
Kudos to these two candidates for offering that choice to 3rd Berkshire voters in a competitive but clean race that sharpened the focus on the issues most relevant to South County. Congratulations to Leigh Davis on the successful campaign that won that race and made her 3rd Berkshire’s representative-elect. We look forward to working alongside her — as well as holding her accountable — as she hopefully highlights and fights for the policies and solutions our Berkshires communities need.
