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Kennedy Rallies Berkshire Dems For Final Election Push
By Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
03:14PM / Tuesday, November 01, 2016
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U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III rallies the troops at the Democratic Party's local coordinated campaign office in Pittsfield.

Eugene Dellea and U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy, grandson of Robert Kennedy.

State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Kennedy, candidate Adam Hinds, state Rep. Paul Mark, and state Rep. Stephen Kulik of the 1st Franklin.

State Sen. Benjaming Downing endorses Adam Hinds to take over the seat he is vacating.

Adams Hinds is seeking election to the state Senate.

Kennedy endorsed both Hinds and Farley-Bouvier.



Those in attendance gathered for a quick group photo before heading back to work on the campaign efforts for Democratic candidates.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There is a lot of frustration with politics, especially on the national level, shown throughout this campaign season. While local Democrats say they understand it, they want to take seats in government to fix the causes of that frustration.
 
"For those who are so frustrated, and we have to acknowledge that frustration comes from a very real place for far too many people — an economy that despite our best efforts is leaving a lot of folks behind or in danger thereof, we've got a criminal justice system where one in three black, male babies born today is predicted to go to jail over the course of their lifetime, across our country there are a million public school students who are homeless, 80 percent of the kids, the children in need of mental health care don't get it in the richest nation on earth," U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III said on Tuesday when he joined local Democrats and candidates in a get out the vote rally.
 
"That frustration we see, it is understandable why people are saying this system doesn't work for us. Let's be clear, Donald Trump has tried to take advantage of that frustration to give voice to a protest movement while never offering one solution to try to address the underlying concern, not one. While we didn't sow that division, we have to be the ones to heal it."
 
Kennedy said this election, from the top of the ticket to local races, is about the belief that the system of government works. It is about electing candidates who are willing to "roll up their sleeves" and tackle the issues facing the country, state, and communities. 
 
"Barney Frank said, the best definition of government I ever heard, he said government is simply the name we give to the things we do together," Kennedy said. "Men and women sitting around a table trying to solve a problem, that's all it is. We've seen that work before."
 
It's worked, the 4th Mass congressman said, with the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Clean Water Act, Medicaid and Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. Those were all established by the government and have made tremendous impacts on the "bedrock" of our country. 
 
State Sen. Benjamin Downing, of Pittsfield, said the person who addresses the "big issues" is the person who listens, brings sides together, highlights commonalities, and works to find solutions.
 
"Every once in a while you are lucky enough to have someone who doesn't really care about the cameras, who doesn't really care about the limelight, and isn't looking to just go along to get along, someone who is willing to roll up their sleeves and to take on the tough challenges. When you look at Adam Hinds' career, at every opportunity he has had the chance, he served our country and our community. And he hasn't done so by standing up and saying, 'I have all the answers,' " Downing said. 
 
"The people who just stand up in the Legislature and say I have all the answers are not the people who come up with all of the solutions."
 
Hinds is looking to replace the outgoing Downing on Beacon Hill. The message of Kennedy and Downing were echoed by the Pittsfield Democrat, saying he wants politics to be inspiring
 
"We have to show that we can do politics differently here. We have to demonstrate those politics and take the approach of understanding and inclusiveness. In making sure the most vulnerable among us have everything they need," Hinds said.
 
He said the Berkshires has a lot to offer but a lot of challenges to overcome. Hinds said his focus will be on ensuring small and medium-sized businesses have what they need, finalizing paid family leave, finishing up the expansion of high-speed internet, improving transportation, and funding the Berkshire Innovation Center and education.
 

State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier is focusing her efforts on the campaign for the state House of Representatives, but called for support for Democratics on all levels of government.
"Whether we are talking about overcoming population decline and the impact that it has one our schools and school alignment, or whether it is closing the achievement gap and fighting for universal pre-K, that's something I want to do. Whether it is our funding formulas, that's something we have to grapple and change. Whether it is college affordability, we have to go all in," Hinds said. 
 
He hopes to take the torch from Downing in addressing energy concerns — looking to lower costs to businesses while expanding the renewable portfolio. But, he said he needs Democrats at all levels to make in-roads on those issues.
 
"We have a strong manufacturing legacy and companies still doing cutting edge work here in the district. We still have unequal access to nature and culture and arts. But yet, right alongside that narrative we've see wage stagnation and we've seen the difficulties of finalizing high-speed internet, transportation around the district and other economic centers, the heroin epidemic, and there are challenges we have to come together and fight to overcome," Hinds said.
 
"That's why we need to win as Democrats."
 
Downing said helping Democrats win isn't making a Facebook post, but rather talking to people face to face. With just one week to go, he rallied Democrats to put in the time and effort of knocking on doors and making phones because that is the work that will win an election.
 
"We get all of the information we could ever want and all of the information we may never need at our fingertips in election cycles like this and it can lead to this paralysis, where you spend all of your time refreshing your Twitter feed, going through your Facebook feed, worrying about what you aunt or uncle said, about what your neighbor said. Worrying in front of a computer screen has never changed a vote. Worrying in front of a computer screen has never elected any of these people, has never elected any of the candidates on the wall," Downing said at the Democratic Party's local coordinated campaign office, which features signs of Democratic candidates from many years hanging as decor.
 
"We know what changes votes — knocking on doors, talking to family members, to co-workers, friends, your loved ones, talking to that uncle who you know you disagree with, talking to everyone who will listen."
 
Joining the rally for the Democratic push were state Rep. Paul Mark, state Rep. Steve Kulik, District Attorney David Capeless, and Register of Deeds Patsy Harris, among dozens of volunteers who crowded the small office to hear the speaking program.
 
The rally wasn't just about the Hinds campaign but included support for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and other close congressional campaigns in the Northeast. And, for incumbent Pittsfield state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier.
 
"I am really proud to be a Democrat. I'm really proud to be a progressive Democrat. I'm really proud to do the work that Democrats do to bring this team together, knocking on doors, making those phone calls, we do it for all parts of the ticket," Farley-Bouvier said.
 
Farley-Bouvier called the election a team effort — whether that means taking trips to New Hampshire to knock on doors for Clinton or staying local to support her or Hinds.
 
"If everybody does a little bit, we are going to make a big impact," she said.
 
Both Downing and Kennedy endorsed Farley-Bouvier for re-election for the 3rd Berkshire, with Kennedy saying she is "exactly what this district, our commonwealth, and our country needs at this point."
 
Farley-Bouvier is being challenged for her seat by Christopher Connell, a city councilor running as an independent.
 
As for Hinds, Kennedy said he is an "extraordinary example of what public servants should be "because of his background in the United Nations and then heading local organizations aimed to address large challenges. Hinds is facing Republican Christine Canning-Wilson for the state Senate seat.
 
While the push is focused on the election now, Kennedy said, "that frustration doesn't end on Nov. 9." All the candidates need continue to fight, he said, for Democratic ideals, to listen and engage, and to make progress.
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