Please publish my political email. Letter to the Editor for publication.
September 30, 2021
Dear News Media, Politicians, and the People,
I cannot believe that former State Senator Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior says that if Chrome Dome Adam Hinds steps down from his Berkshire-based Massachusetts State Senate seat that Nuciforo will run again for his old State Senator seat on Beacon Hill. This is unbelievable to me. I know why Nuciforo is going to run again for State Senator: Nuciforo is waiting for "K Street PAC Man" Richie Neal to retire or pass away so that Nuciforo can have the political legitimacy to run for U.S. Congress again after his 40 percentage point net loss to Neal in the 2012 Democratic Party primary election. Nuciforo doesn't care about the State Senate because he really only covets being elected to U.S. Congress in the future.
Let us take a trip down "Memory Lane" about Nuciforo stepping down from the Massachusetts State Senate in 2006. In early-2007, the Boston Globe published a news article that said that Nuciforo was illegally double dipping as Chairman of the State Senate Finance Committee, while Nuciforo also worked as a corporate Attorney for big banks and insurance companies at the Boston Law Firm named "Berman & Dowell" for 7 years from 1999 - 2006. All these years later in the Fall of 2021, I still believe that Nuciforo should have faced criminal charges for his illegal double dipping with Beacon Hill and Boston's Financial District. Does Nuciforo really think that the people and taxpayers have forgotten all of his illegal and allegedly criminal activities as a Massachusetts State Senator in Boston? I have not forgotten. If Nuciforo enters the race for Berkshire-based State Senator, I am going to write and blog about it every single day of his would be 2022 campaign for the seat he had to step down from in 2006 - or 16 years ago - due to his political corruption.
I understand that Nuciforo is very well protected via his political connections in Pittsfield politics and in Boston, but this announcement that Nuciforo wants to revive his corrupt and mean-spirited political career is totally outrageous. Nuciforo persecuted me, and my dad who was a Berkshire County Commissioner (1997 - mid-2000), when Nuciforo was a Massachusetts State Senator (1997 - 2006). I have written about Nuciforo's conspiratorial and hurtful actions against me for decades. I feel like no one listens to me, and even blogger Dan Valenti won't let me post my writings about it anymore on his blog: Planet Valenti. It is like I don't count in this cruel world we all live in. I wish the news media would publish any and/or all of my writings and blog postings about how evil "Luciforo" is in state and local government to the innocent people Nuciforo persecutes in politics and state government. I hate "Luciforo" and Nuciforo is my Enemy #1 in my life!
In closing, I wish Nuciforo would stick to growing and selling marijuana, and defending sleazy insurance salesmen who rob innocent little old ladies out of their hard earned life savings! Nuciforo belongs in state prison, NOT the Massachusetts State Senate!
Jonathan A. Melle
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"Sen. Adam Hinds said to be close to deciding to seek statewide seat"
By Danny Jin, The Berkshire Eagle, September 30, 2021
PITTSFIELD — State Sen. Adam Hinds is expected to announce soon whether he will run for lieutenant governor, six people in Western Massachusetts Democratic circles have told The Eagle.
Some think he’s decided, but Hinds himself isn’t saying yet.
“I’ve used the summer to pursue a potential run for statewide office, and it’s exciting to try to identify ways to have a bigger and bigger impact for the region,” the Pittsfield Democrat, who was first elected in 2016, told The Eagle in a phone call Thursday.
Hinds’ entry into that race would leave the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden seat in the Senate open. Colleagues of state Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, said he has spoken with them about the possibility of pursuing the seat, should Hinds run for lieutenant governor.
Their decisions could have implications for the Legislature’s redistricting process, in which the four Berkshire seats in the House of Representatives are expected to decrease to three.
A Pittsfield Democrat first elected in 2016, Hinds said in June that he was considering a run for higher office and was “working to put together a team” to decide. If he runs, he would join a Democratic field that includes state Rep. Tami Gouveia, D-Acton, and two political newcomers, Bret Bero and Scott Donohue.
Neither Hinds nor Mark would confirm their intentions Thursday, but Statehouse colleagues said they believe both will decide to run for the new offices and would be strong candidates.
“I think Paul is just the right person to run for state Senate, and I would fully support him in doing so,” state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, said of Mark, who was first elected in 2010.
“He’s the one that we turn to in the House all the time on labor issues,” Farley-Bouvier said, also referencing Mark’s work on student debt, public higher education and opioid task forces in Franklin and Berkshire counties.
State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, called Mark “a team player” on rural issues, the opioid epidemic and infrastructure.
State Rep. John Barrett III, D-North Adams, said that Mark has been “very important to Berkshire County,” and that “his advocacy for higher ed, with two public institutions in Berkshire County, would be a tremendous asset in the Senate.”
Mark, 42, comes from a union family — his father was a Teamster — and began working full-time for Bell Atlantic, now Verizon, at 20. After becoming a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Mark used union benefits to earn five educational degrees, including professional doctorates from Suffolk University and Northeastern University. He remains a dues-paying member of IBEW and the Massachusetts Teachers Association, his website says.
“If Paul were to run, he would have labor support in the district and statewide,” said Brian Morrison, president of the Berkshire Central Labor Council, for which Mark has been a delegate. “When the labor movement needs something done, Paul is one of the people we call.”
Mark said in February that his top priorities were clean-energy expansion and job growth.
Pignatelli said discussions about the future of the Senate seat began in September, when speculation about Hinds’ plans grew. While Pignatelli and Farley-Bouvier each considered running for that seat when it opened in 2016, both said they will seek reelection rather than run for Senate.
The Senate district, which is expected to expand once more in redistricting, “is not as attractive as it once was” due to its size and the travel it would require, Pignatelli said.
Former state Sen. Andrea Nuciforo Jr. spurred speculation when he added $50,000 in April to his campaign account, which he never closed. Nuciforo, who held the seat from 1997 to 2007, said he will support Hinds if Hinds seeks reelection. But, if Hinds pursues higher office, Nuciforo — an attorney and co-founder of Berkshire Roots — plans to run for his old seat.
“I want to give Adam all the space he would possibly need to make that decision on his own terms, and if he runs for reelection I support him all the way,” Nuciforo said. “If he chooses not to run for reelection, I certainly will.”
While Hinds, 45, has yet to declare his plans, speculation about a run for higher office has continued to grow with his fundraising numbers and public appearances. Hinds has more than doubled the balance of his campaign account in 2021. He had more than $164,000 in the account as of Aug. 31.
In the past month, he has participated in events run by the Worcester Democratic City Committee, the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to his social media accounts.
Late this spring, Hinds and Alicia Mireles Christoff, his wife, bought a house in Amherst, where she is an assistant professor of English at Amherst College. Hinds said in June that his family planned to continue to spend most of its time in Pittsfield and that he did not think buying the Amherst home would affect his ability to run for reelection in the Senate, should he choose to do so.
To make it onto the ballot for a primary, all statewide candidates — including for lieutenant governor — must garner votes from at least 15 percent of delegates at the party convention.
Pignatelli said he believes Hinds would be “the frontrunner” if he sought the nomination.
“First of all, I’ll be sad if Adam leaves the Senate,” Pignatelli said. “But, if he does decide to jump in, right now I think he is the guy to beat.”
Farley-Bouvier said she and Hinds have worked well on issues related to Pittsfield, adding, “I’m not committed to anybody at this point, but I think Adam’s terrific.”
Hinds would be “a qualified candidate,” Barrett said, adding that Hinds “certainly has established himself as someone in the Senate in the short time he’s been there.”
Matt Barron, a Democratic political consultant based in Chesterfield, said he sees Hinds and Gouveia, the representative who announced her candidacy for lieutenant governor in June, as “both fairly progressive.
“I just see more differences of emphasis, and maybe that’s because he represents more of a rural district and she has a more suburban district,” Barron said. “I don’t see major policy differences.”
While the 2022 races have yet to fully take shape, Barron said he believes Republicans may continue to hold an edge in elections for governor and lieutenant governor. Independent voters tend to sway those elections and “seem happy with having Republicans in the corner office as a check on the heavily Democratic Legislature,” Barron said.
Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, has yet to say whether he will seek reelection, and political observers believe Baker’s decision — he remains popular among voters — will affect rumored candidates for governor such as Attorney General Maura Healey. If Healey runs, more candidates may enter the race for lieutenant governor, said Barron.
Voters will cast ballots for the primaries in September 2022 and the general election in November 2022.
Danny Jin, a Report for America corps member, is The Eagle’s Statehouse news reporter. He can be reached at djin@berkshireeagle.com, @djinreports on Twitter and 413-496-6221.
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October 1, 2021
Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
Chrome Dome Adam Hinds will soon announce his decision to step down from the Massachusetts State Senate to run for Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor in 2022. Redistricting maps expected to reduce the useless Berkshire legislative delegation to Beacon Hill from 4 do nothing State Representatives to 3 State Representatives. Paul Mark ("Marx") will run for Chrome Dome's State Senate seat in 2022, as well as (N_c_f_r0) who had to step down from the post in 2006 due to him being in bed with Boston's big banks and insurance companies back then. That leaves North Adams State Representative John Barrett III (aka "The Mayor"), Pittsfield State Representative Tricia Farley Bouvier (aka "Trippy Country Buffet"), and Lenox State Representative William "Smitty" Pignatelli (aka "Shitty") left to supposedly represent the beautiful Berkshires in Beacon Hill in 2023 - 2024. "K Street PAC Man" Richie Neal will run for his 18th (or "1,001") term in U.S. Congress. In closing, the people and taxpayers of Berkshire County have NOBODY representing them in Boston and in the Swamp!
Jonathan Melle
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October 1, 2021
Dear News Media, Politicians, and the People,
I am sorry for having a negative reaction last night after reading the Dirty Bird's news article announcing that Nuciforo will run for his old post as Berkshire-based State Senator to Boston after a 16 year hiatus. I work on my mental health and related behavioral issues as a disabled Veteran, and I need to be less emotional and more rational.
Someone emailed me the following message:
He'd like to build up his pension as well. I'm sure that's on his mind too.
My response is that I know Nuciforo's mind and how he operates in Pittsfield politics and also in Boston. Nuciforo wins at any cost no matter who he hurts. Nuciforo thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants and not face consequences like everyone else because his political connections always protect him when he persecutes people like myself and illegally double dips in Boston-based's state government and Boston's Financial District, which was the real reason he had to step down from his post as State Senator back in 2006.
In closing, I am upset about the news that Nuciforo wants to revive his fringe political career, but I will make rational arguments about why I believe that Nuciforo must be stopped in 2022.
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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October 2, 2021
These politicians - Ed "Maryland" Markey, Elizabeth "Main Street" Warren, "K Street PAC Man" Richie Neal, Chrome Dome Adam Hinds, Paul Mark (Marx), Smitty Pignatelli (Shitty), Tricia Farley Bouvier (Trippy Country Buffet), John Barrett III ("The Mayor"), and "Level 5" Linda "Gated Community" Tyer are all ridiculous because they are totally disconnected from the people and taxpayers who live in the beautiful Berkshires. In 2020, Senator Ed Markey promised to save the world from global warming, but all he does is emit hot air in the Swamp. Senator Elizabeth Warren always promises to fight for Main Street, but Wall Street is still receiving all of the gains in income - same as always - The Rich get richer and the Poor get poorer! Congressman Richie Neal only represents K Street corporate lobbyist firms. State Senator Adam Hinds' first vote in Boston was for his own 40 percent legislative pay raise, while he openly wants to raise state taxes. State Rep Paul Mark wants to be the 21st Century version of Karl Marx. State Rep Tricia Farley Bouvier represents post industrial Pittsfield, but she only fights for Boston's progressive causes. State Rep Smitty Pignatelli wants to put GE's third Berkshire County toxic waste dump in Lee (Massachusetts) against the wishes of the people who live there. State Rep John Barrett III has made being a career politician into a fine art. Mayor Linda Tyer lives in her millionaires-only gated community, while defending inner city Pittsfield's Level 5 public schools. In closing, it would be wonderful to see Smitty Pignatelli get redistricted out of his 20-year elected post in Boston, but he will do anything to remain in the public trough.
Jonathan A. Melle
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Story Tips:
October 2, 2021
Hello Politico,
I have extensively written and blogged about Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior in Pittsfield politics and in Boston for 25 years now. Please check out all of my blog postings about "Luciforo". I do not understand why Nuciforo is running again in 2022 for his Berkshire-based State Senate seat after a 16 year hiatus because in 2006, Nuciforo had to step down from his elected post in Boston because he was illegally double dipping as Chairman of the State Senate Finance Committee while at the same time serving as a Corporate Attorney for Boston's big banks and insurance companies from 1999 - 2006. Does Nuciforo think everyone has forgotten that he is a corrupt fringe politician would be in state prison if he wasn't so well protected in Massachusetts politics? My hope is that I am able to stop "Luciforo" from reviving his mean-spirited and persecuting people political career in 2022. I would love it if Politico read all of my blog postings about Nuciforo and did a spotlight story to show our country that he is nothing more than a "4 foot tall" piece of shit!
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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HINDS EYES LG RACE — State Sen. Adam Hinds is telling colleagues he’s running for lieutenant governor, sources familiar with the discussions told POLITICO.
Hinds will be announcing his run for LG in the next few weeks, according to a person who’s spoken directly to the senator in the last few days about his plans. Hinds, a Pittsfield Democrat, did not respond to requests for comment last night.
Nothing’s official, of course. But there’s already plenty of talk about who would run for Hinds’ western Massachusetts state Senate seat.
State Rep. Paul Mark (D-Peru) is telling colleagues he’s got his eye on the Senate district that stretches across Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden counties, the Berkshire Eagle's Danny Jin reported last night. Former state Sen. Andrea Nuciforo Jr., who sparked some buzz in the district when he moved $50,000 into his otherwise largely dormant campaign account in August, told The Eagle he’d run for his old seat if Hinds jumps. Neither returned POLITICO’s calls for comment last night. Redistricting could also play a role in who runs for the district and what that contest looks like going forward.
Hinds has been laying the groundwork for a statewide run for months. He told Playbook in June he was looking at LG among his possible options for statewide office.
State Rep. Tami Gouveia and businessman Bret Bero, both Democrats, are already running for lieutenant governor. Democrat Scott Donohue has also filed paperwork with state campaign finance regulators.
Hinds adds to the rapidly growing list of lawmakers eyeing an exit from Beacon Hill. Special elections are underway to replace former state Rep. Brad Hill and former state Sen. Joe Boncore. House Majority Leader Claire Cronin and state Rep. Maria Robinson are awaiting confirmation to posts in the Biden administration. State Rep. Jim Kelcourse is running for Amesbury mayor. State Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz is running for governor. State Sen. Diana DiZoglio is running for state auditor and state Rep. Andy Vargas is running for her Senate seat.
Source: POLITICO - Massachusetts Playbook - Lisa Kashinsky's must-read rundown of what's up on Beacon Hill and beyond. "Wu wins key endorsement in Boston mayor’s race" By Lisa Kashinsky, 10/01/2021.
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October 2, 2021
Hello Patrick Fennell,
What is Chrome Dome going on for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts? That his first vote in Boston in 2017 was for the $18 million 40% legislative pay raise bill that counts state lawmakers' travel and office expenses, as well as their public healthcare insurance, towards their 6-figure state pension when the Salons retire. That when his leadership would have counted in 2018, Chrome Dome stood by and did nothing as a majority of his Berkshire County constituents protested the Berkshire Museum selling off tens of millions of dollars worth of donated, historic and priceless pieces of art, including two donated paintings by Norman Rockwell himself. That he was the state and local one political (Democratic) party establishment's handpicked political hack/puppet to vote for business as usual in Boston. That Chrome Dome openly wants to raise state government taxes that will cause economic and financial pain for the already struggling working class families in Massachusetts, while he happily accepted 3 legislative pay raises at the beginning of 2021, 2019, 2017. The Chrome Dome voted for and supports the 4% surtax on the 20,000 or so millionaires who live in Massachusetts that will cause economic pain for small businesses who need rich customers and private investments more than the greedy state government. That he supposedly represents the economically distressed post industrial Cities of Pittsfield and North Adams, but he and his high society wife recently purchased a $690,000 home in Amherst, Massachusetts, which is not even in his Berkshire-based State Senate legislative district. That Beacon Hill is currently sitting on $10 billion in Biden Buck$ and fiscal year 2021 state budget surplus funds, while landlords and small businesses are at risk of bankruptcy due to state and local Covid-19 pandemic shutdown and moratorium policies. That Berkshire and Franklin Counties lost population, while the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a whole gained population. What a horrible public record for Chrome Dome Adam Hinds, who is delusional to think the corrupt state Democratic Party will put him in the number two executive suite in Beacon Hill, to run on in 2022. Chrome Dome's terrible public record is the real #2!
Then there are Chrome Dome's two would be replacements for his one Berkshire-based State Senate seat. State Representative Paul Mark says he is for the working class, and his name is fittingly close to Karl Marx. Paul Marx believes in big government so long as it benefits him, the politically-connected unions, and the state government. Like the rest of the useless Berkshire legislative delegation to Boston, Paul Marx voted for the record setting 40% legislative pay raise bill in 2017. Paul Marx, like the infamous Commie his name is attributed to, always votes the way the top-down state party leadership in Boston tells him to, which means that he only does DISSERVICES to the people of Western Massachusetts. But what else is new?
Former Berkshire-based State Senator Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior followed in his late-father's political footsteps in Boston with the political backing of his late-father's name, which is no longer the case 26 years later because his late-father's generation are now in the afterlife - if such a fairy tale actually exists. After a 16 year break from Boston, Nuciforo announced that he is going to run for the elected post again in 2022 after he had to step down from the Massachusetts State Senate in 2006 because he was illegally in bed with Boston's big banks and insurance companies. Does Nuciforo really believe we have forgotten that he is corrupt? Nuciforo really wants PAC Man Richie Neal's seat in U.S. Congress, just like he wanted Congressman John W. Olver's seat in U.S. Congress one to two decades ago. Nuciforo knows that when Congressman Richie Neal retires or passes away, he needs the State Senate post to have legitimacy to launch his would be second run for U.S. Congress in the future. Nuciforo only cares about his political ambitions, and I believe that he is dangerous in state politics because he has demonstrated time and time again that he wins at any cost no matter who he hurts or how corrupt his public record is in Boston.
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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"Berkshire County likely to see four Mass. House seats cut to three in redistricting"
By Danny Jin, The Berkshire Eagle, October 3, 2021
Berkshire County’s population fell, and so will the number of House members it sends to Beacon Hill, lawmakers signaled this week.
Ten years ago, and despite a population loss then, too, lawmakers fought for, and kept, four Berkshire seats in the House of Representatives. But, no such optimism exists this time: Where most parts of the state grew, 2020 census numbers showed another decline in Berkshire County’s population.
Every 10 years, after the U.S. census, the House redraws a map that matches each of its 160 members with a district representing a certain number of people.
This year, the final version is expected Nov. 8. And that version will show Berkshire County can only muster three, not its current four, House districts.
“That is going to happen, and that has been in the making for more than 10 years,” said Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, a member of the Legislature’s Special Joint Committee on Redistricting. “With the numbers we have, we just couldn’t hold on any longer in justifying four Berkshire seats, and it shouldn’t be a surprise.”
Changes in the map, though, are not expected to pit current Berkshire lawmakers in races against each other. Two lawmakers — state Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, and state Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru — are believed to be eyeing runs for new offices, and their decisions likely would impact how maps are redrawn.
The 2020 census tallied 129,026 residents in Berkshire County, a decrease of 2,193, or 1.7 percent, from a decade ago.
Mark, who chaired the House Committee on Redistricting in the 2017-18 and 2019-20 legislative sessions, has said he expects newly redrawn districts to include 41,740 to 46,133 residents. The current ratio is one House member to about 40,000 people.
All four Berkshire districts fell below 41,000 in the 2020 count, which recorded 38,294 people in the 1st Berkshire District, 40,956 people in the 2nd Berkshire District, 40,989 people in the 3rd Berkshire District and 39,595 people in the 4th Berkshire District.
The 2nd Berkshire District, which Mark represents, could be redrawn as a Franklin County district.
That district already includes 10 communities in Franklin County, and the Franklin County city of Greenfield accounts for about 43 percent of the district’s population. More than two-thirds of the district’s residents live in Franklin County, although the district includes the Berkshire towns of Dalton, Hinsdale, Savoy and Windsor, as well as Ward 1B in Pittsfield.
Elected officials’ decisions on whether to pursue reelection often shape redistricting, and this year is no different.
Hinds soon will announce whether he pursues reelection or runs for lieutenant governor, with some in Democratic circles expecting him to pick the latter. If Hinds’ Senate seat opens, Mark is expected to run for that seat.
Mark’s plans, which hinge upon Hinds’ decision, might influence the redistricting committee’s House maps.
On the committee, Farley-Bouvier said she was asked to make recommendations for Berkshire, Franklin and Hampshire county districts.
“My responsibilities include drawing maps for two scenarios: one for when Paul Mark is part of the House delegation and one for if he isn’t,” Farley-Bouvier said.
Hinds, another member of the redistricting committee, said he has voiced his commitment to keep his district, which he has said must add 15,000 to 20,000 in population, “Berkshire-centric.”
“I’ve been fighting for that in the redistricting committee, and I’m encouraged with the direction things are going right now,” Hinds said.
The 1st Berkshire District, represented by state Rep. John Barrett III, D-North Adams, is expected to take on additional communities, as is the 4th Berkshire District, currently the largest geographically in the state, represented by state Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox.
Both said they expect to adapt to whatever the new maps look like.
Barrett said that while he expects the likely expansion of districts to pose “a greater challenge,” he remains “confident that we’re still going to have good representation because we’re all experienced.”
Pignatelli said cooperation between lawmakers can help ensure “three solid Berkshire seats with the three of us working very closely together.”
While lawmakers said a map released this week from the Drawing Democracy Coalition might influence how the committee draws Eastern Massachusetts districts, they do not expect the map to affect Berkshire districts.
The proposal would have increased the number of majority-minority House districts from 20 to 29, but it would have merged Mark’s and Pignatelli’s district into a district running from the southwest corner of the state up to Clarksburg, which borders Vermont.
While Berkshire lawmakers say they support the mission of creating more majority-minority districts, they believe that goal can be pursued with less disruption to Berkshire County districts.
All 160 House seats and 40 Senate seats are up for reelection Nov. 8, 2022. House candidates must live in their district for a year before the election, so, the Legislature aims to complete its work on redistricting by Nov. 8 this year.
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October 4, 2021
Hello Dan Valenti,
Your post on your blog today about Pittsfield politics China-like one political (Democratic) Party intergenerational control of state and local government is true. You posted: "The trouble is the great base of citizens are so alienated and disgusted that they choose not to play the game, which is precisely what The Suits want. Their con is beautiful in its own way! As for THE PLANET, we’ll forever be Truth telling."
My response is that Pittsfield politics and all of the corrupt players in state and local government are all totally disconnected from the people who live and pay taxes in Pittsfield Massachusetts. The biggest resource in a community are the people who live there because they pay taxes, shop at local businesses and eat at local restaurants, invest in their families and properties, and care about the public services the state and local government provide in return for their hard earned tax income. Because Pittsfield politics is totally disconnected from the people, there is no net benefit for the people to connect with their state and local politicians.
Pittsfield politics in vindictive and the elites are always ready and willing to dish out retribution to anyone who doesn't kiss their dirty behinds or stay disconnected from City Hall and Boston's Statehouse. My dad was a Pittsfield area politician back in the old days, and boy did the Good Old Boys let us know that they were unhappy with us participating in state and local government. Nuciforo led a multi-year conspiratorial effort to hurt both my dad and myself. Nuciforo had people associated with his "Nuciforo network" conspiratorially bully and threaten me ever since I first met him in the Spring of 1996 when I was still only 20 years old. Nuciforo filed multiple state "ethics" complaints to multiple Massachusetts state agencies against my dad from the Fall of 1997 - Spring of 1998 when my dad was a state government Probation Officer and an elected Berkshire County Commissioner. In the Spring of 1998, Nuciforo made false allegations to the Pittsfield Police Department that I was making "veiled" threats against him, but my dad found out about it before Nuciforo was able to get me in trouble. Nuciforo blacklisted me from finding employment in the Pittsfield area when I was in my 20s. Nuciforo had his "Nuciforo network" spread vicious and hurtful rumors against me to the Pittsfield area, including during the Summer of 2005 on the exact day that I turned 30 years old when Denis E. Guyer allegedly publicly told people at Bousquet at the Massachusetts Democratic Party convention that "All Jonathan Melle ever did was stalk a Jewish woman from Otis" (She was married three Summers earlier in 2002, but that was not part of the rumor spreading). Denis Guyer denies saying those hurtful words against me. After all I witnessed and experienced in Pittsfield politics as a young man back then, I understand why the average Pittsfield residents stays disconnected from Pittsfield politics.
In closing, I would substitute the word "CORRUPT" for the word "beautiful" when one writes about the con game that is Pittsfield politics, and I hope Nuciforo knows better than to run again for State Senator in 2022 after having to step down from the post 16 years ago in 2006 due to his illegal double dipping as the unethical Chairman of the State Senate Finance Committee in Boston while at the same time serving as a Corporate Attorney for Boston's Big Banks and Insurance Companies. Does Nuciforo really think that his allegedly criminal acts in Boston back in 2006 won't be a major and detrimental issue to his 2022 State Senator campaign? Nuciforo must be delusional!
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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"Baker signs bill putting Legislature ahead of municipalities in redistricting"
By Colin A. Young and Matt Murphy, State House News Service, October 5, 2021
BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker on Sunday signed into law legislation that officially reverses the order in which the Legislature drafts new district maps and municipalities draw their new precinct maps as part of the redistricting process.
Cities and towns would typically go first and create their local voting wards and precincts before lawmakers took their turn enacting legislation creating new Congressional and legislative maps. But the law Baker signed reflects what's already occurring — the Legislature is going first and municipalities will then have 30 days to complete the local process no later than Dec. 15.
The switch in the order of operations is one of the bumps along the road of the 2020 U.S. Census. The collection of the 2020 Census data was affected by the onset of the pandemic and this year the release of the Census data was delayed about two months because of pandemic impacts.
Gov. Charlie Baker on Sunday signed into law legislation that officially reverses the order in which the Legislature and municipalities draft new maps as part of the redistricting process.
The House version of the bill, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association, would have required municipal precincts to be redrawn to follow the contours of new state legislative districts, "which could have created significant disruption in cities and towns with district-based councils or school committees, and in towns with representative town meetings."
The compromise that Baker signed, the MMA said last month, was "closely aligned with the Senate version" and "would not require precincts to follow legislative lines."
October is shaping up as redistricting month on Beacon Hill, with one top Democrat telling the News Service last week that it is increasingly likely that legislative leaders will release a draft map of new House and Senate districts within the next two weeks. House candidates must live in their new districts by Nov. 8 in order to qualify to compete in those districts in 2022, giving lawmakers a soft deadline.
During the last round of redistricting, two House lawmakers moved rather than run against one of their colleagues.
Rep. Paul Mark, a Democrat, moved from Hancock to Peru to avoid being in the same district as his colleague, the late Gailanne Cariddi of North Adams. Then-Rep. Paul Adams, Republican, also moved within the town of Andover to get out of the same district as then-Rep. Jim Lyons. Adams ultimately decided to run for Senate instead of trying to stick in the House in a new district, and lost to Sen. Barry Finegold.
The timeline for a new Congressional district map could be longer given that members of Congress do not face any of the same residency requirements as House lawmakers, Moran said, and he's unclear whether districts for the eight members of the Governor's Council will be released with House and Senate maps, or later.
The 2020 Census showed that Massachusetts' population climbed to over 7 million people over the last decade, a 7.4% increase that outpaced the 4.1% average growth rate in the Northeast and equaled the growth rate of the country as a whole.
The population count ensured that Massachusetts could keep all nine seats in the U.S. House, after losing one seat in the last round of apportionment. While the boundaries of those districts are expected to shift based on population trends, legislative leaders have already said it's unlikely any member of Congress would find themselves in the same district as another incumbent.
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"'A different approach': State Sen. Adam Hinds launches bid for lieutenant governor"
By Danny Jin, The Berkshire Eagle, October 13, 2021
PITTSFIELD — Seeking to “reimagine” the role of lieutenant governor, state Sen. Adam Hinds will focus on addressing inequalities that have widened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adam Hinds is running for Lieutenant Governor because now is the moment for visionary leadership to take on the big challenges we face. He currently represents the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden District in the Massachusetts State Senate. For more information, please visit www.adamhinds.org.
Hinds, 46, a Pittsfield Democrat who joined the Senate in 2017, formally announced his campaign for lieutenant governor Wednesday morning, in front of Pittsfield City Hall.
Citing growing racial, economic and regional inequalities, Hinds said his campaign would feature proposals to make child care universally accessible and affordable, expand access to housing and jobs, and improve public transportation, including through providing fare-free options.
“It’s my sense that given this moment, the role of lieutenant governor can be a center of gravity for rethinking and redesigning our systems and our institutions and really leading an all-of-government approach for doing that,” Hinds said. “I have a background of bringing people together to take on big challenges, and that position, actually because of its flexibility, allows you to do that.”
In the Senate, Hinds chairs the Committee on Revenue and the Committee on Reimagining Massachusetts: Post-Pandemic Resiliency. He points to his time leading the “reimagining” committee, which released its first report last week, as proof that he has the skills to help Massachusetts rebuild from the pandemic.
Hinds feels that the state has not acted aggressively enough to confront climate change, rising housing costs and wage stagnation, among other issues.
“It’s clearly time for a different approach,” Hinds said. “And so, here’s my question: Are we going to recognize that we can only do that if we fight for every corner of the commonwealth? And that’s one reason we’re starting in Western Massachusetts.”
More than a dozen community members stood behind Hinds during his announcement, including author Ty Allan Jackson, Register of Deeds Patricia Harris and Pittsfield Director of Cultural Development Jennifer Glockner. Also joining Hinds were his parents, and Alicia Mireles Christoff — Hinds’ wife and an associate professor of English at Amherst College — carried 4-month-old Rafael Fernando Hinds in a stroller.
The only other sitting lawmaker seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor is state Rep. Tami Gouveia, D-Acton, who entered the race in June and has centered her background in public health.
With Hinds set to leave the Senate, state Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, is expected to pursue the seat.
Representing the 52 cities and towns of the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden district is Hinds’ first stint in elected office, but he had experiences working on political campaigns far earlier.
State Senator Adam Hinds
Hinds 46, who joined the Senate in 2017, feels that the state has not acted aggressively enough to confront climate change, rising housing costs and wage stagnation, among other issues.
Hinds worked on the 2000 reelection campaign of U.S. Rep. John Olver and the 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry before heading to work for the United Nations in the Middle East for nearly a decade. The Buckland native returned to Western Massachusetts in 2014 to become founding director of the nonprofit Pittsfield Community Connection, and he served as executive director for the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition before running for state Senate in 2016.
From his time in the Senate, Hinds referenced his work to secure funding for transportation improvements and support for school districts with declining enrollments, as well as for local projects such as the Berkshire Innovation Center and the Greylock Glen outdoor recreation center.
A former Pittsfield state senator, Ben Downing, also is seeking higher office in 2022. Downing is pursuing the Democratic nomination for governor, along with state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz, D-Boston, and Harvard University political theorist Danielle Allen.
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has not said whether he plans to run for reelection, and Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat, has said she will announce this fall whether she plans to run for governor.
Hinds is pointing to his time leading a state Senate committee as proof that he has the skills to help Massachusetts rebuild from the coronavirus pandemic.
The race ahead
Both Hinds and Gouveia, the two sitting lawmakers who have announced runs for lieutenant governor, have positioned themselves as progressives. Bret Bero, a Boston businessman, and Scott Donohue, a Melrose Democrat, also have said they are running, although more Democrats are expected to jump in if Healey runs for governor.
Hinds has the early edge in fundraising, reporting nearly $174,000 in his campaign account at the end of September. Gouveia reported just below $32,000, Bero had around $167,000 and Donohue reported no cash on hand.
The week she launched her campaign, Gouveia unveiled endorsements from five lawmakers, including state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, a high-profile progressive who, like Gouveia, is an Acton Democrat.
In a visit to Springfield, Hinds received his campaign’s first major endorsement. State Sen. Adam Gomez, D-Springfield, elected last year in a progressive challenge, called Hinds “the sort of transformational leader Massachusetts needs.”
Other lawmakers have offered positive comments without endorsing publicly. Berkshire County state Reps. John Barrett III, D-North Adams; Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield; and William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, all have said they see Hinds as a strong candidate.
State Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, called Hinds “highly effective” in their collaborative work on priorities such as supporting rural schools, building passenger rail networks and expanding broadband and cell phone access.
“He’s been a rural champion since I got in the building,” Comerford said.
Former North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright is supporting Hinds, who was executive director of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition and, later, a first-term senator toward the tail end of Alcombright’s time as mayor.
“He still stands for and fights for everything he ran on [for Senate]: climate, housing, child care, transportation — those are really the critically important issues to him,” said Alcombright, who called Hinds “a great people person.”
Alcombright also has endorsed Downing, Hinds’ predecessor, for governor.
The Democratic and Republican primaries are scheduled for September 2022, but candidates first must receive at least 15 percent of votes at the state party convention to get on the ballot.
Caption: Adam Hinds with family: Hinds shares a moment with his wife, Alicia, and 4-month-old son, Rafael, after he announced his run.
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October 16, 2021
"Former state Sen. Andrea Nuciforo, D-Pittsfield, added $50,000 to his campaign account in August [2021] but said Tuesday evening [October 12th, 2021] that he chose not to run for his former seat. Professional and personal obligations, he said, persuaded him not to run in a large district, which would grow from 52 to 57 cities and towns under the proposal that the Legislature released Tuesday[, October 12th, 2021]."
Source: "It's official: State Sen. Adam Hinds running for lieutenant governor", By Danny Jin, The Berkshire Eagle, October 12, 2021
I am relieved that my Enemy #1 derisively known as "Luciforo" or Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior chose not to run in next year's 2022 Berkshire State Senate election because he put me, as well as my dad who was an elected Berkshire County Commissioner decades ago, through a conspiratorial living Hell that I have written and blogged about for many years now and that I never want to relive again in my short time living on Earth.
Nuciforo had to step down from the Massachusetts State Senate in 2006 because he was illegally double dipping with Boston's big banks and insurance companies. Did Nuciforo really believe that we would forget that after only 16 years?
For decades, Nuciforo has told people that his true political ambition is to be elected to U.S. Congress. In 2004, when John Kerry was running for U.S. President, Nuciforo and John Kerry wore matching tuxedos at a swanky campaign event where the "Bos-Wash" financial elites and their highly paid lobbyists donated big money to John Kerry's unsuccessful presidential campaign. The difference between Nuciforo and John Kerry is that Nuciforo is a fringe politician while John Kerry is a billionaire blue blood with family roots going back to Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop (who served during 1631 - 1648).
Ever since I first met Nuciforo in the Spring of 1996 when I was 20 years old, or over 25 years ago now, I still cannot believe how mean-spirited he was to me and my father during the time Nuciforo served in Boston (1997 - 2006). Why did all of this happen? It is like I lived in The Twilight Zone. If I were a politician like Nuciforo was in Boston many years ago now, the last thing I would want to do with my time is hurt "Jon Melle". Rather, I would want to work in state government to help people and advocate for taxpayers.
In closing, Nuciforo is a fringe politician and he always will be, and he should permanently retire from politics for everyone's sake.
Jonathan A. Melle
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October 17, 2021
Hello Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) Editors,
I read Danny Jin's op-ed, below, that basically says that the Berkshire legislative delegate Incumbents - Chrome Dome Adam Hinds, Shitty (Smitty) Pignatelli, Trippy Country Buffet (Tricia Farley Bouvier), and "the Mayor" John Barrett III will all still be in their musical chairs elected seats in Boston throughout the next decade - the 2020s. Chrome Dome Adam Hinds bid for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts may not succeed, but he will have statewide name recognition in future state elections. Basically, it will be "Business as usual" from Boston all the way west to the beautiful Berkshires. The problem with that is that Boston's Statehouse only does DISSERVICES to the beautiful Berkshires. State administered aid to local governments and public school districts is always underfunded. Beacon Hill lawmakers are still sitting on $10 billion in cash for months now, while public schools, infrastructure, state funding, and so on are all in need of financial assistance from Boston's useless career politicians. If Berkshire County wants to stop having statewide declines in its population decade after decade, then invest needed state funds into working class or affordable housing, as well as subsidized and public housing for the region's underclass. Poor and working class people can only work if they have housing within their limited financial needs. Public policy is not rocket science, Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) Editors. The state provides the financial assistance via state funding, aid and public programs to help a region such as Berkshire County meet its important needs for well performing public schools, affordable housing, police and fire, roads and bridges, and so on. Instead, Chrome Dome, Shitty, Trippy Country Buffet, and the Mayor all collected their 3 pay raises earlier this year of 2021 and are still sitting on $10 billion in state cash that rightfully belongs in the pockets of the people and taxpayers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Jonathan A. Melle
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Danny Jin | Beacon Hill to the Berkshires | "Berkshire County to lose a Statehouse seat, elect a new state senator"
Op-Ed by Danny Jin, The Berkshire Eagle, October 16, 2021
When the Massachusetts Legislature begins its 2023 session, Berkshire County will send a different-looking delegation to the Statehouse.
First, it will be one person smaller. The four Berkshire County representatives in the 160-member House will be cut to three in redistricting, a result of continued population decline in the county.
It also will have a new senator. State Sen. Adam Hinds, a Pittsfield Democrat first elected in 2016, is leaving to run for lieutenant governor, and voters will elect someone else to represent the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden district, which is set to grow from 52 to 57 cities and towns in redistricting.
State Rep. Paul Mark, a Peru Democrat first elected in 2010, is expected to run for Hinds’ seat, avoiding a race against one of his fellow representatives.
Lawmakers typically try to avoid clashes between incumbents when redrawing legislative maps, and state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, has said that the redistricting committee, of which she is a member, asked her to draw two proposals: one in which Mark was a House member (in that case, Mark likely would have become a Franklin County representative), and one in which he was not.
What it means for Berkshire County
Most immediately, the loss of a Berkshire County seat means the county will lose one of its voices on Beacon Hill and, as a result, may lose influence in state government.
Berkshire County lawmakers saw the change coming. During redistricting a decade ago, they barely hung onto the seat, they said. While Mark’s district kept its Berkshire County name, it shifted to the point that more than two-thirds of its residents lived in Franklin County.
The proposal that the Legislature released Tuesday matches the proposal Farley-Bouvier submitted for the now-three Berkshire districts. State Reps. John Barrett III, D-North Adams, and William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, each have said that, if reelected, they look forward to representing their new districts as redrawn in the proposal.
Even though Berkshire County kept its Senate seat, the continued expansion of the district has implications for residents’ access to government. Many of the district’s communities share common priorities, but whenever a district expands, its senator has to respond to more communities with unique needs. The Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden district will almost certainly remain the largest geographically and one of only two districts that stretch across four counties.
Western Massachusetts lawmakers say they already work as a bloc to advance priorities such as upgrading transportation, infrastructure and creating jobs in the region, but the coming years will be particularly important as lawmakers seek to avoid similar population decline and more redistricting challenges a decade down the line.
As Berkshire County’s former industrial economy has given way to an economy built around nonprofits and the service sector, lawmakers have embraced a “nature and culture” approach, seeking to bring money into the region through tourism. In the longer term, they have prioritized broadband, education and transportation improvements in an attempt to attract companies and remote workers.
With a present opportunity to make big infrastructure investments, and projects such as the Greylock Glen outdoor recreation center moving forward, the decade ahead will test that approach.
What’s next for the Senate seat
Hinds’ intention to depart the Senate means the region will lose seniority in the Senate. While seniority allows lawmakers to nab more powerful leadership roles, even first-term Democratic senators — and Berkshire County has elected only Democrats since 1996 — typically get to chair a committee, given the party’s supermajority in the 40-member Senate.
Hinds chaired the tourism, arts and cultural development committee in his first term, and he now chairs the revenue committee and the “reimagining” committee, which is tasked with helping the state adapt to challenges created or augmented by the pandemic (that’s also a key theme of Hinds’ statewide campaign).No candidate has launched a bid to succeed Hinds in the Senate since Hinds’ announcement. Colleagues, however, expect Mark to run, and Brendan Phair, an independent from Pittsfield, said in April that he planned to run for Senate.
Former state Sen. Andrea Nuciforo Jr. had said last month he would run if Hinds vacated the seat, but said on Tuesday that he no longer plans to run. He cited personal and professional obligations, as well as the expansion of the district.
Like Hinds, Mark has aligned himself with progressives, although they come from different backgrounds. Hinds worked for the United Nations in the Middle East and returned to Western Massachusetts to lead two Berkshire County nonprofits before running for Senate.
Mark got his start working at Bell Atlantic, now Verizon, and used union benefits to pay for his five educational degrees. In a campaign for Senate, he would receive support from local and statewide labor groups, as well as from his House colleagues. In the House, Mark has focused on public higher education, worker ownership and clean energy, among other priorities.
What’s next for Adam Hinds
Launching his campaign, Hinds centered themes similar to the ones that have dominated his work with the “reimagining” committee. Racial, economic and regional inequalities, he said, require “reimagining” the lieutenant governor role to “be a center of gravity for rethinking and redesigning our systems and our institutions.”
Hinds’ priorities — housing, child care, climate change, transportation and job creation — closely match those of the other sitting lawmaker to have launched a campaign for lieutenant governor. State Rep. Tami Gouveia, a second-term Democrat from Acton, entered the race in June and has a background in public health and social work.
Gouveia already has some big-name progressives backing her in state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, and state Rep. Nika Elugardo, D-Boston.
Hinds, on the other hand, has a significant edge in fundraising with over $170,000 in his account at the end of September. He has eyed a statewide run for months, but even earlier, Hinds made payments to Boston-area political consultant Kevin Ready as early as September 2019. Hinds brought Ready on not necessarily to help build up for a statewide run, but because Hinds wanted to grow his statewide profile to have greater sway over legislation, a Hinds staffer has said.
The race is likely yet to develop fully, and Hinds will have time to leverage his Senate relationships for endorsements. State Sen. Adam Gomez, a first-term Springfield Democrat, was the first to back Hinds.
Gov. Charlie Baker has not announced his intentions for 2022, but if the popular Republican runs, Democrats would face an uphill battle. Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat, is still waiting to decide — some believe Baker is waiting to freeze Healey out — but if Healey runs for governor, more Democrats may jump into the race for lieutenant governor.
Party insiders also have linked another Western Massachusetts state senator, Eric Lesser, with a possible run for either lieutenant governor or attorney general if Healey leaves to run for governor. Lesser — a Longmeadow Democrat, former Obama White House staffer and Harvard Law School graduate first elected in 2014 — would bring nearly $600,000 in campaign funds.
In a statewide race, the reality is that the communities most familiar with Western Massachusetts lawmakers have far fewer voters than those in the eastern part of the state. Hinds, as a result, likely would have to spend much of his time campaigning away from his district.
Take, for instance, former state Sen. Ben Downing, who is running for governor. A Pittsfield native, Downing has drawn upon his Berkshire County roots while focusing on building support near Boston, where he now lives.
Jane Swift, who won a term as lieutenant governor in 1998 and became acting governor in 2001, once served in the Senate seat that Downing once held and that Hinds now holds. Swift, a Republican and a North Adams native, said she believes candidates can use the experience of representing a region where residents feel overlooked to their advantage on the campaign trail.
“The issues may be different, but the sentiment remains the same, so if you can translate to New Bedford and Haverhill or Leominster, Fitchburg, the ways in which you effectively garnered resources, attention and advocacy for non-Boston areas of the commonwealth,” Swift said, “I think that can be a very effective way to utilize your Western Mass., Berkshire County roots to build an electoral base that’s much broader.”
With the Democratic primaries set for September 2022, Hinds will have just under a year to make that case.
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"Launching Senate bid, state Rep. Paul Mark aims to help 'working families'"
By Danny Jin, The Berkshire Eagle, October 18, 2021
PITTSFIELD — State Rep. Paul Mark is running to represent the Berkshires in the state Senate, he says, “to really make a difference for working families.”
And he’s doing so with the support of his fellow Berkshire County representatives, local labor leaders and other area Democrats.
Mark, a Peru Democrat first elected in 2010, announced his candidacy for the Senate on Monday in Pittsfield’s Park Square. State Reps. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield; John Barrett III, D-North Adams; and William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, endorsed Mark at the event, which was attended by more than 30 people, including local Democratic officials and activists.
State Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, is running for lieutenant governor and will not seek reelection in the Senate.
With funds flowing to the state from Washington, Mark sees an opportunity “to undertake projects that are once in a generation and transformational to the region.” He says his record makes him the right person for the job, pledging to build upon his work in the House if voters elect him as senator for the 57-municipality Senate district, which covers all of Berkshire County and parts of Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden counties.
State Rep. Paul Mark is running for the state Senate seat that covers 57 Western Massachusetts cities and towns, including all of Berkshire County and parts of Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden Counties. Fellow state representatives, local labor leaders and other Democrats joined Mark, a Peru Democrat first elected in 2010, as he made the announcement in Park Square, Pittsfield. State Sen. Adam Hinds is running for lieutenant governor and will not seek reelection.
“I’ve taken on the fight for Medicare for All and access to health care,” Mark said. “I’ve taken on the fight for student debt relief and additional funding for vocational programs across our state. I’ve pushed for big and transformative solutions to combat the climate crisis while providing good-paying jobs for our communities and ensuring Western Massachusetts has access to affordable transportation and high-speed broadband.”
Mark’s announcement has been expected after the Legislature’s proposed redistricting maps eliminated Mark’s House district, cutting Berkshire County’s four House seats to three. Had Mark run for reelection, he may have become a Franklin County representative; Farley-Bouvier said she submitted one map to the redistricting committee in which Mark would still have had a House seat.
Liz Recko-Morrison, a union member with the Massachusetts Community College Council, introduced Mark as “a champion of the rights of working families.”
“Paul understands what it’s like to come from a family that doesn’t know whether they are on secure ground,” said Recko-Morrison, Berkshire Community College’s coordinator of assessment and testing. “He understands that unions make lives bearable, in fact move people into the middle class.”
Mark hailed his late father and the late state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, D-North Adams, as he shared his personal story, from growing up in a union family to his time as a member of the Legislature.
His father, a Teamster, worked in a warehouse until “everything changed” when Mark was 12 and that warehouse shut down.
“The next three years, we struggled financially, lost homes,” Mark said. “There were times when we even went without hot water… There were days when I wouldn’t eat at school so I wouldn’t let other kids know I was on a voucher.”
He spent a year in college before dropping out when he realized he could not afford it, Mark said. Afterward, he worked at Bell Atlantic, now Verizon, and joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Union benefits largely paid for his five educational degrees, which include a law degree and another professional doctorate in law and policy.
His and others’ personal experiences — “from working-class cities to rural hill towns, I’ve met family after family who know and feel the struggles,” Mark said — have informed his work on Beacon Hill.
Mark, who said he is the only member of the Legislature from a town of under 1,000 people, has chaired the redistricting committee and now serves as vice chairman for the telecommunications, utilities and energy committee. He has worked on legislation to address student debt, bolster funding for public higher education and promote worker ownership, among other priorities.
Barrett said that once the delegation learned of Hinds’ departure, they wanted Mark to run for Senate.
“Each and every one of us in unison said, ‘Paul has to run. He has to be our candidate,’ ” Barrett said.
Farley-Bouvier said Mark has been “a strong partner in representing and advocating for Pittsfield” and also knows rural communities’ needs.
“For those reasons and for many more, Paul has earned my support for state Senate,” she said.
Pignatelli, who called Mark “the best choice” for Senate, said he and Mark have the two geographically largest districts in the House, although Mark’s district will be eliminated in redistricting.
“Sadly, we’re losing a voice,” Pignatelli said of redistricting. “We’re going to be losing Paul Mark’s voice, but here’s our opportunity to retain Paul Mark’s voice.”
Berkshire County Sheriff Thomas Bowler and Pittsfield City Councilor At-Large Pete White stood behind Mark as he announced his campaign, and Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington and Pittsfield City Councilor At-Large Yuki Cohen also attended.
Mark’s campaign for Senate is holding a meet and greet, its first official event, from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Becket Arts Center, 7 Brooker Hill Road. He has represented 29 cities and towns across Berkshire, Franklin and Hampshire counties, and he pledged “to spend every hour I possibly can going to every one of [the Senate district’s] 57 cities and towns” during the campaign.
Mark is the first Democrat to enter the race. Former state Sen. Andrea Nuciforo, D-Pittsfield, has said he will not run for the seat he held from 1997 to 2007. Brendan Phair, an independent from Pittsfield, has said he is running.
Democratic primaries are scheduled for September 2022, and the general election will be held that November.
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October 18, 2021
Re: Will Paul "Marxism" only work for the politically connected few?
I read some of the news articles today about Berkshire area State Representative since 2011 named Paul Mark (also known as Paul "Marx") running for Berkshire State Senator in 2022 with the nearly full support of the politically connected few publicly endorsing his campaign on Park Square in Pittsfield Massachusetts today (Monday, 10/18/2021). I followed Representative Paul Mark's public record, and it is one of supporting hundreds of millions of dollars in state tax breaks for Boston area politically connected businesses who are nowhere to be found in the beautiful Berkshires. It is one of voting in near lockstep with the top down Speaker(s) of the Boston State House in favor of closed door State House rules, tax hikes on the struggling working class such as his vote to raise the state's gas tax, and voting for the all to powerful Speaker(s) of the Boston State House who always favors the politically connected few, while leaving the public in proverbial Siberia or the Russia-like one political (Democratic) Party rule. What exactly has Paul Mark accomplished for Berkshire County and Western Massachusetts during his decade in Boston? I would like to know because I am unable to list any of his public accomplishments for the beautiful Berkshires other than him voting for his own 40% legislative pay raise in early-2017 and collecting countless other legislative pay raises that have cost state taxpayers tens of millions of tax dollars. Why is Beacon Hill still sitting on $10 billion in cash for months on end? Does Paul Mark have a plan on how to allocate this huge sum of state cash? Will Paul "Marxism" only work for the politically connected few? My prediction is that the politically connected public unions and Boston State House special interests will benefit greatly from a future Berkshire State Senator Paul Mark, while the people and taxpayers will still be in Siberia under Paul "Marxism".
Jonathan A. Melle
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October 19, 2021
Hello Patrick Fennell,
As a student of economics and finance in politics and government, I will say with total certainty that there is no economic and financial system in human history that has worked. The problem with PAC Man Richie Neal's K Street Capitalism is that the politically connected few and wealthy get all of the economic and financial gains, despite President Joe Bide wanting to spend between $10 trillion to $15 trillion in 2021 alone without U.S. House Ways and Means Chairman Richie Neal raising even a small fraction of the federal revenue to pay for it all. The problem with Paul "Marxism" Socialism or Communism is that his decade-long public record on Beacon Hill clearly shows that he always votes for the politically-connected few in Boston and its "Starbucks" suburbs, while he only does DISSERVICES to Western Massachusetts and the "Dunkin Donuts" working class and underclass people throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. If Paul Mark believes that I am wrong about his public record in Boston, then by all means, please tell Paul Mark to make his case and defend his pay raise votes, his votes to give hundreds of millions of dollars in state tax breaks to Boston area politically connected big businesses, his votes for the top down Boston State House leadership, and so on. In closing, PAC Man Richie Neal only serves K Street lobbyist firms, while Paul "Marx" only serves the politically connected few in Boston, despite the former being a Corporate Democrat and the latter being a Paul "Marxist" Democrat.
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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November 6, 2021
Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
Someone insulted me again today on your blog Planet Valenti by writing: "If this BBB does pass, I’m going to join the ranks of Jonathan Melle and TSChapman. I too, will sit around and complain about everything, all while doing nothing….but collecting my government check."
I understand that I cannot post a reply to all of the insults I receive on your blog. Otherwise, you will email me telling me you will have to take action against me posting more than one time per day. All I can do is email you. I served our country Honorably. The then U.S. President ordered me a hearing during the Summer of 2004 close to the White House, which sent me a letter saying that the President, George W. Bush, sends me his regards, at the VA Central Office in Washington, D.C. During my time in Germany in the U.S. Army, a fellow Soldier held a steel bar to my head threatening my life, and I told him to go to Hell. When the incident was over, my immediate U.S. Army Sergeant and Staff Sergeant said that only I was going to be punished for using disrespectful words to a fellow Soldier. They sleep deprived me for several days and nights on end, and then gave me an illegal order to drive a 5-ton U.S. Army truck over civilian road in the middle of January of 2001. A month prior, a fellow American Soldier who was sleep deprived due to him partying the night before jackknifed a 5-ton U.S. Army truck into a German mother driving her young son to an elementary school because the Soldier fell asleep at the wheel. There was outrage about his tragic accident in Germany, and that Soldier was Court Martialed and sent to military prison. What the Hell was I supposed to do? My life was threatened, I was given illegal orders after being sleep deprived, and I was out in the field in a freezing winter in Germany. I believe I tried to do the right thing for Germany and our Country, the U.S.A. I was sent to the U.S. Army Psychiatrist, and I was given an Honorable Discharge. I collected the Veterans benefits I have earned, but I returned to the States only to be chronically unemployed, without health insurance for years on end, wrongfully indicted on 2 felony allegations by the State of New Hampshire for multiple years of my life, and insulted over and over again on blogs and by vindictive Western Massachusetts' politicians, especially Nuciforo and his fringe political network, who knew my dad when he was a Berkshire County Commissioner from 1997 to mid-2000. I believe that people respect me, and that I live in a grateful country that takes care of me for my Honorable military service. What ever happened to being a Good Man? What ever happening to caring about human life? What ever happened to be healthy both physically and mentally? What ever happened to walking in "Jon Melle's" footsteps before judging and insulting "Jon Melle" for decades on end? I don't want to go down to my enemies' level. I hope to be kind and live at my own level of dignity. I enjoy reading your blog daily, and like you, I care about my native hometown of Pittsfield Massachusetts.
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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November 8, 2021
But it is O.K. to insult Jon Melle, who served our country Honorably and is a service connected disabled Veteran. It is O.K. for Mr. Fritz to call Jon Melle a Marxist over and over again. I wrote blogger Dan Valenti an open letter in response to your insult about me collecting my Veterans benefits that I earned and our country being grateful to serve me. Nonetheless, I thank you for your military service and tour in combat on behalf of our country. Note to Dan Valenti: I am a respected Veteran, but I receive daily insults from blog posters on your blog. These same blog posters who insult me are upset with Pittsfield's inner city Level 5 public schools and the progressive leadership of the Mayor, Gated Community Linda Tyer, state Representative, Trippy Country Buffet, and Berkshire County District Attorney Wrong Way Andrea Harrington. Kind of a double standard, don't you think? Pittsfield politics needs to start investing in its underclass to solve its Level 5 public schools. Poverty and broken homes are a big factor in children's behavioral issues, including in Pittsfield's failing public schools.
Jonathan A. Melle
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November 15, 2021
An alleged threat may have been made against outgoing North Adams Mayor Tom Bernard by North Adams State Representative John Barrett III. I read about it on the iBerkshires and WAMC websites. It is over the long shuttered Mohawk Theater proposed to be sold to a single bidder without the North Adams City Council's approval. Barrett told Bernard that his plan from over one decade ago, which a lot of money was invested in the property, was not being followed in the proposed sale to a private developer of the property. Bernard cited Barrett's history of bullying public officials, but Barrett said that those alleged incidences have nothing to do with this situation. Bernard publicly said that he did not have a good working relationship with Barrett. Barrett feels that Bernard's mayoral administration has treated him unprofessionally as a State Representative in Boston. Mayor Bernard only has 1.5 months left in North Adams City Hall. Barrett will most likely be in Boston for another decade if he lives that long in good health. It sounds like Bernard feels like Barrett has been hostile towards him, and that Bernard believes that Barrett's phone call crossed a line where he felt like Barrett threatened him and his family. Barrett disagrees with Bernard about him threatening Bernard, but the phone call got heated. It sounds like the two men dislike each other. Bernard asked the Speaker of the State House in Boston, Ronny Mariano, to open a State House Ethics Investigation against Barrett. I don't know what Speaker Ronny Mariano will do about Bernard's ethics complaint against Barrett. From what I heard about Barrett is that he is dictatorial and wants his agenda and political faction to win, which has alienated many people in North Adams politics for decades. I also heard people that Barrett cares about people, North Adams, would give his shirt off of his back to help people in need, has bought breakfast and lunch for his city workers, is loyal, and fights the good fights in Boston.
My dad speaks highly of Barrett. When Nuciforo filed multiple state "ethics" complaints to multiple state agencies from Boston to Pittsfield from the Fall of 1997 to the Spring of 1998 against my dad, my dad said Barrett was supportive of him. Both my dad and Barrett served as Berkshire County Commissioners at different times. My dad said they knew each other as young men as students at North Adams State College, which is now called Massachusetts College for Liberal Arts. From what my dad tells me about Barrett, I doubt that Barrett would threaten Bernard and Bernard's family over the proposed sale of the Mohawk Theater.
When my dad was a Berkshire County Commissioner from 1997 to mid-2000, Nuciforo, who was a Pittsfield State Senator, mistreated my dad and me for opposing his effort to abolish Berkshire County Government and have Boston take it over. Beginning in the Spring of 1996 (when I was 20-years-old), Nuciforo conspiratorially had many people associated with his political network bully and even threaten me for years on end without Nuciforo leaving behind his own proverbial fingerprints/DNA, but over time it became clear to me what was going on and the Nuciforo was behind it all. On two occasions in 1997, Nuciforo himself threatened me. The first time Nuciforo himself threatened me was on the lawn of the Pittsfield Courthouse during the Summer of 1997 after Judge Francis Spina was promoted by Governor Paul Cellucci when Nuciforo stared at me with an intimidating mean mug expression, and the second incident occurred during the 1997 Fall Foliage Parade when Nuciforo with his legislative aide Sara Hathaway at his side broke from his parade route and aggressively charged towards me, but then my cousin from North Adams and Uncle from Saratoga Springs NY stepped in front of me, and Nuciforo became scared and quickly walked back to his parade route with Sara Hathaway, who later became a Mayor of Pittsfield for one term (2002 - 2003) and she was just elected to the Pittsfield School Committee this Fall of 2021. Despite all of the harm and pain Nuciforo caused me as a then young man in my early-20s, (I am now 46-years-old), Nuciforo made false allegations against me to the Pittsfield Police Department during the Spring of 1998 that I was making veiled threats against him, and that if I stopped by his legislative district office on North Street during that Spring and Summer of 1998, his staff would call the police and I was to be arrested. Nuciforo did this without contacting my dad, who he was in weekly contact with in politics, but my dad found out about it, and my dad told me to stay away from Nuciforo.
The irony of Nuciforo's multiple state "ethics" complaints against my dad back then (Fall of 1997 - Spring of 1998) was that Nuciforo himself had to step down from his elected position as a Massachusetts State Senator in 2006 because he was illegally double dipping as Chairman of the State Senate Finance Committee while he also worked as a Corporate Attorney for Boston's Financial District's big banks and insurance companies from 1999 to 2006, according to a news article published by the Boston Globe in early-2007. Nuciforo tried to ruin my dad's courthouse career that began in 1970 and force him to resign as a Fall of 1996 elected Berkshire County Commissioner over state "ethics" laws, but it was Nuciforo himself who had to step down from being a State Senator in Boston for his unethical and illegal double dipping with insurance companies. Nuciforo never faced any state charges for his blatant corruption in Boston, but his political career was all but over after 2006 other than his self-deluded head. Nuciforo is still a financial and marijuana Attorney in Pittsfield and Boston, which boggles my mind, and since March of 2017, he runs a multimillion-dollar marijuana business in Pittsfield and Boston that has been written about in the Boston Globe and on its Editorial pages for his use of his political connections at both ends of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
What is my point in writing all of this? Politicians need to stop playing self-serving and at times hypocritical political games that end up hurting each other, but rather, politicians should represent the public interest by working together on a common public agenda that helps people and taxpayers alike before only helping themselves and their greedy backers. One can dream of politicians with ideals, including me, but I won't be holding my breath!
Jonathan A. Melle
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December 9, 2021
Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
Please interview the people who live in the neighborhood(s) behind former Pittsfield State Senator Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior's marijuana business named "Berkshire Roots" and ask them about Mayor Linda Tyer's inactions about the dead skunk-like odor they have to live in for Nuciforo to make his millions of dollars per year in pot profits. Please ask them about the 4 families who run Pittsfield politics, and if it wasn't Nuciforo, whose late-Mother was a Wojtkowski and whose late-Aunt was Anne Everest Wojtkowski who was the first woman Mayor of Pittsfield, would that person be able to get away with lowering the quality of life and right to fresh smelling air for an entire neighborhood(s) of taxpaying homeowners. You, blogger Dan Valenti, always write about how Pittsfield politics is always screwing over the proverbial Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski family year in and year out, so I believe what Nuciforo is doing to the neighborhood(s) behind his Dalton Avenue pot business is Exhibit A, while Mayor Linda Tyer sits back and does nothing about it. I understand that I (and my dad) have a very negative history with "Luciforo", but this time it is NOT about that, but rather, it is about the proverbial Kapanski family having to smell Nuciforo's dead skunk-like pot odors while he rakes in millions of dollars per year, while Mayor Linda Tyer is allowing it all to happen.
Best wishes,
Jonathan Melle
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Howie Carr: "Lt. gov express lane to political oblivion"
By Howie Carr <howard.carr@medianewsgroup.com>, op-ed, The Boston Herald, December 9, 2021
What sort of person dreams of becoming the next Tim “Crash” Murray?
Or, for that matter, the next Pay to Play Polito? Or Muffy Healey? Or Jane Swift? Or Evelyn Murphy? Or Tommy O’Neill?
Lieutenant governor of Massachusetts — it’s an express lane to political oblivion, and speaking of oblivion, please don’t tell me about John Forbes Kerry. He may have had a cup of coffee as LG, but his real day job has always been as a gigolo.
Right now, the state’s Democrats are anxiously waiting for a decision from current Attorney General Maura Healey about whether she will run for the open governorship.
That would create a vacancy in the AG’s office — which is even more of a dead-end position than LG.
No definitive word on which way “Hold It” Healey is leaning. But the other day, a Democrat officially filed to run for AG, one Shannon Liss-Riordan, who briefly ran for the U.S. Senate against Ed “Mr. Frosty” Markey two years ago. Does she know something?
Liss-Riordan’s credentials in the modern Massachusetts Democrat party are impeccable, beginning with that hyphenated last name. She has two degrees from Harvard and, even more significantly, she drifted into New England from Texas.
Judging from recent elections, local Democrats prefer their candidates — especially women — to be blow-ins, untainted by any deep ties to the state, like being born or raised here. You think I’m kidding — the fake Indian was born in Oklahoma, Michelle Wu and Ayanna Pressley come from Chicago, and Rep. Katherine Clark is from even further away, Colorado.
Healey herself was born in New Hampshire, which is a bit too close for comfort for local Democrats. But they’re willing to make an exception because of Maura’s other, uh, qualifications.
Another candidate for attorney general is one Quentin Palfrey. You may not remember (I know I didn’t) but he was the Democrats’ candidate for LG back in 2018.
Palfrey has a few drawbacks, though. He was born in Southboro and his family has been here since the Mayflower. If you don’t believe me, just ask him — or check out his Wikipedia entry, which seems to have been lifted straight from the Social Register.
We are informed that his father is one John Gorham Palfrey III, although Dad is “also considered John Gorham Palfrey IV or John Palfrey VI.” So what happened to John Palfrey V? But wait, there’s more.
Palfrey’s grandmother was a Roosevelt, “a daughter of Kermit Roosevelt, sister of Kermit Roosevelt Jr., sister of Joseph Willard Roosevelt, granddaughter of Theodore Roosevelt, first cousin, once removed of Eleanor Roosevelt, twice removed, of Franklin D. Roosevelt….”
As the late Boston City Councilor Freddy Langone used to say whenever John Winthrop Sears would muse on his impeccable blue blood roots, “But what have yooze done for us lately?”
With Palfrey running for AG, that leaves the LG’s fight open for, among others, state senators Eric Lesser and Adam Hinds, both from the 413 area code.
It used to be said that only two things could happen if you ran for the Boston City Council, and both of them were bad. Number one, you could lose. Number two, you could win.
Same thing is true of the state Senate, and the prospects are dimmer still if you’re from 413 land.
At least they have money — Hinds is sitting on $217,962, and Lesser has $630,756. I’m guessing Lesser especially is circling Rep. Richie Neal, age 72. Will Richie want to hang on if he’s no longer a House chairman after the mid-terms?
My guess is, yes. I mean, it’s not like Neal is a Type A personality or a titan of industry. He’s a hack’s hack, a layabout, and my prediction is he plans to hang on for another decade or two. Which is maybe why Hinds and Lesser are thinking about up or out.
Hinds, by the way, has an impeccable resume — he’s “worked” for John Kerry, the United Nations and John Olver. If that last name doesn’t ring a bell, Olver was Stanley Rosenberg’s mentor in politics. Dumb? Olver is one of the few human beings at risk for contracting Dutch elm disease.
You know, people used to run for the Legislature so they could get no-show jobs for their family and friends. Now, after the Panic, the Legislature itself is a no-show $100,000-plus job. But some of the natives still get restless.
Another state rep who’s running for LG is one Tami Gouveau of Acton. She only has $17,648 in her “warchest,” but she’s got impeccable credentials, starting with the fact that she was “outraged by the election of Donald Trump.”
That fun fact is promoted on her website. I also learned that she has two pets — Papaya and Tater Tot. Tami appears to enjoy not just Tater Tots, but fried potato treats of all kinds.
Then there’s Dan Koh. Marty Walsh is his hero — he followed “Walshmarty,” as Biden calls him, from City Hall to the Department of Labor. Koh would be a perfect fit for the job of LG, with its arduous 5-minute work week presiding over the Governor’s Council.
Meanwhile, as Maura dithers, the Democrat race for governor continues. The present field includes two state senators, Sonia Chang-Diaz of Roxbury and Ben Downing, who didn’t run for re-election a few years back. (Not that anyone noticed.)
Sonia Chang-Diaz is a POC, but she didn’t go to Harvard, nor did Downing. Plus, they were both born here — in other words, they’re unelectable, at least in a Democrat primary. (Did I mention that Downing also carries the Olver brand on his backside — he’s not a member of MENSA, in other words.)
The pre-Maura frontrunner on the Democrat side has to be Danielle Allen. She’s black, a professor at Harvard and she was born in Maryland. How can she possibly lose?
As for the rest of us, that’s a different story altogether.
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December 10, 2021
I have followed the decade-long political career of Paul Mark in the Massachusetts State House of Representatives, and it is one of only serving the politically connected in Boston that only does DISSERVICES to the people of Western Massachusetts and beyond. Paul Mark voted for his own 40 percent legislative pay raise in early-2017. Paul Mark voted for hundreds of millions of dollars in state tax breaks for politically connected Boston area businesses that don't exist in his rural Western Massachusetts legislative district. Paul Mark voted for the top-down dictatorial-like Speaker(s) of State House on Beacon Hill. Paul Mark voted against State House Rules reform measures that would have brought transparency to Boston's corrupt sausage making. Paul Mark represents the state's politically connected Labor Unions and workers. In the news article, below, Paul Mark is running on Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders Democratic-Socialist platform of free college and free single payer healthcare for Massachusetts residents without saying how he will pay for these would be state government multibillion-dollar expenses. Then there is the question of what Paul Mark has done for Western Massachusetts in the Boston State House over the past decade. What is Paul Mark's legislative record of accomplishments? Paul Mark racked up the endorsements of the Western Massachusetts' political establishment, but is that a good or a bad thing given their failed leadership in state and local government? In closing, I believe that Paul Marxism means only serving the politically connected, and that his campaign for State Senator will be "business as usual" in Massachusetts state politics.
Jonathan A. Melle
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"Rep. Mark set for Senate run"
By Bera Dunau, Staff Writer, The Daily Hampshire Gazette, December 9, 2021
State Rep. Paul Mark, who brings a small-town perspective to state politics, is running for the Senate both to increase his impact on legislation and because of redistricting realities.
Mark, 42, is a candidate in the 2022 election for the Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin and Hampshire District, which is nearly identical to the one currently represented by Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, who is running for lieutenant governor.
In recent weeks, the Democrat from Peru, with a population under 1,000, has been on the campaign trail meeting with voters.
“It’s actually been amazing,” said Mark, speaking of the reaction to his candidacy.
The Hampshire County communities in the Senate district are Williamsburg, Westhampton, Goshen, Chesterfield, Huntington, Cummington, Worthington, Plainfield and Middlefield.
Mark, who served on the House’s redistricting committee, said that there was a concern the state would be undercounted for the U.S. Census due to the impact of COVID-19.
“They came in way better than we thought,” Mark said.
However, the census still did result in population declines in Berkshire and Franklin counties. Mark noted that Berkshire County was on track to lose a House seat. In addition, Hinds was preparing to run for lieutenant governor, and a map was being floated that would have dismantled a Berkshire-based Senate district.
“How do we continue to maximize the voice of the entire region?” asked Mark.
His decision to seek election to the Senate and not the House influenced the new district lines passed into law last month, which eliminated Mark’s current district, the 2nd Berkshire, which stretches from the Berkshires to Northfield in Franklin County.
The Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden District also was preserved in the new Senate map, although it did expand eastward and will now become the Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin and Hampshire District.
Importance of access
Mark said he has no ambitions toward higher office beyond state senator, and that he’s committed to getting western Massachusetts its fair share and ensuring that it is not overlooked.
He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2010. His freshman class in the House in 2011 was actually majority Republican.
“We came in right in that anti-Obamacare Scott Brown victory wave,” Mark said.
Mark, however, was not elected as a conservative, and he’s not running for Senate as one either.
A clear line can be seen between Mark’s politics and his experiences in both the labor movement and with poverty when he was growing up.
Mark grew up in western Massachusetts, and when he was 12 years old his father got laid off from his warehouse job shortly before Christmas. This resulted in his family getting evicted and needing to rely on food stamps.
Economic pressures also made it so Mark had to drop out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst during his first year because he was unable to afford tuition.
“What held me back was access,” Mark said.
Mark subsequently started working for what was then the Bell Atlantic telephone company at age 20, and immediately joined the IBEW. The labor union afforded him the ability to get an education while working, paying for the bulk of his tuition, and he subsequently went on to earn an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, a law degree, and a doctorate.
However, Mark said that what left an impact on him was that his individual success was the result of people in his union standing together and fighting for one another as a group for the collective good.
“That made such an impression on me,” he said.
Mark also said that he saw politicians getting elected campaigning in support of the labor movement, and then voting differently in office.
“I was going to do what I said I was going to do,” Mark said.
Priorities
Some of Mark’s policy priorities are increasing access to college, vocational training and child care as well as protecting the environment.
He wants to fully fund public higher education in the state and would like to have savings plans established where the state would match individual contributions toward higher education.
Mark also is a supporter of single-payer health care.
“At a national level we need a single-payer system available,” he said.
However, Mark also supports putting into place a single-payer health care system in Massachusetts in the absence of a national system. He has been a co-sponsor of legislation that would establish single-payer health care in Massachusetts for his entire legislative career.
Mark has been endorsed by state reps. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland, William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, and John Barrett III, D-North Adams, as well as former state Rep. Steve Kulik, D-Worthington.
Small town life
Should he be elected to the Senate, Mark said he would ask to serve on the Higher Education, Labor and Workforce Development, Tourism Arts and Cultural Development, and the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture committees. He also said he would have the status of being an experienced legislator, even though he’d be a new senator.
Mark was a chairman of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 campaigns for the presidency. He got to know Sanders in 2012 while the two of them were campaigning for Sen. Elizabeth Warren in her first U.S. Senate run. However, he said he became a supporter after learning about Sanders’ policies.
“It became a no-brainer for me,” he said.
Mark currently lives in the Berkshire County town of Peru — the only member of the state Legislature from a town of fewer than 1,000 people. When Kulik and he were in the House together, they were the only two legislators living in towns with less than 2,000 people.
“Someone from the small towns understands the difference between that life and city life,” Mark said.
For instance, when he was talking to his colleagues about broadband, he explained to them how he didn’t have high-speed internet at his home. At that time Mark had satellite internet that shut off when he reached a certain limit.
Mark said the biggest challenge he’s gotten so far campaigning is learning the new distances between locations in the district, which stretches from Williamsburg to the New York border, as well as the cellphone dead spots.
With the exception of 2020, Mark said that he has put on 60,000 miles a year on a vehicle since being elected, and he said he intends to also show up for people in the Senate district should he be elected.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.
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December 29, 2021
Hello Patrick Fennell,
Ghislaine Maxwell should name all of the rich and powerful men who participated in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring. I believe that Epstein and Maxwell's ring was part of a bigger global sex trafficking ring. With so much at stake, Ghislaine Maxwell would be proverbially burned at the stake if she exposed the whole truth of the entire matter to the world. We pretty much know already that the big three are Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, and the U.K.'s Prince Andrew. What I believe we don't know is how big this could all be around the globe.
As for your email about the Lovely Linda and other Limousine/Latte Liberals blocking and/or not responding to our conservative political emails to them, I thought about multimillionaire Socialist Democrat Bernie Sanders who makes empty promises to the underclass and working-class that he will give them a whole lot of free government stuff, but his decades-long public record in the Swamp has accomplished nothing, but he is able to get away with it by blaming corporate Democrats and Republicans in the Swamp. The Limousine/Latte Liberals are about as believable as Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and Prince Andrew advertising themselves as babysitters for your underage teenage daughters and their teenage girlfriends.
From what I read about Artist Hunter Biden's $500,000 paintings is that they are really for shadow buyers to buy and sell over and over again to gain foreign access to his father's White House. Similar to the Ghislaine Maxwell trial by jury, Hunter Biden's paintings are much bigger than the initial $500,000 price tag for his otherwise worthless paintings.
When one gets into the art and entertainment business, there are Mafia-like shadow businessmen, politicians and fixers who are involved in the production and sales. My oldest brother Mark, who was killed at the age of 22 years in an automobile accident during the Summer of 1990, worked at art studios in California and Hawaii in his early-20s. I was only nearly 15 years old back then. Looking back at it and what I know now, my brother's death in Hawaii may have been a homicide by his employer and their shadow criminal network. My brother's seatbelt was cut, while the alleged driver of the car survived the crash. It is all speculation on my part, but it doesn't feel right to me.
I went through something similar since the Spring of 1996 when I was 20-years-old from the Nuciforo network when my dad, Bob, campaigned for Berkshire County Commissioner. Nuciforo had it out for my dad, and I was collateral damage. Nuciforo conspiratorially had people connected to his political network bully and even threaten me for many years without Nuciforo leaving behind his own proverbial fingerprints/DNA, but eventually I understood that Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior was behind it all. He is the dark, inbred Prince of Pittsfield politics. Nuciforo's late-Father was a Pittsfield State Senator and then a Pittsfield Probate and Family Court Judge. Nuciforo's late-Aunt was Pittsfield's first woman mayor and career professor at Berkshire Community College. Nuciforo's Uncle was a Pittsfield State Representative who was succeeded by Peter J. Larkin, then Chris Speranzo, then Trippy Country Buffet, who has held the seat for over one decade and counting. Nuciforo filed multiple state "Ethics" complaints to multiple Massachusetts state agencies against my dad when my father was a Berkshire County Commissioner and worked in the Probation Department at the Pittsfield District Court (Fall of 1997 - Spring 1998). Nuciforo made false allegations against me to the Pittsfield Police Department during the same time period (Spring 1998 - Summer 1998), but my dad found out about it and told me to stay away from Nuciforo. Nuciforo blacklisted me from employment in the Pittsfield area. Nuciforo and his network of bullies spread mean-spirited and vicious rumors against me in the Pittsfield area over many years. Nuciforo is Exhibit A in being a backstabbing and vindictive politician, and I am happy his political career is over due to his illegal double dipping with big banks and insurance companies, as well as him burning his bridges with Democrats when he wanted to oust Congressman John W. Olver, who ended up retiring, in 2012!
The government and politicians use secret police/military agencies and fixers to get things done in their favor. We live with Big Brother, and the Constitution has been a piece of paper from the 18th Century for a long time now. The rich and powerful can pretty much do whatever they want in big government and big business, while the rest of us watch billionaires like John Forbes Kerry fly around the world in his private jet lecturing us all about Climate Change. Like John Kerry gives two shits about Climate Change; he had tens of millions of investments in big oil and fossil fuel industries earlier this year of 2021. Like John Kerry gives two shits about the underclass, working-class and shrinking middle class; he owns luxurious homes on Beacon Hill, Nantucket, Georgetown (the Swamp), Pennsylvania, and Idaho. Like John Kerry gives two shits about public policy; he had two policy positions on nearly every issue when he ran for president and lost in 2004.
I asked my best friend who has twin 14-year-old daughters what he would do if someone like Bill Clinton sexually abused and exploited them. He responded that he would buy a rifle and take care of business before someone like Bill Clinton could hide behind his lawyers in state or federal court. I asked mothers of teenage girls and young women the same question, and they all responded that someone like Bill Clinton should feel fortunate that they weren't their daughters. I agree with my best friend, as well as all of the mothers of teenage daughters I spoke to about the matter.
Happy New Year 2022.
Best wishes,
Jonathan Melle
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January 14, 2022
"No doubt [Jon] Melle’s persecution delusions predate his alleged torture by the military and his alleged abuse by the pot king."
My dad was a politician in the beautiful Berkshires from the Spring of 1996 to mid-2000. During that time, "the pot king" (Nuciforo) had it out for my father, and he hurt me in the process of dishing out retribution against my dad. After my dad retired, the aforementioned "pot king" continued to persecute me for many years even after I relocated to Southern New Hampshire in the early-Spring of 2004. I am NOT delusional about it.
I am a disabled Veteran for a reason: I suffered abuse in the military, and it impacted my mental health. I am NOT delusional about it.
Stop making Dan Valenti's blog about me, please. Rather, please focus on Pittsfield politics and beyond. I respect blogger Dan Valenti, and I hope he continues his online commentary.
Jonathan A. Melle
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February 3, 2022
I have been slandered, bullied/harassed, and even threatened with violence by my political enemies in Pittsfield politics and beyond since I was 20 years old in the Spring of 1996; (I am now 46.5 years old); when my dad was campaigning for Berkshire County Commissioner, so I have my own files on them, too. It works both ways, buddy. I don't understand why politics has to be about all of us having files on each other. It is like we live in Russia or China instead of the U.S.A.!
Jonathan A. Melle
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February 14, 2022
Hello Patrick Fennell,
I remember Massachusetts politics in the year 2000. My dad finished the last 6-months as the last Chair of the Berkshire County Commission. Boston's "Big Dig" public works project had a $2 billion cost overrun and the chief bureaucrat got a huge golden parachute as his reward for the ongoing mismanagement of the boondoggle. Governor Paul Cellucci, who has since passed away, served his last full year in elected office before he resigned the state's corner office in 2001, just like his predecessor Governor Bill Weld did 4 years earlier in 1997, after President George W. Bush appointed him (Cellucci) Ambassador to Canada. I graduated from U Mass Amherst in May 1999, and 3 years later in 2002, the in-state tuition and fees there doubled in cost. I couldn't believe it, but Jane Swift was the Acting Governor that year of 2002, and she had to deal with the second worst economic recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s; 2002 was the worst recession prior to the financial meltdown on Wall Street's 2008 economic recession (when Wall Street and even foreign banks received huge federal bailouts). Anyway, to answer your question, I believe that the people who lived in Massachusetts 22 years ago in the year 2000 were a lot better off than today.
Jonathan A. Melle
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April 9, 2022
Mayor Linda Tyer is wrong to let Pittsfield's Pot King "Luciforo" to continue to stink up residential neighborhoods with skunk-odor marijuana smells behind his Dalton Avenue pot growing buildings. My own negative personal and political experiences with Nuciforo leads me to believe that Nuciforo gets away with doing anything the Hell he wants to do in both Pittsfield and Boston. Nuciforo has god-like powers to conspiratorially hurt common people such as "Jon Melle" without leaving behind his own proverbial fingerprints/DNA, illegally double dip as the Chairman of the State Senate Finance Committee while at the same time serving as a Corporate Attorney representing Boston's financial district's big banks and insurance companies from 1999 to 2006, which led to him stepping down as Pittsfield's corrupt State Senator in 2006 without Nuciforo ever facing any criminal charges for his illegal double dipping, strong arming two women candidates - Sharon Henault and Sara Hathaway - out of the 2006 Massachusetts state government so-called "election" for Pittsfield Registrar of Deeds, which was his no show sinecure for six years, upsetting the state and local Democratic Party Officials by opposing Congressman John Olver in 2012, but then Olver retired after that year's redistricting, and then Nuciforo went on to lose badly to "PAC Man" Richie Neal by 40 net percentage points in 2012, and then in 2017, using his political connections in Boston to cofound his marijuana empire called "Berkshire Roots" in Pittsfield with his retail pot store in East Boston, and using his political connections with the Lovely Linda to continue to stink up residential neighborhoods in Pittsfield with skunk-odor marijuana smells behind his Dalton Avenue pot growing buildings. Mayor Linda Tyer should stand up to Nuciforo to advocate for the residential neighborhoods so that they will be able to breathe fresh air again! In closing, I see Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior as a corrupt career politician who uses his status and connections to get away with doing whatever the Hell he wants to do in Pittsfield and Boston.
Jonathan A. Melle
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April 23, 2022
Hello, Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle),
I agree with your editorial that Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington owes a sincere apology to the couple whom she indicted via personal attacks on their character instead of using facts and evidence to substantiate her allegations of negligence in the tragic death of a baby boy in their foster care. I cannot argue with the facts that her critics present against the sitting Berkshire D.A. Andrea Harrington has at times misused her elected office for politics and to attack court officers and defendants alike. The writings against her problematic tenure as the beautiful Berkshires' top prosecutor are indeed substantiated by facts. To be fair, she has also been the target of personal attacks from day one. The Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) should present that part of it too, and the Dirty Bird should also write that Andrea Harrington has every right to practice politics, so long as it has no bearing on her legal work, as we all live in a free country. To be clear, everyone should be treated both fairly and safely in society and life, including in legal proceedings, which is the essence of the Golden Rule that has been and is written in every religion throughout human history. The Golden Rule goes for Andrea Harrington, as well as for her critics, as well as for the Dirty Bird, as well as for me, Jon Melle.
Speaking of which, I, Jon Melle, have been the subject of conspiratorial and mean-spirited personal attacks since I, Jon Melle, was 20 years old in the Spring of 1996 (26 years now) after my dad, Bob Melle, began his campaign for Berkshire County Commissioner way back then, in which he served in elected office from 1997 to mid-2000 (3.5 years). I have written about the unusual events I have unfortunately experienced over the past 26 years, and not one single person who hurt me has ever apologized - sincere or otherwise - to me in all of that time. I have had felt frustration and other emotions with the Dirty Bird when they defended people who were wronged over the years in the beautiful Berkshires, such as the homosexual former Mayor of Holyoke (Hampden County) Alex Morse, who was the subject of a homophobic smear campaign by his own Democratic Party during the Summer of 2020 when he challenged K Street's PAC Man Richie Neal in the primary election that year, while I have to always pound sand. I guess I don't count, as the Dirty Bird never publishes any of my many writings.
Jonathan Alan Melle
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May 2, 2022
Hello Patrick Fennell,
The State of Maine has an $800 million surplus, and they are giving some of the surplus state cash back to the taxpayers in Maine. Many state governments - as well as counties and municipalities and public-school districts - with surplus cash have passed 5-year ARPA spending plans and/or passed demand side tax breaks for Veterans, Senior Citizens, working class commuters by suspending the state portion of the gas tax, and so on. Beacon Hill lawmakers have spent only a fraction of their billions of dollars in Biden Bucks & surplus state cash without helping the people, families, communities, and taxpayers of Massachusetts. Why? The answer is that the corrupt career politicians on Beacon Hill only do DISSERVICES against the people and taxpayers in Massachusetts. What will happen with the billions of dollars in surplus state cash and Biden Bucks over the next couple of years? Do they think we won't ask about it in 2023, 2024, 2025, and so on? I hope they all go to jail, but Luciforo was never criminally charged for his alleged illegal double dipping in the State Senate and Boston's big banks and insurance companies in and after 2006. If you are politically connected, you can allegedly break the law and state "ethics" policies without negative consequences, which means that the billions of dollars in surplus state cash in Boston will probably go towards more political corruption as the 2020s-decade moves forward in time.
During the Wall Street led financial meltdown of the U.S. and global economy in 2008 and 2009, the Swamp bailed out Wall Street with trillions of federal dollars, as well as foreign banks in Europe and Asia with hundreds of billions of federal dollars. Why? The answer is because the real White House is on Wall Street, and the real Capitol Hill is on K Street with its army of corporate lobbyist firms. The Ruling Elites in the Swamp are said to be worth tens of millions, hundreds of millions, and in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's case over $1 billion. Why? The answer is because they are corrupt career politicians who are legally bribed, practice insider stock trading, and collect huge sums of campaign donations from very wealthy mega-donors. The Financial, Ruling and Corporate Elites are all doing very well, while the rest of us feel fortunate to cut even and maybe be fortunate enough to be able to save a few Biden Bucks. I will go back to pounding sand about it all.
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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May 8, 2022
JM’s Pittsfield politics story equals “Luciforo” persecuting my political dad, Bob, and having his provincial network trying to bully me to death, but I survived all of these years/decades later. JM’s U.S. Army story equals me receiving military medals and commendations from my U.S. Army Officers, an Honorable Discharge, the White House sending me a letter saying the U.S. President (GWB) sends me his regards, who ordered me a VA hearing in/around mid-2004 nearly one city block from the White House, and me being a 100% service-connected disabled American Veteran. When JM goes to the hospital, my statement reads that a grateful country is happy to serve me. Pick on JM all you want, but JM is a proud American Citizen and Veteran who is honored by our grateful country. Lastly, I am proud to support Andrea Harrington for reelection as Berkshire County District Attorney. She is my fellow Pittsfield sister high school graduate back in 1993. I am proud of her for all that she accomplished in her life. Andrea Harrington is a good person!
Jonathan A. Melle
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May 13, 2022
Please Google & read my blogspot pages about my negative experiences with "Luciforo"; thank you. I am not allowed to write about them anymore on this blog, and I accept that. Bullies always say that there are two sides to a story to cover their tracks. Bullies always call the victim a coward and/or make accusations against the victim. Nuciforo is accusing me of harassment against himself and others around the time my dad was a politician along with himself. Please put his accusations against me in the context of the unusual events that I was facing as a then young man in my early-20s back then. Please don't allow Nuciforo to write the narrative about me, which is a textbook example of a bully still hurting his victim. If you trust the word of a corrupt politician such as Luciforo then I would think that you would believe that a snowball has a chance in Hell. Please don't smoke his pot!
Jonathan A. Melle
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May 13, 2022
I am proud of Andrea Harrington, who graduated in my sister (THS) High School in Pittsfield along with me in 1993. Her professional accomplishments are praiseworthy. I have written that her tenure as Berkshire County District Attorney has been problematic at times. I have also written that prior to 2019 when she became the D.A., Pittsfield's violent crime rate was still in the top ten cities by population in Massachusetts, according to the FBI's annual reports. To be clear, Pittsfield has NOT changed its violent crime pandemic since 2019. As for Nuciforo, he viciously persecuted, bullied and threatened me, as well as my dad, Bob Melle, who was an elected Berkshire County Commissioner (1997 - mid-2000), he (Nuciforo) was in bed with the Boston Financial District when he was a Pittsfield State Senator, which led to him having to step down from the post in 2006, and about a decade later, he (Nuciforo) used his political connections in Pittsfield and Boston to cofound his multimillion-dollar marijuana business called Berkshire Roots for a little over 5 years since March of 2017. Nuciforo got away with being a corrupt politician for over 25 years now. D.A. Andrea Harrington probably knows all of these matters. Nonetheless, I am proud to support D.A. Andrea Harrington for reelection in 2022.
Jonathan A. Melle
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May 13, 2022
Keep proverbially shitting on Berkshire County D.A. Andrea Harrington, and I will keep proverbially pissing on all of your crap. PlanetValenti should be renamed Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski's proverbial public toilet. Pittsfield politics is corrupt. Pittsfield's streets have violent crime. Pittsfield's public schools are Level 5 failures. Pittsfield's economy is distressed and very unequal. Pittsfield's Pot King hates Jon Melle, and it is mutual. What the Hell is Andrea Harrington supposed to do about it all?
Jonathan Melle
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May 17, 2022
Hello Boston Globe,
I read your news article: "Dianne Wilkerson left Beacon Hill under a cloud of disgrace. Now, she’s asking voters for another shot." Last Autumn of 2021, Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr. told the Berkshire Eagle that he planned to run for his old State Senate seat, but thankfully, especially for me, Nuciforo decided not to run for state government elected office again this year of 2022. As I have been writing for over the past two decades about my long history of negative experiences, including the various unusual events I had to go through over the years, from Nuciforo and his political network, I told my family and friends that I was relieved when I read that Nuciforo decided to remain a private citizen. After Nuciforo's alleged illegal double dipping with the Boston area's big banks and insurance companies that led to him having to step down from the State Senate at the end of 2006, why didn't he ever face criminal charges like Dianne Wilkerson did? Was it because Nuciforo is a politically connected white man, while Dianne Wilkerson was a community activist based black woman? In closing, I think that Dianne Wilkerson being open about her past and that she paid her debt to society, while Nuciforo continues to profit off of his alleged white collar criminal political corruption over the past 16 years with his financial based law firm and multimillion dollar marijuana business, gives her the credibility that Nuciforo lacks.
Jonathan A. Melle
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May 19, 2022
Why is it always the proverbial woman who pays in court? This time around it is Monica Cannon-Grant. She is being accused of fraud in her management of the charity Violence in Boston. Last week it was a Boston Globe news story about Dianne Wilkerson, another black woman, who is running for her old seat in the State Senate after paying her debt to society. A few months ago, it was Ghislaine Maxwell, who is behind bars for her role in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring. Many years ago, it was Martha Stewart for her insider stock trading.
What about all of the men who are allegedly politically corrupt in Massachusetts and beyond? Why wasn't Nuciforo ever charged for his alleged illegal double dipping as the then State Senate Chairman of the Finance Committee while he also worked as a corporate Attorney for Boston area big banks and insurance companies, which led him to having to step down from Beacon Hill back in 2006? Was it because Nuciforo wore matching tuxedoes with then presidential candidate John Forbes Kerry during a big fundraiser back in 2004? Nuciforo never paid his debt to society for his alleged political corruption and alleged white-collar crimes, and 16 years later in 2022, Nuciforo still has a law office in Boston's financial district, in addition to his marijuana empire that he cofounded a little over 5 years ago in March, 2017. Yet, the Boston Globe recently wrote all about Dianne Wilkerson, while overlooking Nuciforo, who last Autumn of 2021 openly said he planned to run for his old State Senator seat, but then he dropped out soon thereafter.
Ghislaine Maxwell is the only person to pay for the estimated 215 men - allegedly including Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, the U.K.'s Prince Andrew - who allegedly sexually abused and allegedly raped teenage girls as young as 14 years old many years ago. When will the estimated 215 men pay for their alleged crimes?
Back in 2008 - 2009, the Swamp rewarded Wall Street executives alleged white-collar crimes that tanked the U.S. economy with well over $4 trillion federal bailout dollars. The Swamp even bailed out foreign banks in Europe and Asia who had financial firms on Wall Street with hundreds of billions of federal dollars. Meanwhile, prior to the Wall Street led financial meltdown in 2008, Martha Stewart paid for her financial crimes, while none of the wealthy men ever faced any charges for their actions.
Jonathan A. Melle
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Crime & Public Safety | "Monica Cannon-Grant, indicted for fraud in her management of charity Violence in Boston, requests speedy trial"
By Flint McColgan [flint.mccolgan@bostonherald.com], The Boston Herald, May 18, 2022
Monica Cannon-Grant, the embattled head of the nonprofit Violence in Boston that prosecutors say she and her husband used as their own personal piggy bank, wants the government to get on with a speedy trial.
“Ms. Cannon-Grant has been immeasurably prejudiced and punished by the indictment alone and she seeks a trial on the earliest practical date to challenge the government’s accusations,” the Wednesday filing in federal court states.
Cannon-Grant and her husband Clark Grant, who had already been criminally charged in a more limited capacity earlier, “agreed to use VIB as a vehicle to personally enrich themselves and their designees” according to the federal indictment unsealed on March 15.
That indictment alleges 18 fraud-related charges against the pair: two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of conspiracy, one count of mail fraud – aiding and abetting, 13 counts of wire fraud – aiding and abetting, and one count of making false statements to a mortgage lending business – aiding and abetting.
The Taunton-based couple, who the government says exercise exclusive financial control over VIB, waived the reading of the 38-page indictment when they pleaded not guilty at their virtual arraignment March 29.
The pair solicited and received a million dollars for the charity that received huge attention during the protests of 2020 but hasn’t turned key tax documents over to the state Attorney General’s nonprofit oversight office since 2019.
Among the voluminous allegations, Cannon-Grant is accused of paying herself a healthy salary from the donation-funded organization despite public statements that she took no salary, had “co-conspirators” apply for both public and private grants for the organization that actually went toward the couple’s personal expenses and received $10,400 from an unnamed department store for the stated purpose to be used to feed hungry children but actually laundered the money through a church to use to pay her back rent.
Cannon-Grant’s attorneys allege in the latest filing, the government has been slow in its discovery process and hasn’t been communicative about a timeline for certain aspects of the discovery.
Moreover, the filing alleges that initial discovery provided by the government “supports her defense,” citing an example of the grand jury testimony of “Associate 3,” who stated that the $3,000 loan backing a mortgage fraud charge was in fact a gift and wasn’t required to be paid back.
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May 19, 2022
I am getting insulted daily on the PlanetValenti blog that covers Pittsfield politics and beyond. I am being insulted for my mental health condition as a disabled Veteran, for masturbation, for being called disparaging names such as "Marxist Melle" and "Scam Artist", for supporting the progressive Berkshire County D.A. Andrea Harrington's 2022 reelection, for writing that Nuciforo has persecuted me over the past 26 years of my life, and so on. When I reply to the ongoing mudslinging, blog posters write that it is about my off-traffic ego, and they ask blogger Dan Valenti to ban me from posting on his blog. Blogger Dan Valenti wrote and posted: "We shall consider it". I ask blogger Dan Valenti to consider all of it, please.
I view blogger Dan Valenti's ongoing unfavorable writings of Andrea Harrington to be without merit, but I cannot argue with the facts he presents about her. Andrea Harrington is the least of the problems in government. There are so many corrupt career politicians in Pittsfield politics, Boston, and the Swamp, that all of them make Andrea Harrington's 3-year, 4 month and 19-day tenure as D.A. look good, despite her professional mistakes. Attorney Tim Shugrue's campaign promises to stop Pittsfield's decades of Violent Crime have been made by countless Pittsfield politicians over the years without success. Give me a break!
On a personal note, Nuciforo and his mean-spirited and conspiratorial political network of bullies mistreated me since the Spring of 1996 - as well as my father - because my dad, Bob Melle, was a Berkshire County Commissioner (1997 - mid-2000), and Nuciforo made it his mission to abolish Berkshire County Government back then.
Massachusetts politics is a one political party dominated fiefdom with a bunch of local top-down fiefdoms full of corrupt career politicians who want to suppress democracy, including Freedom of Speech, through retribution, which is the very thing that is happening to me today in Dan Valenti's blog. We are supposed to be a nation of laws, not of men. We are supposed to tear down political fiefdoms, political corruption, and the corrupt career politicians who want to suppress democracy, including Freedom of Speech!
Jonathan A. Melle
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September 20, 2022
Hello Patrick Fennell, & blogger Dan Valenti,
I agree with both of you about Chrome Dome Adam Hinds not representing the people and taxpayers who live in his State Senate state legislative district. And yes, there is a long line of useless corrupt career politicians from Pittsfield - "30 pieces of silver" corrupt GE Lobbyist Peter Larkin and plum political sinecure Chris Speranzo - and Western Massachusetts - Greedy Lobbyist Dan Bosley and Disgraced Lobbyist Stan Rosenberg - who went to Boston to only do DISSERVICES against Western Massachusetts and then step down to profit off of their political connections.
My dad, Bob, pointed all of this out over two decades ago when he was a Berkshire County Commissioner from 1997 - mid-2000. In return for my dad's political advocacy for Berkshire County, Luciforo filed multiple state "ethics" complaints against my father to multiple Massachusetts state agencies to try to destroy my dad's career and elected position. Nuciforo also tried to jail me for speaking out about his retribution against my father, myself and countless other people who lived in fear of him back then.
Ironically, Nuciforo ended up being the disgraced former Pittsfield State Senator because he had to step down from his political office in 2006 for allegedly illegally double dipping as Chairman of the State Senate Finance Committee while at the same time working as an Attorney serving Boston's big banks and insurance companies for the Boston Law Firm Berman and Dowell. The Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) called Luciforo a "Fringe Politician" in 2012 when he lost to PAC Man Richie Neal (D - K Street Insurance Company Lobbyist Firms) by 40 percentage points in the primary election.
I don't understand why Berkshire County and other powerless areas of Massachusetts even bother to send State Representatives and State Senator(s) to Boston. They go to Boston to be useless backbenchers to rubber stamp vote in favor of Beacon Hill's top-down, secretive and corrupt State House leaders. They are rewarded with 6-figure public pay plus perks for being perfect bureaucrats. When they retire, step down or resign their office in disgrace, they use their political connections to earn 6-figure or higher lobbyist salaries in Boston and beyond, which is on top of their huge state pensions plus perks. Nuciforo used his political connections in both Pittsfield and Boston to open his multimillion-dollar marijuana businesses at both ends of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which is addition to his law offices in Pittsfield and in Boston's financial district.
Meanwhile, the people and taxpayers of Berkshire County and other powerless areas of Massachusetts are always falling behind with excessively high state and local taxes compounded by systemically underfunded state aid for public education and local government services. From September 26th, 2022, to at least January 1st, 2023, the people and taxpayers who live in Chrome Dome's district will have no representation in the Massachusetts State Senate, but it won't change anything for them. Paul Marxism is next in line to be Berkshire County's next useless backbencher State Senator, which may be even worse than Chrome Dome and his forthcoming vacant elected office over a little over the next three months.
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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June 26, 2023
Chris Connell, That - not doing one's job correctly - is how one is rewarded in the government. If the government worked correctly, we wouldn't have to pay for all of the corruption and phony shell games that makes the career politicians and their wealthy backers so much money. The real reason why one "works" for the government is to CASH IN! If someone such as I - Jon Melle - "worked" for the government, and I did my job correctly, the career politicians, greedy lobbyists, and the wealthy backers would fire my ass quicker than a New York minute. However, if someone such as I - Jon Melle - "worked" for the government "incorrectly", I would become a big wheel in machine politics, and I would retire in my 50s with a 6-figure public pension plus perks that would cost taxpayers a couple of million dollars over the next 30 years of my life. I remember 23 years ago when the state's Boston "Big Dig" manager oversaw a $2 billion cost overrun (one of many huge cost overruns, of course), he received a golden parachute that included a couple million dollars, a big public pension plus perks, and probably a ticket to a lucrative position as a consultant or lobbyist. Since then, multiple innocent people have been killed in Boston's "Big Dig', which leaks millions of gallons of dirty water every day and cost state taxpayers' tens of billions of dollars. The state-run Holyoke Soldiers Home's (as well as the Chelsea Soldiers Home's) outbreak(s) of Covid-19 killed around 80-plus Veterans, and state taxpayers shelled out tens of millions of dollars in settlement funds for the victims' families. The state's social services agencies failed many innocent children, including the little girl named Harmony Montgomery who was allegedly murdered by her abusive father, Adam Montgomery, in Manchester, New Hampshire. Beacon Hill lawmakers are sitting on a record amount of surplus state dollars in the billions of dollars, while families, communities and common taxpayers are still in need of tax relief, affordable housing funds (which Becket State Senator Paul Mark recently voted down), and stimulus money. If I were in Governor Maura Healey's shoes, I would be all over these issues, but then again, I would be immediately impeached for doing my job correctly in the government. Why do you think that people dislike and do not trust politicians and their bureaucrats? - Jon Melle
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July 3, 2023
The reason why state and local government has failed Pittsfield, Massachusetts, over the past 40 years now is because of "The Iron Rule of Oligarchy", which means that the Oligarchs want all of the money and power, while the rest of us have to pound sand. The corrupt career politicians serve the Oligarchy instead of the people and taxpayers. Beacon Hill lawmakers, the Governor (Maura Healey), and the state court system of injustices all operate in complete secrecy under the state law. Beacon Hill lawmakers give away many billions of dollars in state tax breaks and give aways per fiscal year to their wealthy campaign donors. The flaw in the corrupt career politicians serving the Oligarchy is that most regions of Massachusetts do not benefit from the reverse Robin Hood policies and politics and the 40-year trickledown economics SCAM.
Pittsfield is a prime example of a distressed "Gateway" city that, I believe, is systemically mocked by the elitist snobs in Boston. To illustrate, the multibillion-dollar state lottery SCAM is really a (voluntary) regressive taxation scheme by Boston that targets the underclass, working class and even middle-class residents of Pittsfield (and distressed and very unequal places similar to it). The bigger the lottery's revenues, the more tax breaks will be given out from the wealthy special interests to the fictional Massachusetts State Representative Sellout Shakedown's campaign coffers. Some registered lobbyists on Beacon Hill earn 7-figure per year salaries pushing SCAMS such as growing the state lottery and other regressive taxation schemes for their wealthy big business clients' huge and lucrative state tax breaks and give aways.
Over the past two months of May and June through today, July 3rd, Beacon Hill lawmakers have not held any Formal Sessions. That means there have been zero roll call votes, a late pending fiscal year 2024 state budget, and state taxpayers funding their do-nothing State Representative's extended vacation. To be clear, the corrupt career politicians are only in government for the Almighty Dollar and Power so they may enrich themselves and their wealthy campaign donors at the public trough, while the rest of us have to pound sand.
Jonathan A. Melle
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February 17, 2024
Hello Erin Leahy at Act on Mass,
Just because a Beacon Hill corrupt career politician retires does not mean that they actually leave the secretive Boston Statehouse. Greedy lobbyist Dan Bosley, GE lobbyist Peter Larkin, and the disgraced Stan Rosenberg, who is a lobbyist, all collect their state public pensions plus perks for life after they retired from being Beacon Hill lawmakers, but they are still at the Boston Statehouse lobbying state lawmakers on behalf of the special interests who receive millions and collectively billions of dollars in state tax breaks per fiscal yer.
I was surprised to read that good ol' Rep. Smitty Pignatelli is a cosponsor of the Sunlight Act because for the past a little over 21 years, he has always voted down Sunshine rules and laws reforms. Similar to Smitty Pignatelli's retiring colleagues in Boston, Smitty Pignatelli will collect his 6-figure state public pension plus perks for the rest of his life. It is called greed-balls cashing in at the public trough.
I support raising the minimum wage in Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, the minimum wage is a paltry $7.25 per hour, which means that a very low-wage worker is paying the system to work, which is similar to Slavery. Most of the U.S.A.'s original U.S. Presidents and Founding Fathers owned slaves, so I guess New Hampshire is going backwards while Massachusetts is going forwards.
I support workers at the Boston Statehouse having the right to unionize. Let us not forget that the Boston news media reports that on the weeks when Beacon Hill lawmakers meet in formal session, they usually work on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, while Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays are their long weekends. In 2024, Beacon Hill lawmakers' 5-months-long taxpayer-funded vacation runs from August 1st, 2024 through December 31st, 2024.
The MBTA has a public debt-load in the tens of billions of dollars. Talk about a way to dump public debt on a state agency, just look at the MBTA's public finances. I imagine a black hole sucking up our taxpayer dollars when I think about the MBTA's public financial mess.
As for the bill(s) proposing a 5 year prison moratorium in Massachusetts, I ask, "Whatever happened to investing in people and communities instead of mass incarceration?" It is a sad state of affairs when I read about the public school to public - sometimes private - prison pipeline that Wall Street firms are earning lucrative profits off of. Instead of growing the middle class family structure, the system is growing the underclass population to record high levels.
Growing the middle class family structure is as old as socioeconomics itself. Fund public education, public healthcare, public housing, public transportation, teach financial literacy, invest in people (living wage full-time jobs) and communities (social services, public safety, good governance), and so on. Why we elect corrupt career politicians who only serve themselves and their elitist campaign donors is beyond my comprehension, but then I look at the untouchable PAC Man Richie Neal, who is a big corporate Democrat from of all places Western Massachusetts who is the darling of K Street's corporate lobbyist firms - especially big insurance companies - in the Swamp.
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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February 17, 2024
Re: Saturday Scoop: Who’s not running for reelection and why it matters
They’re dropping like flies, Jonathan!
And by “they” I mean legislators, and by “dropping like flies” I of course respectfully mean not running for reelection.
Among the lawmakers who recently announced their retirement or that they plan to seek other office this year are: Sen. Marc Pacheco, Sen. Sue Moran, Rep. Sarah Peake, Rep. Ruth Balser, Rep. Josh Cutler, Rep. Denise Garlick, Rep. Gerry Cassidy, Rep. Angelo D’Emilia, Rep. Paul Schmid III, Rep. Daniel Carey, Rep. Dylan Fernandes, Rep. Mathew Muratore, and last but certainly not least, good ol’ Rep. Smitty Pignatelli (a cosponsor of the Sunlight Act!).
Oof, I’m out of breath just typing all that.
Such a mass exodus means some key leadership positions will be up in the air; Reps Peake and Balser are both in House leadership, and several others listed above are committee chairs and vice chairs.
Some, uh, not key leadership positions will turn over as well; when he retires, Senator Pacheco will be relinquishing the entirely ceremonial title of “Dean of the Senate,” a role reserved for the longest continuously-serving senator. According to Senator Michael Barrett, the title had previously been granted to the earliest-serving senator, and let me tell you he has some feelings about it. Barrett, who began serving before Pacheco but whose long tenure in office wasn’t contiguous, feels he was wrongfully passed over for the deanship in favor of Pacheco years ago, and so claims to be a “victim of nefarious discrimination.”
Gentlemen, gentlemen, come now. There’s no need to fight. How about I break the gavel in half so each of you can preside over the first session, and share all the other non-duties and non-powers that come with the role?
Another outcome of these lawmakers moving on to greener pastures: a whole lot of open seat elections this fall. Challenging incumbents is so difficult in Massachusetts that the vast majority of legislators get elected to open seats. In fact, Massachusetts has had the least competitive elections in the country four cycles in a row – a critical reason why our legislators don’t feel accountable to their constituents (and instead feel accountable to House and Senate leadership).
But right now, it means that this election cycle poses a rare opportunity to elect more new legislators than usual. If the progressive, pro-democracy, pro-transparency movement can elect even just a handful of champions to the state house, it can make all the difference.
If anyone reading this lives in one of the districts where incumbents are not seeking reelection (listed above) and would consider running for office or know someone who should, we very much look forward to hearing from you: admin@actonmass.org.
State House Scoop
Years after unionization, Senate staff pay structure changes
Senate staff are set to get a pay raise, following the release of a study by the National Conference of State Legislatures last month that once again confirmed that state house staff are paid consistently below market rates. Across all positions, Senate staff compensation lags the market by an average of 25%, and in some positions that soars above 40%. In response, the Senate Human Resources department sent a letter to Senators and their staff detailing plans to roll out new staff positions and titles, increase salary ranges, and implement new benefits like stipends for bilingual staffers and reimbursements for professional development.
This study, the second one the Senate has requested from the NCSL since 2021, reaffirms what their staff have been saying for years: their wages are inadequate and inequitable. The Senate staff successfully formed a union almost two years ago, and have communicated demands for livable pay, clear and comprehensive leave, protections from sexual and racial harassment, and contracts negotiated by the union.
And yet, Senate leadership has refused to recognize the union, instead commissioning studies, and even hiring a “compensation specialist” to examine how to navigate pay issues (it’s worth noting that according to public payroll data, this specialist was paid $100,000 in 2022, which was nearly double the average base pay of a Senate staffer). Call me crazy, but maybe it’s a waste of time and resources to “study” this issue when the solution is quite obvious: recognize the Massachusetts State House Employee Union, and negotiate a fair contract.
Think the staffers should have a right to collectively bargain? So do we. That’s why one of our Sunlight Agenda bills explicitly codifies the right of legislative staff to unionize (S.2014 / H.3069). The bill survived Joint Rule 10 day by way of an extension, which means we have a few more months to fight to get this bill passed. Call or email your lawmakers in support of this bill today:
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS >>
ICYMI: The latest MBTA funding woes, and our blog post on how we got here
This week, Governor Healey spoke on the new task force established to examine how to bridge the gap in MBTA funding. The group will meet later this month and is supposed to issue a report by the end of the year, but the MBTA estimates its budget gap will grow to over $628 million by July. They’re currently forecasting a paltry 1% in annual revenue growth over the next five years, but expenses are expected to climb by almost 5%. This, of course, is on top of debt interest that accrues faster than the MBTA can pay it off and an ever-growing list of dire maintenance repairs.
Our Political Organizing Intern Sydney took a deep dive into how we got to this dire funding situation, and explores the myriad deliberate policy decisions that led to the T’s troubles today.
READ THE BLOG POST >>
A very happy correction
Last week we stated that the bill to establish a 5 year prison moratorium was sent to study. In actuality, while the House version of the bill (H.1795) was sent to study, the Senate version (S.1979 ) is still very much alive! The Senate bill was granted a reporting extension to 7/1. Learn more about the campaign behind this bill and get involved at justiceashealing.org/nonewwomensprison.
Take Action
Email your senators in support of the Sunlight Act!
Lead sponsored by transparency champion Senator Jamie Eldridge, this comprehensive legislation includes several transparency reforms, including requiring all recorded committee votes to be posted on the Legislature's website, requiring that committee hearings be scheduled at least a week in advance, making written testimony submitted to committees publicly available, and subjecting the Governor's Office to the state's public records law. The bill has received a favorable report from the Rules Committee, and now sits in Senate Ways & Means - the last hurdle before it can be brought to a vote and passed.
Email your senator today to express your support for the Sunlight Act and urge them to bring it to a vote this session!
EMAIL YOUR SENATOR >>
Tell your legislators to support a minimum wage increase in Massachusetts!
With the cost of so many things increasing, from food and gas to housing, we need a higher minimum wage for MA workers. This year, our friends at Raise Up Massachusetts (the coalition behind the Fair Share Amendment) are advocating for An Act relative to raise the minimum wage (S.1200 / H.1925), which would raise the minimum wage to $20 by 2027 and index it to inflation in the future.
This bill is critical to ensure that workers in Massachusetts can afford to stay in the state amidst the affordability crisis, and elected officials need to hear about it. Click the link below to show your support for legislation increasing the minimum wage in Massachusetts to $20/hr!
EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATORS >>
Are you or someone you know a low or minimum wage worker? Share your story!
As part of their #TimeFor20 campaign to raise the minimum wage, Raise Up Massachusetts is collecting the stories of people who would be directly impacted by the wage increase, i.e. people who make the current minimum wage or under $20/hour. These stories will be shared with legislators and the public to uplift the urgent need to pass this legislation.
SHARE YOUR STORY >>
That's it for this week! And by Jove, stay warm out there.
Until next time,
Erin Leahy
Executive Director, Act on Mass
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