Barrett Cruises to 1st Berkshire VictoryStaff Reports,
11:18PM / Tuesday, November 07, 2017 | |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — John Barrett III was an easy victory as state representative for the 1st Berkshire District. Barrett will complete the last year of the late Gailanne Cariddi's term.
The former North Adams mayor was considered a shoe-in for the special election after defeating three fellow Democrats in the primary last month. He swept over Republican Christine Canning with all but Florida and Hancock reporting in. No Republican has held the seat in more than 30 years.
"Since beginning our campaign back in July, our message has been resonating with people from all walks of lives and all ages," he wrote on Facebook. "It is a message that gives hope to Northern Berkshire and to the people who live here. In order to carry out our vision, we need to win this election. We need a strong voter turnout, or all the work we have done will have been for naught.
"As your state representative I will work tirelessly on your behalf to make Northern Berkshire the best it can be."
State Democratic Party Chair Gus Bickford congratulated Barrett on winning the special election.
"John has dedicated his career to fighting for the issues and concerns most important to the district and will bring that tenacity and commitment to the State House," he said.
Barrett won Canning's hometown of Lanesborough by 30 votes, 142-112. Of the town's 2,311 registered voters, only 263 votes were cast, or 11 percent. He took Clarksburg almost 4 to 1, with 243 vote to Canning's 63. There were 12 write-ins and turnout of 27 percent.
Only 46 ballots were cast in New Ashford out of 193 voters; Barrett won 24-21 with one write-in vote for Lisa Blackmer.
Williamstown also gave Barrett an easy win of 728-230 but with 95 write-ins. There had been a flurry of activity online about recording blanks or write-ins as protest votes against him, largely because of the hard-nosed reputation he earned during his 26 years as mayor.
There were 156 write-ins and 45 blanks cast in North Adams, which did little to stop Barrett steamrolling Canning 2,588 to 681.
Cheshire also handed an easy victory to Barrett 282-113, with four write-ins. Some 399 ballots were cast out of 2,413 registered voters, or 17 percent. Adams polled 842 for Barrett and 193 for Canning.
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