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Farley-Bouvier Wins Dem Nomination for 3rd District
Joe Durwin,
11:12PM / Tuesday, September 20, 2011

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Tricia Farley-Bouvier captured the Democratic nomination for 3rd Berkshire District in a special election primary on Tuesday that saw low turnout.

Farley-Bouvier, a former city councilor, topped her opponents by only a few hundred votes, garnering 1,430 votes to Peter White's 1,234 and Ryan Scago's 1,082.

 

 

 

Farley-Bouvier is now in a four-way race to fill the 3rd Berkshire District seat.

About 17 percent of registered voters went to the polls. Votes were also cast in the Green-Rainbow Party primary for Mark Miller and as write-ins the Republican Party primary to place Mark Jester on the ballot for October.

Farley-Bouvier was magnanimous in victory, saying that she had "tremendous respect" for the other two candidates.

"This was the cleanest, friendliest campaign I've ever participated in," she told iBerkshires on Wednseday.

She will face off in less than a month against Miller, Jester and independent Pam Malumphy to see who will fill the state representative seat left vacant by Christopher Speranzo.

Meanwhile, White says he will mount a write-in campaign to see if he can hold onto his Ward 2 seat on the City Council. Kevin Morandi is running unopposed for the seat; White beat him for the council spot two years ago. Under Massachusetts electoral law, there is no minimum number of votes required for a write-in candidate — to win, they simply have to receive the highest number of votes.

"I'm not done serving Pittsfield," White told supporters gathered at Patrick's Pub on Tuesday. "I'm not ready to give up my Ward 2 seat."

White pledged to support Farley-Bouvier going forward in the special election.

"Make sure you listen to what goes on in this campaign, because everything we've talked about in this campaign still needs to be fought for. We still need single-payer health care, we still need jobs in Pittsfield, we still need to change our educational system," he said.

Farley-Bouvier also praised White's announcement that he will seek election through a write-in campaign for Ward 2. "At the very beginning of this campaign, I told Pete how valuable I believe he is on the City Council," she said. "I'm absolutely thrilled he will run for re-election to his seat."

She said one of the biggest concerns will be getting out ballot-weary voters for the special election on Oct. 18. Counting Tuesday's primary and the city's preliminary election on Tuesday, Sept. 27, it will be the third election in less than a month for Pittsfield. The general election is Nov. 8.

"The biggest surprise yesterday was the voter turnout, which was very low," said Farley-Bouvier. "So one of the big things will be educating people and making them aware that there is a special election going on."

Updated on Sept. 21, 12:03 p.m.

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