All candidates were mailed a brief set of questions about important issues to the town a month ago. Responses are listed below, organized by race.
Three Year Select Board Seat
One Year Select Board Seat
Planning Board

Three Year Select Board Seat

Candidate Anthony Boskovich declined to answer any questions.

Candidate Jeffrey Johnson’s answers:

1. The most important task facing the 2021–22 Select Board is the hiring of the next permanent Town Manager. What kind of experiences, strengths and vision will you be looking for in candidates? What will help you decide that a candidate is the right fit for this job?

Bridging relationships where political disputes arise, and ensuring that articles voted in by Town Meeting are implemented is vital. Developing disciplinary protocols which involve negotiations with union representation would be an asset. I am looking for a person with a proven track record of exercising real oversight over all of department heads, including the police chief. Our next town manager needs to be an excellent communicator, trustworthy, respectful, ethical, approachable, and have the INTEGRITY TO ALWAYS BE HONEST. If elected as a member of your select board, I would continue to listen to the feedback from citizens during public forums, and would bring relevant, citizen-driven questions to the town manager finalists. Most important, I will look for assistance and guidance from the community regarding who WE collectively would want to be our next town manager.

2. While it has proven possible to create some accessible affordable housing in town by financing discrete developments at great expense, it’s uncertain if this approach will continue to be viable. Do you have any specific ideas that might help create more opportunities for accessible housing?

People working in lower or minimum wage jobs need to have the ability to live in our town. Aging in place is not an option for many in our community due to limited resources. How do we plan to stay here while taxes increase with an aging, declining population? How do we attract or keep essential businesses in town if we do not have the population to support them? We need to focus on all of these areas to ensure the longevity of our town. Key to all of this is affordable, accessible housing which in turn can be connected to our Net Zero warrant initiative.

As a select board member, I will advocate for public discussions on the appropriate level of taxation and service support (land) owed by Williams College. In 2016 the people of Tompkins County, NY did just that when they questioned the state’s nonprofit colleges and universities, and their economic impact on their surrounding communities. In one highly publicized case, Cornell University and its surrounding municipalities disputed the proper level of tax and service support owed by the university. In this situation they were able to reach an agreement which worked for both the university and county. Beyond that, there are other situations around the country where there are “payment-in-lieu-of-taxes” agreements in place between colleges and towns, as well as voluntary contribution pacts. Cornell and the city of Ithaca had one of the “payment-in-lieu-of-taxes” agreements in place which has grown from $250,000 annually in 1995 to roughly $1.25 million in 2016. Those funds are utilized to provide additional steady budget support to municipal services.

Williams College currently owns land and buildings with an assessed valuatoin of $350 million dollars in our town. I very much appreciate what the Williams College community brings in terms of employment opportunities, increasing diversity, and expanding our access to the arts. I am not saying Williams should begin to pay full taxes to the town on the entire amount of the property owned, but it is time for negotiations to explore the possibilities. Middlebury College did something similar to this and has a 20-year agreement that the town forged with the college in 2004. In their situation the amount of the payments is tied to both the town tax rate and the investment return rate on the college’s endowment. I will work with our town committees to develop a potential agreement with the college and utilize a portion of new funds to directly support a common goal of increasing accessible housing. Exploring ideas such as purchasing/developing the Sweet Brook property, and more centrally building on the former town garage location, could provide multiple new residential options in our town. I will sit down with local banks and the Affordable Housing Trust to identify ways that we can offer mortgage support for families interested in purchasing a home here like the program the Town of Wellfleet offers. Let’s research what other towns are doing and borrow ideas that way as well.

3. Would you support increasing the density of the zoning in some parts of town, most particularly in general residential, in order to permit the development of more accessible affordable housing?

Yes, we need to look at everything possible to expand the residential options in our town! The total population in Williamstown is shrinking, while our retired and elderly population continues to grow. Williams College has issues related to housing for professors and we have other young professionals looking to start families who can’t afford to live here. Any new development should be connected to helping us decrease the number of internal combustion vehicles in line with the state/town goal to attain net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Allowing people to reside in accessible housing closer to downtown, and near existing bus routes would help to decrease carbon emissions. To do this we need to make changes to the zoning in our town. Having said this, I believe there needs to be a balance that also ensures water and sewer impacts along with equal opportunity, diversity, and affordability which is the major issue in the area of housing.

4. Given the challenge of systemic racism in our nation and the current need for addressing its harmful impacts here in Williamstown, how do you see it manifesting in Williamstown at this time? How do you plan to address it from a seat of leadership?

Since March 2020, we all have been treated equally by one common foe – Covid-19. Our lives as we knew them have been forever changed; it was none of our faults and the Coronavirus did not care what color, religion, sexual identity, or economic status we held. While sheltering in place we watched the dead count soar, our economy fall apart, unemployment hit record levels, people in food lines, parents scrambling to navigate remote schooling, and many other life altering events. We then felt the heartache of the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and many others, watched national protest intensify, watched incidents of gun violence rise across our nation, bore witness to a national election the likes of which our nation has never seen, and watched an insurrection against our democracy on January 6th, 2021. We have been through hell, and these experiences have had a major effect on all of us.

During this time, many of us began to take a critical look at ourselves and our town, and seek a path for moving forward. I began hearing stories which challenged the love I have felt in this town, versus the opposite lived experiences of some others in our town. We have heard stories that highlighted the systemic and personal discrimination in all forms – even within our own police department. I have watched at a distance the online banter which only has inflamed the divide in the experience of harm and the willingness (or not) to engage in conversation about the kind of town we all want. The divide absolutely has had a negative impact on our youth. Beginning to acknowledge our past and present issues has opened up wounds which need to be healed. Williamstown is no different than anywhere else. We have the same issues, problems, and the village has been humbled.

On August 18, 2020 the citizens of Williamstown Town Meeting made their choice clear when we voted in Articles 36, “NOT IN OUR COUNTY PLEDGE” and 37, “EQUITY”. As part of Article 37, “Quarterly reports should be shared with the Race and Equity Advisory Committee and community members to address progress towards the above goals. These reports should include types and vendors of equity training and policies and procedures created to advance access for traditionally under-represented groups.” If elected to our select board, I am determined to work tirelessly to ensure that both of these articles are woven into the fabric of our town government and entire community. These articles speak to how we want people in our town to be treated, and they will help to guide us towards increasing equity in our town. We need to rebuild our trust in one another in order for us to all to feel safe so we can start to move forward.

5. Cannabis cultivation and sales represent a rare opportunity for the development of a new local industry. Do you believe that the town should try to incentivize this new industry and support it?

Every town in the county is on track to have their own dispensary or cultivation business. When done the right way with thoughtfulness, this could be an opportunity for our town – especially considering the tax revenue which can be generated. There is a good reason so many related businesses from the western part of the country want to come here ($$$), so we need to take the time to ensure we have the right rules and regulations in place for OUR town. If we were to vote to move in this direction, I would work to ensure incentives are in place that gave our citizens a fair shot at developing a local business and disincentivize bigger companies from devouring our market. I would also want us to educate the public on the facts related to any potential environmental impacts of large commercial growers.

6. Recently, one of the candidates for a Select Board seat, Niko White, chose to leave the race. When he did, he said that he was worried he would be a spoiler and split the vote, mentioning that this wouldn’t be a problem with Ranked Choice Voting. Do you think RCV is a good idea for our town?

RCV is an interesting concept and I understand Niko’s thoughts around his decision to leave the race. When multiple candidates share a similar platform, it can split the vote and enable someone with a much smaller level of support to win. We all benefit when there are more choices, as it makes the candidates work harder for the votes of our citizens. This year in our town we now only have 1:1 races for the select board seats so it actually worked itself out, but I absolutely have been on the other end in my voting history where I would have ranked the winner the lowest and chosen anyone but the person who won. Bottom line: RCV appears to be the fairest way to determine local elections.

7. What is your vision for a 21st-century public safety model? How do you think Williamstown can begin to adopt new measures that allow all of us to live a life of greater safety and wellbeing?

I hope that we are in the midst of the renaissance in which policing will be reformed at the national level, and within our town. We as a town are in the beginning stages of a social work project which will help us to identify what we need to feel safe. Our greatest strength is our collective experience and creativity, as Williamstown is a special place which attracts people from many different aspects of life. Bringing everyone together – residents, police officers, members of town government – will help us to find the best path forward. To do this we need full participation and honesty, as the data obtained will be used to determine what “safe” means. For example, do we follow the Ithaca proposal and create a community safety center with some armed police and others trained in de-escalating other types of situations such as domestic violence and opioid-related calls? Do we use civilian traffic-flaggers? Regardless of the path Williamstown takes, I am hoping that at a minimum, we use data to drive decisions and we encourage the federal lawmakers to address qualified immunity and require officers who witness another officer doing harm to intervene. If elected to serve on your select board, I will work to ensure more immediately that we provide our police department with the training and other appropriate resources to do their jobs in the safest, least intrusive manner possible in collaboration with the local community. This includes providing more training in mental health desolation, and ensuring our officers are provided with the proper mental health supports with the task of keeping our town safe.

The right type of person in the role of permanent police chief who can build a strong community partnership will be key. We need someone who has a commitment to fair, respectful, transparent, safe and effective policing and who can effect a culture change seamlessly. Strong community policing through community engagement is a must. Of course, they need to be willing to work collaboratively with town manager. I would also consider a charter change to have the police chief report directly to the Select Board, the citizens’ elected representatives, which would ensure that oversight is transparent in open meetings.

One Year Select Board Seat

Candidate Albert Cummings IV declined to answer any questions.

Candidate Wade Hasty’s answers:

Someone that is pro-transparency, pro-accountability, pro-charter. Much of what has become rising tensions within the town can be traced back to Hoch initially having never disclosed the MCAD complaint. That the Town Manager wasn’t willing to offer the former Police Chief tough love, instead choosing to hold his hand when it came to discipline, set the department back with internal discipline that needed to happen, and it set our town’s trust back by the information that has come about. The Town Manager needs to be proactive in their role, it is not simply an administrative role, that might be one category, but a leader wears many hats, and informing the Select Board is paramount among their duties. Having the will and integrity to exercise initiative without the Electorate and/or Select Board needing to consistently push the Town Manager in the correct direction. Stated differently, “leaders lead from the front, and by example.” I wouldn’t want to hire someone that simply acknowledges our two pledges, I would want to hire someone that emulates them, and makes them an expectation for their subordinates.

No, I do not currently have specific ideas. I have general approaches to how I would push to work with others.

First, look at current zoning, specifically what is currently above the flood zones. Then have the people weigh-in on priority of land-usage. Let’s also agree that housing can quickly become a moving target, so the fastest, and most efficient response the better.

I won’t be agreeable to packing lower economic people together so that they can be zoned into otherized areas of town. This town is already ripe with that terrible practice in its history, I’ll not participate in it.

Second, getting in touch with those already working the solutions after I have done some external information gathering. The hope is that I might have a fresh perspective, present ideas that those more experienced with the issues can poke holes at, the best plans are those that have been run through a gauntlet of criticisms and still can be patched better than their initial state.

I would caution us to understand any potential power dynamics as we decide which areas to zone for additional housing. Not meant as a scare tactic, meant to offer pause before reinforcing disparity.

3. Would you support increasing the density of the zoning in some parts of town, most particularly in general residential, in order to permit the development of more accessible affordable housing?

Off-the-cuff, I can’t answer this question. It’s a complex issue, I don’t feel comfortable giving an affirmative nor negative response. I understand this position is unsatisfying, I am open to having dialog(s) with others that have looked more closely at this problem, currently I am not up to speed. That being said, I am open to discussing zoning densities.

Lead, follow, or get out of the way. This includes me, this includes members of the Electorate. The Electorate is a cog in the proverbial machine, it either corrects those contributing to errors of judgment, or it becomes complacent and problems fester. I am that correction, Jeff Johnson, is that correction. Much of the racist incidents that are happening, even within our systems are from those that are not rooted in a position of power. Zoom bombs with racial slurs, references to imports in online forums, etc. These are our battlegrounds, and holding our neighbors accountable as members of the Electorate matters.

5. Cannabis cultivation and sales represent a rare opportunity for the development of a new local industry. Do you believe that the town should try to incentivize this new industry and support it?

Define incentivize, and be specific. Those with land to grow are going to be in the best position, what are the multi-faceted impacts for those that are intersecting at points of low economic standing, without higher education? If there is a benefit for them without land, then that should be the audience we support through equity incentives.

RCV is utilized in my home State of Maine. The first past the poll model doesn’t promote representative democracy, RCV is a tool that enables more residual voices to be accounted for, I support RCV. As a 3P advocate, and Anti-Partisan proponent, I really support RCV!

Also worth mentioning, Niko had talked about how those in lower economic standard couldn’t devote more time to public service because things like Select Board members aren’t paid. I know North Adams City Council pays a stipend, how does Greylock Together feel about making it possible to have more candidates run by it being less financially a burden? Don’t worry, I am only seeking the year seat, so if anything like this were in the works, I wouldn’t benefit (it’d feel like a conflict of interest were I to bring it up otherwise). If we’re going to look at our electoral process, I think having this discussion too would be worthwhile.

7. What is your vision for a 21st-century public safety model? How do you think Williamstown can begin to adopt new measures that allow all of us to live a life of greater safety and wellbeing?

I want to see Officer Friendly return to the streets, pound the pavement with your feet, get out, meet and greet people. Those that are stuck inside their vehicles adding a layer of separation between themselves and the community are not seeking to resolve tensions, they’re simply hoping the tensions go away, this isn’t how to embed yourself in a community. Those that are hiding behind their police department doors conducting illegal business against the citizenry compounds those layers to an unstable degree.

I want to work with DIRE and discover any and all State laws that would permit a LEO to pull over a person of color. I don’t believe in “routine traffic stops,” someone either has or has not committed an infraction, and if they have not, it’s called harassment. Every law that exists in such capacity, should be weighed with the scrutiny that the Police Officer can murder your neighbor with it. If we’re not going to get serious about a stupid air freshener hanging from a mirror, oh and btw, ever look inside a police vehicle, they’ve got plenty to distract them while driving, then we’re not being serious enough to change these terrible stories!

The best part is, both of these resolutions are a value-add, win/win for both sides. Less friction involved, less harassment, more positive interactions. This is the essence of Community Building, and when you weigh it like that, you can see what has been missing from our community leaders and their lacking in forward thinking.

Planning Board Seat

Candidate Susan Puddester’s answers.

1. While it has proven possible to create some accessible housing in town by financing discrete developments at great expense, it’s uncertain if this approach will continue to be viable. Do you have any specific ideas that might help create more opportunities for accessible housing?

The good news is that in Williamstown we are very close to meeting the 10% of affordable housing goal set by the state. We are currently over 9% and when the results of the 2020 Census are in, it could actually be over 10%. Although the homes in the Spruces Mobile Home Park were affordable, they were not officially considered “affordable housing” statistics.
As a founding member of Higher Ground, I was involved in researching possible options for relocation of the residents. We worked for over a year looking at possible sites for that to happen. Unfortunately options were limited. The suggestion of using 10 of the 40 acres at the Lowry property (which had originally designated as a site for a local high school) was rejected. With the perseverance of Higher Ground, we were able to work with Williams College who provided the land to build affordable housing units(Highland Woods). Out of this effort came a proposal from the Williamstown Affordable Housing Committee to build affordable housing units at the end of Cole Ave. With the construction of Highland Woods and the Cole Ave. Project the town is well situated to meet the needs of those who qualify Affordable Housing
Another option available to us in Williamstown is 40R Housing. Chapter 40R seeks to substantially increase the supply of housing and decrease its cost, by increasing the amount of land zoned for dense housing. It targets the shortfall in housing for low- and moderate-income households, by requiring the inclusion of affordable units in most private projects. 40R would help increase the range of housing choices, encourage greater diversity, encourage a more economic and energy efficient us of the Towns housing supply while maintaining the appearance and character of the Towns single family housing neighborhoods. A possible location for something like this would be in the Water St., Latham St area of town. It would require us to re-zone the area, but that’s something that we could think about as we work in the Towns new Master Plan.
We should continue to pursue the state and federal programs that have helped us get to where we are now and continue to support the successful effort of the Williamstown Housing Trust to increase housing stock and promote home ownership. We should also consider zoning changes that will facilitate the the construction and renovation of affordable housing and work with our financial institutions to make financing for affordable for out neighbors

2. Would you support increasing the density of the zoning in some parts of town, most particularly the general residential, in order to permit the development of more accessible housing?

Yes I do, in fact I was on the Planning Board in 2018 when we worked with Mass. Housing Partnership to do just that. Over the year the Board held meetings and workshops to gather community input and advertised our efforts around town to get addition feedback. The response was generally positive and the board proposed warrant articles that would allow for more density. Unfortunately at the Public Hearing in May 2018, it was clear there wasn’t support in town for these initiatives to increase zoning densities. Given the strong opposition, we withdrew the warrant articles from the Town Warrant. It is my hope that attitudes have changed in town with respect to increasing the amount of accessible housing and increase zoning density. With the recent change in state law allow zoning changes related to housing to pass by a majority vote, instead of a 2/3 vote. I am hopeful we will be successful making changes in the near future.
While we are closing in our goal for Affordable Housing and we have larger single family homes, what we lack here is the “missing middle” housing. My goal and, that of my other colleagues on the Planning Board is for the town to have more housing for the Missing Middle. Housing for those who do not meet the financial requirements to qualify for “Affordable Housing” but are unable to afford the cost of a large single family home like those found in many neighborhoods in town.
I also want to welcome people to our community that are not interested in owning and maintaining a home. Changing zoning to allow additional multifamily homes would be a grad addition to our town and help us increase diversity in our community.

3.Given the challenge of systemic racism in our nation and the current need for addressing its harmful impacts here in Williamstown, how do you see it manifesting in Williamstown at this time? How do you plan to address it from a seat of leadership?

We have a serious problem nationwide, and in our community. There are people in under-represented minorities as well as those, who because of their economic situation, do not feel welcome in Williamstown. I saw first hand after the flooding at the Spruces how unwelcome the residents were made to feel. In public meetings I attended they were actually referred to as “those people”.
There is a divide in our town and we need to work together to try to bridge this divide. A group, consisting of Peter Beck and myself from the Planning Board, Drew Art and Mohammed Memphis, and Tom Sheldon from the Williamstown Affordable Trust have begun conversations about how we can increase the diversity of housing options for current town residents, and those who might like to call Williamstown home. By increasing types of housing in town we are saying to people “you are welcome here”

4. Cannabis cultivation and sales represent a rare opportunity for the development of a new local industry. Do you believe that the town should try to incentivize this new industry and support it?

The Town voted in 2016 to legalize Marijuana. At the 2017 Town Meeting voters approved the proposed bylaws by an 85% to 15% vote to allow cultivation. That tells me that there is an interest in cannabis cultivation and sales. As we have seen over the past 2 years, there has been a lot of controversy around how the town should regulate cultivation.
Last year the Planning Board heard support from the community for Indoor Growing, but not for Outdoor growing, so that’s what the Board proposed at Town Meeting. A citizens petition, propose but the Agricultural Commission proposed the option of outdoor growing. Neither bylaw passed.
This year the board worked with the Agriculture Commission, held numerous meetings and workshops, and engaged in discussion with other town committees including the Board of Health and School officials. We have drafted a detailed bylaw that is actually more restrictive than the one that was overwhelmingly approved at the Town Meeting in 2017 and has the support of the Agricultural Commission and several local farmers.
This year we are proposing (for a vote at Town Meeting) that 5,000 sq. ft be allowed by right. This will make it easier and less costly for a farmer to start small. We hope that this will encourage smaller grows. Until we find out the outcome of the proposed bylaws at this years Town meeting, it doesn’t make sense to discuss incentives when there is still so much controversy about production.

5. The Planning Board has spent a majority of its time recently working on a new proposal for how the facilities for cannabis cultivation and sales will be zoned. Do you support the proposed bylaw amendment? Why or why not?

Yes I support it. It was disappointing last year to spend so much of the year gathering community input and creating g a bylaw in response to feedback, only have the warrant article fail at Town Meeting.
What the board is doing now is tightening up our existing bylaws. As I stated previously the proposed bylaw is more restrictive but, based on input from the Agricultural Commission and testimony from farmers, will provide the possibility for a financially viable business. It will also provide potential growers with more specific and detailed rules they can depend on if they want to start a business. Other Massachusetts communities have figured out ways to balance the needs of different groups in their community and still allow cultivation to help farmers. We believe that the proposed bylaw achieves that goal. These proposed changes to our bylaws are more restrictive than those we have now. While some in our community believe this is not restrictive enough, we believe it reflects the feedback we have received from the community.

Susan also sends along this addendum:

I participated in the Greylock together forum on Sunday April 19 for candidates for the Williamstown Select Board and Planning Board and I’d like to clarify my response to a question about Conservation Land in Williamstown. I was asked if I thought there was too much land under conservation in Williamstown? My answer was “No”. Our conserved land is part of what makes this town so special. I am grateful for those with the foresight, long before I arrived in Town, to see that land conserved.

This is the lesson I learned about restricting land use by placing it under the jurisdiction of the Conservation. Before I came to Williamstown, land on Stratton Rd. was purchased to build a local high school. When a decision was later made by the community to be part of a regional high school, the town needed to do something with the land. That’s how the Lowry Property ended up under permanent conservation.

In 2012 when the Town and Higher Ground were looking for a place for the Spruces community to relocate, Town Manager Peter Fohlin suggested using 10 of the 40 acres for “replacement housing”. Since the land’s status was under the care of the Conservation Committee, that was out of the question.

I am not against putting more land into conservation, but that we should think long and hard before we permanently restrict any more our precious land. We never know what the future may hold and we cannot continue to rely on the College to offer up land for community use.

Candidate Roger Lawrence declined to answer any questions, referring us instead to his campaign site’s issues page.

Candidate Ken Kuttner’s answers:

It’s true, creating subsidized affordable housing is not cheap — and to its credit, the Town has made some progress on this over the years. Where we have been less successful is in providing unsubsidized moderately priced housing options.

This has been a concern for years — it’s one of the main issues taken up in the 2002 master plan — and here we are, nearly 20 years later, still struggling with it. I’m not aware of any magic wands that can be waved to make moderately priced housing appear. I know it sounds like a bit of a cop-out, but I think some serious research is needed to gain a better understanding of why the market is so skewed. On the demand side: what are the types of housing that would best fulfil the unmet need? My hunch is that it would be medium-density, maybe 2-3 family condo or townhouse style developments — but honestly, I don’t know. What are the impediments on the supply side? If all that’s required is a little rezoning, that’s something that would be relatively easy to solve; I suspect it’s going to take more than that, however. We should solicit developers’ views on this, and work with them to identify any obstacles. Does it have to do with some peculiarities of the Williamstown housing market, such as the College’s huge footprint — the largest property owner and landlord by far? I suspect that’s also part of the story, and there we would have to work with the College to make sure their plans didn’t crowd out the provision of housing that was more accessible to the non-College community.

2. Would you support increasing the density of the zoning in some parts of town, most particularly the general residential, in order to permit the development of more accessible housing?

Yes, definitely. And if this happened near the town center, it would have the added benefit of contributing to the economic vibrancy of the Spring/Water Street area.

There’s no doubt about it: Williamstown is not what you’d call diverse, by any stretch of the imagination. Honestly, as a white guy, I can’t pretend to know how that feels from the standpoint of a person of color; I can only listen to others’ experiences, and imagine what it must be like. And we have all heard and read about the numerous ugly incidents that have occurred on the campus and in town over the years.

There are countless things, big and small, we need to be doing as individuals and as a community, to make things change. I see the Planning Board’s role in this centering on addressing the housing issue, discussed in questions #2 and #3. The racial income and wealth gaps in this country are appalling, and as a result living in Williamstown is out of reach financially for all but a very few Black and other minority households. So making progress on housing issues is going to be necessary if there is going to be any hope of making the town more diverse.