Copyright berkshireeagle
NORTH ADAMS — With two incumbents not running, Tuesday's City Council race guarantees at least two new members a spot — and a chance to shape policies around the city’s biggest issues. Through a series of surveys and interviews, residents and candidates overwhelmingly listed creating more housing and jobs as the top issues North Adams faces. The majority also mentioned that progress on one doesn’t happen without the other. “It’s going to be a big moment,” said Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts senior Daniel Izyk, 22. “Guaranteed two new members — that’s sure to be exciting.” City councilors represent their voters’ interests at City Council meetings and in committees. They make policy decisions, advocate to the administration on behalf of voters and approve the city budget of around $52 million. Housing and jobs “The biggest issue to me is housing … and barriers to adequate and affordable housing,” Izyk said. City councilors unanimously voted to create an affordable housing trust earlier this month, and multiple new candidates are running on platforms largely dedicated to housing and economic development. When asked about how to address housing growth, multiple candidates said the city could have more housing if it offloaded unmanageable blighted and abandoned property through the request for proposal process — though the council has limited impact on the speed of land court. Many candidates said finding funding for the new affordable housing trust was a council priority for addressing the housing shortage. The majority of North Adams housing stock was built before 1939 and almost all of the housing permitted in the last 20 years were single-family units, according to census data from 2023. Kimberly Cooper said she feels lucky for her job as a support specialist at BFAIR because in North Adams, the poverty and lack of full-time jobs is “terrible.” “Nobody can live on these part-time jobs,” said Cooper while she walked her Pomeranian, Goliath, after work on Ashland Street. Sitting on his porch near downtown, Matt Meczywor, a cook, said he wants to see the vacancies in the downtown area fill with larger businesses. “Take a walk down Main Street sometime; two-thirds of it are galleries which employ, what? Five people? So, locals can’t even get jobs,” he said. Nonseasonally adjusted August 2025 estimates from the department of economic research indicate a statewide unemployment rate of 4.7 percent, representing roughly 189,000 residents. In Berkshire County, four municipalities had an unemployment rate higher than 5 percent during that period: Becket, North Adams, Dalton and Adams. Some candidates said that the tax base is burdened and would benefit from bringing in larger industries or businesses. How to do that? Many candidates said the city should more aggressively promote itself to outside investors and dedicate time to marketing the city to potential partners. Infrastructure Residents and candidates agreed that infrastructure was another top issue the city faces, specifically that the city should prioritize repairs on “low-level infrastructure.” “That means sidewalks, bridges, roads and ramps on public buildings,” Izyk said. Some candidates also mentioned the city’s aging water and sewage systems needs attention. Multiple candidates said that without bringing in more jobs and expanding the city’s tax base, maintaining city infrastructure in a way that many want may not be possible. Meczywor said North Adams and Berkshire County don’t get their bang for their buck from taxes, saying that Western Massachusetts “spends all its money on the other side of the state.” If they do get state funding, it takes a while to see it, he said. “We wait three years to repair a major road,” he said. The City Council only has so much power over executing maintenance, but it can advocate to the mayor about certain issues, propose ordinances to address issues and help search for outside money to fund repairs. Transparency Up there with infrastructure, candidates expressed desire for an increased culture of “transparency,” “accountability” and “accessibility” in general city government processes. Some new candidates are running on improving city communication with residents. As members of the city's legislative body, councilors can work together to rewrite and update city ordinances, and many candidates said they wanted to work on making city updates and information more accessible. Some candidates mentioned a need for the council to draft a more accessible version of the city’s capital plan and create clearer channels for reporting progress on projects to residents. Candidates mentioned increasing city government “accessibility” by making information more readily available online and improving accessibility in the city and around city buildings. Public safety Some candidates and residents mentioned public safety as a big issue, specifically finding funding for a new fire station. The existing station needs to be updated from its original 1960s space, but finding the funding remains a challenge. Multiple candidates mentioned that the council should work with the mayor to find a solution. Because there is a lack of jobs in the area, multiple residents said that a heroin and fentanyl problem persisted and more city resources should be dedicated to mental health awareness and drug rehabilitation services. “Desperation breeds escapism,” Meczywor said.
