IN THE NEWS
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STATE REP CANDIDATES SPEAK AT DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE MEETING
By Sabrina Damms; iBerkshires; Saturday, March 30, 2024
"Leigh Davis, vice chair of the Great Barrington Select Board, emphasized the importance of community and making the area affordable so people can support their families.
Growing up, her family instilled the importance of conversation, she said. "I grew up in a household being a biracial child. My father was a Republican and my mom was a very liberal progressive …I have this tapestry of experience," Davis said.
"[While growing up] our dinners were very interesting. We had a lot of conversations around balance and listening to other people's perspectives, and seeing through different lenses, [such as racial and gender lenses.]"
Davis left her tenured professor position in Ireland because of the high cost of living and moved to the Berkshires to raise her family as a single mother. She did the "Berkshire shuffle" to reinvent herself. She struggled so she empathizes with residents who are struggling, Davis said."
STATE HOUSING SECRETARY HEARS OF COUNTY'S HOUSING STRUGGLES
By Brittany Polito; iBerkshires; Monday, April 01, 2024
Heads of organizations met with Housing Secretary Edward Augustus for a roundtable held at Berkshire Country Regional Housing's offices.
Leigh Davis, vice chair of the Great Barrington Select Board and director of development at Construct Inc., said that she was heartened by the act.
"I think you really have a sense of the need of the housing crisis," she said to Augustus. "And the fact that this is a top priority for the administration."
Davis said there is a lot of innovation going on behind the scenes including private and public partnerships and municipalities need both funding and technical assistance to address the issue.
LEIGH DAVIS JOINS THE RACE TO REPRESENT 3RD BERKSHIRE DISTRICT IN MASS. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
By Greg Sukiennik, The Berkshire Eagle Feb 16, 2024
“Together, we can make our beautiful Berkshires the affordable, equitable and sustainable place it deserves to be — the place where our kids can learn a trade, attend good schools and thrive. The place where our families can be healthy and secure,” she said. “The place where our farmers are profitable, our businesses supported, our seniors and veterans valued, our environment protected. A place where everyone matters and everyone belongs.”
LEIGH DAVIS SPEAKS AT BERKSHIRE COUNTY NAACP MEETING ABOUT PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH RACISM, ISSUES IMPACTING BERKSHIRE COUNTY
By Shaw Israel Izikson, The Berkshire Edge, March 8, 2024
"My parents' work ingrained in me this idea of public service and believing in something outside of yourself, which is something that has been a thread through my whole life,” Davis said. “I was surrounded by this whirlwind of public service and giving back to the community, and this is part of my DNA.”
GREAT BARRINGTON SELECTBOARD VICE CHAIR DAVIS FOCUSES ON REGIONAL EQUITY, HOUSING, FARMLAND PRESERVATION IN BID FOR MASS. STATE HOUSE
WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Josh Landes; Published February 26, 2024
"I really come from a moment of balance and common sense and investment and seeing through the lens of different populations and communities. So, I approach things, really, from almost like a puzzle. I understand the big picture and know what my goal is, and then I study each piece individually to see how they work and fit in together. Sometimes it may take a few different ways to get it right. It's really kind of seeing the big picture, knowing what the goal is, and making sure that all perspectives are honored, and that there is a sense of balance and forward thinking in everything I do."
DAVIS BRINGS CASE FOR TRANSFER FEE TO STATE HOUSE
By Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle
January 22, 2024
It’s the second time Davis has testified in the Legislature in favor of the transfer fee as she and other town officials struggle to solve a housing problem that morphed into a crisis during the pandemic. Last year, Davis began driving the proposal as the town continues to suffer from a lack of available rentals and the high cost of available housing. Great Barrington is in danger of losing its charm and livability, she told lawmakers. It’s already lost workers who can’t afford to live where they work. At least one large employer — Fairview Hospital — can’t fill five health care positions, she said of what is anecdotal information from hospital officials.“We are drowning."
GREAT BARRINGTON SELECT BOARD MEMBER RUNNING FOR 3RD DISTRICT SEAT
By Sabrina Damms
Berkshires, Sunday, February 18, 2024
"We need to do a better job at improving regional efficiencies. We need to find a better way to coordinate our resources, our strategies, our actions. We need to be smarter with taxpayers money. One of my other priorities, if I were to be elected, is to make some noise at the State House. I want to fight for better representation for Western Mass."
Davis wants to ensure that the area gets its fair share in state funds so that the Berkshires can address its rural needs, such as investing in workforce development, broadband, and transportation.
GREAT BARRINGTON SELECTBOARD VICE CHAIR LEIGH DAVIS ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR STATE REP. PIGNATELLI’S SEAT
By Shaw Israel Izikson, The Berkshire Edge, Feb 16, 2024
"We are a community deeply invested in living in a beautiful rural area. I want to help our community thrive. If elected, I want to support our small businesses, farmers, entrepreneurs, renters, landlords, and developers. I want to remove the barriers that make developing and sustaining a business and farm so onerous, and make it easier for them to do what they do best — sustain our communities, drive our economies, hire our workforce.”
PRESS RELEASE: STATEMENT OF SUPPORT BY LEIGH DAVIS FOR HEALEY-DRISCOLL AFFORDABLE HOMES ACT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
By Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, October 18, 2023
Statement of Support by Leigh Davis, Vice Chair, Great Barrington Selectboard and Chair, Great Barrington Housing Subcommittee: "These are significant steps the Healey-Driscoll administration has taken to address Massachusetts' housing crisis. The investments this administration has made in housing affordability, particularly for the Berkshires, will positively impact the lives of so many. The Affordable Homes Act will encourage the housing production we need to lower costs for all and increase homeownership, and I look forward to working with the administration to make all of Massachusetts more affordable, competitive and equitable. "
GREAT BARRINGTON VOTERS BACK SELECTBOARD-CRAFTED SHORT-TERM RENTAL BYLAW AT TOWN MEETING.
By Josh Landes, WAMC Public Radio, Published June 7, 2022
The vote was a triumph for Leigh Davis, the driving force behind the bylaw as a member of the Great Barrington selectboard.
"I'm elated," she told WAMC. "This is a vote for community. This is a vote for neighborhoods. This is a vote for our workforce. And we worked so hard during these eight months. And I just want to thank all the neighbors that have supported this article 25. It's a beautiful moment for Great Barrington, and I'm thrilled.”
IN FAVOR OF AN MRI FOR FAIRVIEW
By Leigh Davis, Letter to the Editor, The Berkshire Edge
"The Southern Berkshires has an aging population that would benefit significantly from having ready access to an MRI. Having more robust capabilities at Fairview may also attract families and businesses to our area, which would help economic development and give a much-welcome boost to our schools and communities. It would be a big plus not only for Great Barrington but for all the towns in South County. I would ask that Berkshire Health Systems reconsider this decision, especially given how critical an MRI can be for certain diagnoses."
GE'S TRUCKS CARRYING PCBS WOULD GO THROUGH HOUSATONIC VILLAGE EN ROUTE TO LEE. GREAT BARRINGTON IS NOW JOINING THE FIGHT FOR RAIL
By Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle Dec 5, 2023
In Great Barrington, Select Board Vice Chair Leigh Davis said at the board’s Monday meeting that this is not just a Lee and Lenox problem. "What I would like to see is that Great Barrington pay attention to this and join the other towns, and show a united front against the use of trucks for transportation,” Davis said, noting that she had attended GE’s presentation last week at Lee High School about its transport plans released Oct. 31. She later told The Eagle she attended as a concerned resident but not on behalf of the entire board. Davis noted that the window for public comment to the Environmental Protection Agency is open until Feb. 1. Comments can be sent to R1Housatonic@epa.gov. And Davis told The Eagle that she isn't sure she believes GE's claim that using rail would double truck trips.
NAACP PRESIDENT GIVES STIRRING SPEECH AT SIMON’S ROCK IN CELEBRATION OF W.E.B. DU BOIS
By Andrew Blechman, The Berkshire Edge, April 28, 2017
Great Barrington resident Leigh Davis, whose father led the Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation in Washington, D.C., and was instrumental in helping establish Martin Luther King Day as a national holiday, suggested that we begin with the schools. “Local children don’t even know about Du Bois,” she said. “His writings and their impact are not being taught. We haven’t even named a school after him. We need to start with education.”
GREAT BARRINGTON SELECT BOARD MEMBER SAYS INTERNAL POLICY CHANGES COULD STIFLE FREE SPEECH
By Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle, Nov 21, 2019
At a board meeting on Nov. 13, Select Board member Leigh Davis fought the new additions, which include the board chair's ability to use discretion about placing items on an agenda and disallowing citizens from giving the board their opinions outside of public hearings in matters that are before the board. "It's important that we, as citizens, are vigilant in protecting our rights of free speech," she said. "Every bit as important is this board's duty to its constituents to allow for full and equal representation on the board," Davis said.
GREAT BARRINGTON SELECTBOARD VICE CHAIR LEIGH DAVIS VISITS BEACON HILL TO TESTIFY ON THE AFFORDABLE HOMES ACT
The Berkshire Edge, By Peter Most January 22. 2024
Ms. Davis has been working both in her professional and elected positions to advance housing opportunities to ensure our town moves forward with housing and does not die. This is not hyperbole. If we are unable to house the folks that work here, if we are unable to attract families to live here, we are on the road to ruin.
Let me share a portion of Ms. Davis’ prepared testimony with you because (i) it should be heard and (ii) assuming the Affordable Homes Act becomes law, we will each need to support its implementation at Town Meeting
LEIGH DAVIS APPOINTED TO REPRESENT TOWN AT HORSERACING HEARING IN BOSTON
By Terrry Cowgill, The Berkshire Edge Posted January 19, 2020
At Thursday’s selectboard meeting, the board voted unanimously to designate selectboard member Leigh Davis as its representative at a public hearing before the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure at the State House. Davis, who is in her first year as a member of the selectboard, immediately took an interest in the subject when she heard that the legislation had been proposed last year. Davis will convey the results of a special town meeting last month that overwhelmingly approved the home-rule petition.
STATE REPRESENTATIVES DISCUSS AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS DURING ROUNDTABLE
By Shaw Isreal Izikson, The Berkshire Eagle posted on September 8, 2023
Davis, who is the chair of the Great Barrington Selectboard’s Planning Board Housing Subcommittee, and is also the communications and community engagement director for Construct Inc., spoke to State Sen. Edwards about Great Barrington’s proposed real estate transfer fee. “83 percent of sales happening in downtown Great Barrington have been cash sales,” Davis said. “We have this great disparity in income [in Great Barrington],” Davis said. “We have the very, very wealthy who are retiring here, and we have the youth who have grown up here. "People are coming here, but it’s pushing out people who want to remain here in their homes who have raised their families here. We’re trying to hold on to the uniqueness of this town in the southern Berkshires and try to find that balance.”
AIMING TO PREVENT TRAGEDY, LOCAL OFFICIALS RENEW PUSH FOR TRAFFIC LIGHT AT MONUMENT HIGH
By Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle, May 27, 2021
Select Board member Leigh Davis wasn’t having it. This time, she came armed with a statement from the mother of a student involved in the May 5 crash at the intersection, pleading with officials to take action so a fatal crash “does not have to be the price we pay for a traffic light.”
Davis, who continued to press Heming, noted how quickly the DOT acted to block a Route 7 crossing at Hubbard Street in Lenox within days after a woman was killed there 2018. The DOT since has closed the crossing, which was the site of 30 crashes since 2007, and several deaths. Davis said that officials, including herself, will be to blame if the worst happens. “It’s going to be on all our hands; it’s going to be on everyone that’s in this room right now,” she said. “We cannot wait for a death to catapult us into making a decision.”
GREAT BARRINGTON: MIND(ING) THE GAP
By Hannah Van Sickle, Chronogram Published January 01, 2023
"[This past year] was very difficult for many in our service area, and our waiting lists grew exponentially," says Construct Development Director Leigh Davis. Davis, who also serves as vice chair of the town Selectboard, felt compelled to take a proactive stance on addressing the town's housing crisis. "By getting ahead of the short-term rental trend that has swept across other communities, I hoped to stem the tide of displacement of residents by STRs and help local businesses struggling to find staff."
GREAT BARRINGTON PUBLIC THEATER BRINGS “REPRESENTATION AND HOW TO GET IT ” TO THE MOUNT
August 2023, The Mount, Lenox, MA
Sunday, August 27, 2023
Women In Politics, Women In Place
A conversation about organized activism, electoral inclusion and their personal journeys to representation by women and for all constituents in their communities, with Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Mass. State Representative and Leigh Davis, Vice-Chair Great Barrington Select board.
Great Barrington Public Theater and The Mount, Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, MA, will bring to stage a cry for universal liberty and the power of the vote that remains as clear in 2023 as it was over a century and a half ago when Julia Ward Howe delivered it to the Boston Radical Club.
MASSACHUSETTS BLACK LAWMAKERS ROUNDTABLE LAUNCHED AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY
Tufts Univerity, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Medford, MA, May 3, 2022
A group of 20 Black lawmakers convened at Tufts University on Monday, April 25, 2022, to launch the Massachusetts Black Lawmakers Roundtable (MBLR). Amongst the lawmakers in attendance at the MBLR inaugural meeting were: U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Great Barrington Selectboard Vice Chair Leigh Davis. The new coalition will serve as a platform for collaboration and policy innovation, leveraging the knowledge and resources of Tufts University. The local, state, and federal lawmakers represent all regions of the Commonwealth, including Greater Boston, the Berkshires, Central and Metro West, Cape Cod, South Shore, and the North Shore.
GOING HOME AGAIN: LEIGH DAVIS SEEKS TO MAKE GREAT BARRINGTON A PLACE FOR ALL
By Griffin Cooper, Main Street Magazine, April 2022
From defeat to opportunity, Davis, a native of Washington, DC, moved from Ireland to Great Barrington in 2009 with her three children. Upon arriving, she penned, Are We There Yet?, an op-ed column for The Berkshire Record. After five years of working odd jobs to try to make ends meet, she found herself struggling as a single mother. Feeling defeated, she wrote in the newspaper column about her intention to leave the town she’d grown to love and return to Ireland. Then something happened.
WHY DOESN'T FAIRVIEW HOSPITAL IN GREAT BARRINGTON HAVE AN MRI MACHINE? RESIDENTS WANT ANSWERS ... AND AN MRI MACHINE
By Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle, Oct 13, 2023
Fairview Hospital is the only federally designated “Critical Access Hospital" in Massachusetts that does not have an MRI — or magnetic resonance imaging — scanner. Leigh Davis, a Great Barrington Select Board member, had to have two spinal fusions in the last six months that required MRIs. She had to travel to Baystate to see her neurosurgeon and to have the scan. She said she was lucky her daughter was in town so she could be driven there while in excruciating pain. An aging population and families would benefit from an MRI scanner at Fairview, she said.
LAWMAKERS ASSURE GREAT BARRINGTON OFFICIALS: LOCAL PERMITS REQUIRED TO REINTRODUCE HORSE RACING AT FAIRGROUNDS
By Terry Cowgill, The Berkshire Edge,
August 13, 2019
Leigh Davis wanted to know why more town officials weren’t made aware of the legislation and why the town of Great Barrington was not represented at a public hearing on the bills on July 1 in Boston before the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure.
Davis also read a prepared statement (click here to read it) focusing on transparency and what she called a “legislative loophole” in Section 12 of the Senate bill allowing Sterling Suffolk to “bypass local approval” in re-establishing horse racing at the fairgrounds.
A BERKSHIRES SELECT BOARD MEMBER MAKES HER PITCH FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Great Barrington Select Board member and Vice Chair Leigh Davis has one mission in life as she is determined to implement affordable housing throughout South County. She recently spoke at a forum north of us in Stockbridge as the aim was to address a Real Estate Transfer Fee proposal.
"I don’t need to say to anyone that there is a housing crisis. It’s not just a Great Barrington issue. It’s a regional issue, it’s a national issue. This proposal is just a foot in the door. What we need to do is to give residents something to vote on."
GREAT BARRINGTON NEEDS MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING MONEY. SO A TOWN BOARD MEMBER TESTIFIED AT THE STATE HOUSE TO SUPPORT A TAX ON $1 MILLION REAL ESTATE DEALS.
By Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle Oct 12, 2023
Leigh Davis, vice chair of the Great Barrington Select Board and chair of its Housing Subcommittee, told the Joint Committee on Revenue about the lack of available and affordable housing in the Berkshires, and her proposal for a “real estate transfer fee.” “We're doing as much as we can but we just lack the resources,” Davis said. “The struggle is real.”
AS GREAT BARRINGTON CONSIDERS RESTRICTING SHORT-TERM RENTALS, A SIGN OF THE TIMES EMERGES
By Felix Carroll, The Berkshire Eagle, Oct 29, 2021
Leigh Davis serves as vice chair of the Select Board and has written a proposed bylaw to restrict short-term rentals in an effort to address the scarcity of long-term rental housing. “What I’ve really done,” she said, “is tried to focus on Great Barrington residents and what’s the best for the residents that are full-time residents, taking into account that a lot of people rely on short-term rentals as a way to get by.”
“We are seeing people turn to Great Barrington as a way to cash in,” said Davis, who also works for the affordable housing nonprofit Construct.
COUNTY STAKEHOLDERS PUSH FOR HOUSING SOLUTIONS FROM STATE SENATORS
By Brittany Politoi Berkshires Staff
07:35AM / Sunday, September 10, 2023
Select Board Vice Chair Leigh Davis said Great Barrington's lack of affordable housing is causing people to be unsheltered. "People are coming here and pushing out people that want to remain here in their homes, that have raised their families here."
She said the town is trying to prevent this and hold on to its uniqueness. One of the ways is through a proposal for a real estate transfer fee that would impose a one percent fee on transactions over $1 million for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
MASSACHUSETTS SELECT BOARD MEMBER LOBBIES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
By Ron Carson, WSBS 94.1 Radio
February 2024
Last week, Great Barrington Select Board Vice Chair and Construct Communications Director, Leigh Davis headed east to Boston as she testified before The Joint Committee on Housing at Beacon Hill as she wanted to assure state funding and policy proposals DO NOT bypass the areas that are represented in south county. She stated the bill is a "once-in-a generation" opportunity to build an equitable, affordable and sustainable Commonwealth.
LETTER: KEEP PUBLIC LOT OPEN IN GREAT BARRINGTON
By Letter to the Editor, The Berkshire Eagle, Posted May 5, 2020
We agree with Leigh Davis that it would provide no public benefit and would result in the loss of mixed use development potential as well as the loss of the in-town laundromat. The threat of closing the "Foster's" lot to the public on nights and weekends is pure vindictive extortion. We are so tired of corporate interests prevailing over the public good. Not in our town, please!
ALAN CHARTOCK: I PUBLIUS
By Alan Chartock The Berkshire Edge, posted November 2, 2019
Leigh clearly thinks that every citizen should have a voice. I believe that is her motivation — to give a voice to the town’s citizens — and not be seen as an agitator on the board. She should be supported. Something very strange is happening on the Great Barrington Selectboard. When I asked the brightest light on the board, Leigh Davis, about it, she was uncomfortable discussing the matter. She is the hero in this story. Ever since she arrived on the board, she has been on the right side of the issues, while a majority on that board have been all over the place."
RAILROAD STREET MERCHANTS COME OUT AGAINST CLOSING STREET DURING BERKSHIRE BUSK! PERFORMANCES
By Shaw Israel Izikson; Berkshire Edge; May 1, 2024
"I want to make sure that we embrace all businesses in town,” Selectboard Vice Chair Leigh Davis said. “Sometimes there are compromises, sometimes we have to make a decision. As Garfield said, this will come before us again. Hopefully, we can find some middle ground.”
PLEASE JOIN ME IN OPPOSING ARTICLE 3 ON THE SPECIAL TOWN MEETING WARRANT, WHICH COULD JEOPARDIZE DU BOIS SCULPTURE PROJECT
"This community-led project provides welcome seating downtown and an elegant focal point for reflection on Dr. Du Bois’ work and the rich African American heritage of the Berkshires."
GREAT BARRINGTON GRAPPLES WITH HORSE RACING QUESTIONS AT SELECTBOARD MEETING
By Josh Landes, WAMC Northeast Public Radio | Published August 13, 2019 at 11:44 AM EDT
The intersection of those two levels came from a discovery made by selectboard member Leigh Davis, who began investigating after a public hearing July 1st with Sterling Suffolk Racecourse. "That then led into me diving in deeper into S.101 and finding what I perceive as a legislative loophole that Suffolk could take advantage of in terms of bypassing local approval." Davis says she’s been in productive talks with state Senator Adam Hinds, the democrat who represents the Berkshires and is a co-sponsor of S.101, a revision to the state’s horse racing regulations. Hinds and fellow Democrat Smitty Pignatelli –Southern Berkshire County’s state House representative – published a letter to Great Barrington in an attempt to answer questions around the bill.
GREAT BARRINGTON SELECTBOARD SHOULD NOT GIVE IN TO EXTORTION
By Letter to the Editor, The Berkshire Edge, Posted May 1, 2020
"It all comes down to this: what kind of town do we want to live in? Only Leigh Davis has dared to compare the community benefit of the proposed parking lot (none) to the benefit of an existing laundromat with two apartments above, or even to mention the potential that will be permanently lost for redevelopment of a mixed-use building with six, or possibly significantly more, apartments in this downtown location where the zone’s stated intent is to reduce the use of personal automobiles, encourage pedestrian traffic, shared parking, infill and redevelopment of mixed-use buildings, and to maintain or increase the supply of affordable dwelling units. As dark money increasingly pervades and attacks our democracy on all levels, it is more important than ever for citizens to speak out. "
GREAT BARRINGTON TO VOTE ON HORSE RACING AS SUFFOLK DOWNS PURSUES REVIVAL
By Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle Nov 4, 2019
"This is not about whether we should have horse racing in Great Barrington or not, but whether we should control our own destiny," said Select Board member Leigh Davis, who has pushed for a citizen vote. Davis raised concerns over the summer after noticing the new legislation lacked a mechanism for a citizen vote.
CONCERNS AIRED ABOUT SUFFOLK DOWNS’ PLANS FOR HORSE RACING AT FAIRGROUNDS
By Terry Cowgill, The Berkshire Edge, posted July 23, 2019
Selectboard member Leigh Davis asked that the subject be put on the agenda for Monday’s meeting. She read a lengthy statement on the process and presented it as a motion. Davis questioned why more town officials weren’t made aware of the legislation and why the town of Great Barrington was not represented at a public hearing on the bills on July 1 before the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. She pointed to recent article on the hearing in the State House News Service. Davis said the bill would eliminate the requirement for a public forum and referendum on the Suffolk proposal and instead “a simple majority vote by the selectboard would enable the commercial race track to move forward.”
ACTIVISTS FILE HOME-RULE PETITION ON HORSE RACING, AS QUESTIONS ARE RAISED ABOUT SELECTBOARD POLICY CHANGES
By Terry Cowgill Posted November 5, 2019
Allies of a selectboard member {Leigh Davis} who first brought the issue of home rule on horse racing into the public consciousness are raising serious questions about some proposed changes in policy on board communications and the rights of residents to be heard during the public comment period at selectboard meetings.
Indeed, Chartock cast doubt on the motives of her fellow board members in proposing the changes. “The whole thing comes down to an attempt to silence the independent voice of Leigh Davis, who has been right on the money,” Chartock wrote.