Page 16 - Halbert Cummings News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

WILLIAMSTOWN — Jeff Johnson and Wade Hasty will join the Williamstown Select Board, according to preliminary vote counts, in a town election marked by exceptionally high turnout. Johnson, a member of the Diversity Inclusion and Racial Equity Committee and a service coordinator supervisor in the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services, defeated attorney Anthony Boskovich 1,140 to 641, according to the count Tuesday night, winning a three-year term to the town's highest governing body. He takes the seat held by Anne O’Connor, who announced that she would not seek reelection...

4:58 Jeffrey Johnson and Wade Hasty will take seats on the Williamstown, Massachusetts select board after Tuesday’s high turnout municipal election. According to official numbers released Wednesday, 1,823 voters representing a 38% turnout went to the polls in the community of around 7,500. Amid a series of scandals regarding police misconduct and larger conversations about systemic racism in Williamstown, some townspeople – including candidate Albert Cummings – felt threatened by the discourse. “I'm worried about the town," said Cummings. "I've never seen the town- In my whole life. I...

5:31 As Williamstown, Massachusetts voters head to the polls Tuesday, select board candidate Albert Cummings says the town’s character is being maligned in local debate. The election comes amid tense conversations about systemic discrimination following last year’s Black Lives Matter protests and a series of scandals including alleged racist behavior within the Williamstown Police Department. Cummings, a contractor and musician, says he’s a rationally-minded local running to defend Williamstown against what he describes as a destructive debate. Cummings spoke with WAMC in the last part ...

3:36 Almost a year after a federal lawsuit against the town police department set off a chain of scandals and resignations, Williamstown, Massachusetts municipal elections are coming up Tuesday. WAMC has the third of our select board candidate profiles. “It feels like they shattered my oath," Hasty told WAMC. "I took an oath to defend the Constitution, and I take the First Amendment very seriously – and to know that speaking out against our government would have some sort of backlash. Not only that, but I have my own feelings of being hypervigilant. I served, like I said, for three years ...

    "To understand the people in this town you have to have a long history here," Cumming said this week. "Changes can be a good thing when they take into consideration the old and the new. I am this person.    "I'm sure that this new small group who is trying to tear apart the fabric of our community with the insults and hatred has probably been thinking they're making easy progress. I can assure you that people in this town have not accepted this behavior. They don't tolerate hatred in any format. The loudest voice doesn't mean a thing here. You get respect by giving it. Calling th...