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Bloomberg Releases Platform for 3rd District Representative
By Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
02:23AM / Tuesday, April 26, 2016
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Michael Bloomberg is running for 3rd Berkshire District state representative.

 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Democratic candidate for Pittsfield's state representative Michael Bloomberg released this weekend a platform focused on eight issues he'd like to tackle if elected.
 
The platform was released in tandem with his website. While he highlighted eight areas of focus, he said his highest priorities will be on jobs, education, and public safety. The other focus areas are the opioid crisis, "smart" government, veterans services, environmental sustainability, and taxes. 
 
"I believe the three broadest, biggest issues for the city are jobs and economic development, public safety and our school system. I have really focused a lot of time thus far in getting to know more about those issues. So, these eight were the eight I felt comfortable enough, prepared enough to really come out and make a statement about — something beyond just 'I support better schools' but something that has more information behind it," Bloomberg said in an interview on Saturday. 
 
When it comes to jobs, Bloomberg believes there needs to be more investment in "people and programs" rather than new buildings. Instead of incentives encouraging new construction, he'd rather see more job training options. 
 
"It is less about the infrastructure and more about the people. When we have great job training programs, when we have great after-school programs, when we have great certification programs, then you get a skilled and ready populous that can fill all sorts of job needs. And businesses will come because they see we have a skilled populous," Bloomberg said. "When businesses leave, we're still going to be sustainable because we have this talent pool."
 
He wants businesses to reuse the existing buildings because right now, he believes Pittsfield is "overbuilt" for its population. He'd rather see the redevelopment of downtown areas to increase density and restrict urban sprawl.
 
"We are built as a suburb and we are overbuilt for the population we have. We need to focus on promoting density and promoting population growth," Bloomberg said.
 
One way to do that, is Bloomberg's push for a new property tax structure. He said a downtown building now pays up to eight times as much in property taxes than places such as the Allendale Plaza. That tax policy makes it more affordable for a business to put up a short-term structure rather than reusing or building higher quality buildings. He said a new policy would place a higher value on the land itself being used.
 
"When you have a higher density, you have more money you can spend on people and programs. Those big box stores are paying pennies on the dollar for their buildings and their parking lots," Bloomberg said. "Our current property tax structure tells us that a beautiful three-story Victorian building that takes up the size of a basketball court is going to pay just as much if not more taxes than a building built of concrete blocks which is made to last 10 to 15 years, that will fall apart and doesn't have reusability. That is the tax structure that incentivizes sprawling complexes."
 
He says the city's taxes are already too high and the only way to reduce the tax burden would be to increase population and density. 
 
"We are stretching ourselves thin by trying to maintain an infrastructure much larger than our size. We should be focused on our urban core, North Street, Tyler Street, Westside and Morningside neighborhoods in a higher density area with our infrastructure investments," Bloomberg said. 
 
Otherwise for jobs, he is looking to bring economic development groups closer together to become more active in recruiting new businesses and incorporating best practices and technology used elsewhere in the country.
 
Education is also a driver of the economy, he said, and his focus is increasing educational options for families and the quality of the public school system. 
 
"Right now we are in the middle of a budget conversation where the discussion is do we have a 2.5 percent increase or a 3.7 percent increase and how do we make the numbers work? Those aren't the numbers I am looking at. The numbers I am looking at is the performance of the schools and where we are at relative to the other cities and towns across the state and where we are at relative to state benchmarks which have been agreed upon and decided by professionals," Bloomberg said. 
 
Such an option would be to bring in something like a Horace Mann Charter School. That is a model of charter school that operates inside a school district instead of pulling resources away.
 
"They retain a district affiliation and they serve within the district. They are also subject to the teachers union, so teachers are able to be part of the collective bargaining. They waive some of their rights but not all of their rights. They can, in some cases, be subject to the School Committee," Bloomberg said. "But what it does do is allow for more innovation in the curriculum. That's what this is about. It is about giving parents a choice."
 
By increasing educational success, Bloomberg says that helps create a talent pool of workers, which is an attraction for new businesses. 
 
"Jobs are about people. Jobs are about families and families are looking for great education for their kids. We need to be looking at all of the ways to do that," Bloomberg said.
 
When it comes to public safety, Bloomberg said he wants to be a "partner" with the mayor and help provide funding for technology and infrastructure for the police and fire departments, both of which operate out of dated buildings. He also wants to work alongside mental health professionals to tackle the opioid epidemic.
 
"As politicians we tend to stick our hands and talk about 'well, I want to see this built or I want to see a cop car on this street corner,' But we have to understand that they are the law enforcement professionals. They are the mental health and addiction professionals. My support is really supporting the people. As much as I have prepared myself to be a state representative, they have for many years prepared themselves to be a police chief, to be a patrolman, to be a mental health counselor. I want to allow them to do their job," Bloomberg said.
 
He says he'd be an advocate for more programs at the Berkshire County House of Corrections that are aimed to reduce recidivism. He hopes to end the cycle of people going in and out of jail and instead be rehabilitated. He'd also be supportive of efforts to reduce blight, which he believes attracts crime and drug use.
 
Bloomberg also wants to incorporate "smart" government principles. That means bringing in more technology and data-driven policies to guide what governments do. He cited such things as tracking blight to help make determinations on demolition or reuse opportunities, or crime trackers that help officers become more efficient in crime fighting. 
 
"We have a computer in our pockets at all time that is more powerful than any computer in the world was 10 years ago. The amount invested in technology for our cell phones, computer software, in data and analytics, there is a lot going on in the private sector and the public sector. Smart government is looking at how we can really adapt and bring in some of the great, innovative, 21st century solutions, largely technical and data-driven solutions to our state and local government," Bloomberg said. 
 
When it comes to the environment, he is supportive of creating walkable neighborhoods, promoting green jobs, and raising the incentives for renewable energy projects. Further, he says he'll be an advocate for a full cleanup of not just the Housatonic River but also other areas of pollution such as Hill 78, a landfill area near Allendale Elementary that  was created by General Electric's during a past cleanup.
 
"For our drinking water and for the kids playing in the playground right next to that toxic hill, I want a full cleanup of all, all the leftover PCBs and pollution, not just the river," Bloomberg said.
 
When it comes to the Housatonic, he says if it will take 10 to 15 years longer to have a full cleanup rather than a capping project, he's willing to wait.
 
"That river is going to be there for much longer than any of us will, as will the community," Bloomberg said.
 
He also hopes to develop more job training options for veterans, increase access to health services for veterans, and incentivizing the creation of veteran-owned businesses.
 
"There is more than eight issues. This is just the start of this. There are a lot of other things I'd like to discuss as well. Right now with the striking Verizon workers, we need to talk about unions and employee protections. There are things we need to talk about with what's going on with the state and the so-called bathroom bill and the rights of the LBGTQ community. There are things like arts and culture in the city. There is more that will get out," Bloomberg said.
 
"But as I go through this, I'm speaking with a lot more focus on the community. I can go out there and say I support private sector unions and Verizon but something like this, I want to dig more into the issues around it. As I have more conversation with folks who are quality advocates, we'll be putting together more of this."
 
More information about these issues can be found on his website. He is challenging incumbent Tricia Farley-Bouvier for the Democratic nomination for the 3rd Berkshire District in the House of Representatives. 
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