Attorney William Solomon during his interview with the cable committee last week.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An enthusiastic legal counsel interview won over most of the Cable Advisory Committee.

On Thursday, the panel recommended Stoneham attorney William Solomon for the city's Spectrum contract renewal. At a rate of $200 per hour, he gave a $19,000 cost estimate and the committee voted to recommend $25,000 for funding to provide a buffer.

Solomon and Boston attorney William Hewig were interviewed last week and a special meeting was called for the decision so that it has a chance of being on the next City Council meeting agenda.

Pittsfield's 10-year contract ends in September 2024 and it is recommended that the contract negotiations take place over 12 months.  

Pittsfield Community Television Executive Director Shawn Serre was impressed with Solomon's great interest in taking on the case, his prior research on the city, his willingness to review the existing license's compliance, and his assertion to not let the cable company draft the license.

For Hewig, he was impressed with his level-headed approach and personality, honesty and realistic approach, and extensive experience with 150 to 200 cable licenses. His cost estimate was around $18,000 and the proposed hourly rate was $300 and $150 for the paralegal.

"I feel like they're both excellent choices, and I'd be happy if the committee went either way," Serre said. "But my particular opinion would be to go with attorney Solomon."

Committee member Patrick Mele Jr. agreed with his sentiments.

"My take comes from a more negotiating standpoint," he said.

"And I saw Bill Solomon was negotiating right from the start when he sat in that chair was talking not only to us but to Charter as to how we were going to proceed as a community and have our act together so that when we get to negotiations, we're ready to present a united front for the citizens of Pittsfield."

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Guiel Lampiasi did not agree with her colleagues. She felt that Solomon's approach seemed like a sales pitch and was impressed with Hewig's honesty.

Hewig's favoring of surveys during the ascertainment process also resonated with her. She said it may be easier for residents to fill out a survey online than attend an open session as Solomon favored.

"And then also, attorney Hewig talked about an example of success with Charter and we didn't hear that from attorney Solomon," Lampiasi added.

"And again, it goes back to this pitch of what I heard was a pie in the sky negotiation that, I want to be realistic, that I don't think that's going to happen."

Serre pointed out that Solomon has taken on Charter in a different form through a contract compliance complaint from North Adams. He added that being realistic is part of the committee's charge but he would like to hear what the possibilities are and would like to have someone fight for the city.

Mele also pointed out that Solomon submitted pages of explanation about his process and Hewig only submitted one page when given the same amount of time.

"I will say I recognize that attorney Solomon did submit a more thorough explanation of what I would say is his process, and I wish that we had more time to communicate directly with these candidates because I imagine that the process of every attorney doing this type of work is quite similar to what attorney Solomon has articulated," Lampiasi said.

"It's just a matter of writing down what you do. Similar to any job, if you write down the steps of how you do what you do and that's what we have here and for me personally, it's helpful to see, to understand, to imagine how it's going to go, but I don't know that this means that he's more of a fighter or more organized in some way. That doesn't say that to me but to your point, it is helpful to read his process."

Serre said one of his largest concerns with Solomon was the amount of information that was received.  He added that it could have been a little bit better organized and that is something that the committee would have to keep an eye on.

"I think that Mr. Hewig probably has all of that information but he had the opportunity to get it to us and it's not here," Mele said.

Chair Sara Hathaway was the tiebreaker in the vote, as James Moran was not present. She felt that both attorneys were strong choices but, leaning on Serre's recommendation, sided with Solomon.

"That would allow us to, I think, [have] a decision tonight and that would allow us to move forward with our request for funding to the mayor, at least based on the sense of the discussion that I have," she said.

"As I said there were strengths for me for both candidates."

Lampiasi made it clear that, even though she is the lone vote in opposition, she still supports Solomon.

"I will say that as the minority vote, I'm not going to change my vote on this. I still feel the way that I feel and I'm going to follow through with that. I respect the decision that you made and I understand why you made it, Chairman Hathaway," she explained.

"However, I do want to be clear that attorney Solomon, he's clearly qualified it is a difference of opinion and just preference and I'm sure we're going to work great with him and when he tunes in to watch this, I want him to know that I am impressed by the materials that he sent over and I have every bit of faith that he will fight for us and I look forward to him proving me wrong about my original preference."

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