Patsy Harris wins

Patsy Harris has won a crushing victory in the race for the Berkshire Middle District Register of Deeds.

“It feels awesome, really great,” Ms. Harris said in comments to The Beacon after her win.

Many thought that the Democratic Party primary race between Ms. Harris, an assistant register of deeds, Jody Phillips, a former Pittsfield city clerk, and Scott Pignatelli, a local business owner and member of Lenox’s prominent Pignatelli family, would be a close one.

Instead, it was a blow out, with Ms. Harris winning 6,693 votes and 61 percent of the vote, almost three times that of her nearest challenger, Ms. Phillips, who garnered 2,446 votes and 22 percent of the vote. Mr. Pignatelli finished third with 1,832 votes and 17 percent of the vote.

Even more impressive than the depth of Ms. Harris’ victory was its breadth.

Ms. Harris won all 12 communities in the Berkshire Middle District by large margins, including the City of Pittsfield, where she won 13 out of 14 precincts. Ms. Harris also decisively won Mr. Pignatelli’s hometown of Lenox, where she beat him 648 to 496 votes, with 57 votes going to Ms. Phillips.

Barring an unforeseen write-in campaign, Ms. Harris will be elected as the new Berkshire  Middle District Register of Deeds this November, as no one outside of the Democratic Party has chosen to run for the office.

A political newcomer who’d never run for office before, Ms. Harris faced two opponents with substantial political connections. Ms. Harris helped to make up for this, however, by winning the strong support of much of the legal community, who backed her with both their endorsements and their wallets.

“The one group that really came forward was the attorneys, and thank you, thank you, thank you,” Ms. Harris said in the second part of her victory speech.

Ms. Harris was also vigorously supported by current and former employees of the middle district registry of deeds office, winning the endorsement of current Berkshire Middle District Register of Deeds Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr., former Register of Deeds Mary K. O’Brien and SEIU Local 888, which represents workers at the middle district registry of deeds.

“I’m just very pleased and gratified that the people voted on just what she ran on, her experience and her qualification[s] for that office,” said Ms. O’Brien, after Ms. Harris’ win.

Ms. Harris’ argument that her experience working at the registry of deeds best qualified her for the job also won her the endorsements of Berkshire County’s three major newspapers: The Berkshire Beacon, The Berkshire Eagle and The Berkshire Record.

“When The Beacon endorsed me – The Berkshire Beacon – I was thrilled,” said Ms. Harris. “I felt like at that point, it was a turning point.”

As for Ms. Harris’ opponents, both were surprised by the scale of her victory.

“I honestly did not [expect Ms. Harris’ margin],” said Ms. Phillips. “I respect the voters’ choice [and] we will move forward from here.”

“I’m disappointed, there’s no doubt about it, I’m disappointed,” said Mr. Pignatelli. “But…I’ve got to tip my hat off to Patsy Harris. She worked hard and…the results show it.”

Mr. Pignatelli was stunned, however, that he did not carry Lenox.

“I was prepared to lose the race; I was not prepared to lose Lenox,” said Mr. Pignatelli. “I’m just disturbed by the fact that…I didn’t get the support that I hoped I’d have in my own hometown.

When asked her thoughts about carrying Lenox, Ms. Harris said that she knew she would win it after she went door-to-door there.

“When I was going out door-to-door, 95 percent of the people who came to the door [in Lenox] said, ‘I’m voting for you, keep your card, I don’t need it…I’ve already decided,’” said Ms. Harris, who claimed she was the first person to actively campaign there. “I realized that no one else had hit that town…Scott hadn’t hit it and Jody hadn’t hit it.”

Another factor behind her Lenox victory may have been the endorsement of Lenox resident Scott Laugenour, who is running as the Green-Rainbow Party candidate against Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, brother of Ms. Harris’ opponent Scott Pignatelli, for the 4th Berkshire Massachusetts State House seat. Mr. Laugenour also lent some of his campaign’s resources to Ms. Harris’ campaign.

“I thought that was wonderful,” Ms. Harris said when asked about Mr. Laugenour’s endorsement. “I was really appreciative.”

As for whether she will return the favor and endorse Mr. Laugenour, Ms. Harris said she couldn’t really say, as she hadn’t had a moment to think about it.

Mr. Laugenour, who attended Ms. Harris’ victory celebration, seemed quite pleased with the results.

“It really seems that…voters are…not voting just based on name recognition,” Mr. Laugenour said in response to Ms. Harris’ win.

Posted by Bera B. Dunau on September 13, 2012. Filed under Community News,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry