GREENFIELD — A light drizzle did little to keep Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll off Franklin County’s streets on Tuesday as the lieutenant governor candidate spent her day visiting Pioneer Valley communities.
After a morning interview with WHMP’s Bill Newman in Northampton, Driscoll and her campaign made their way north to Greenfield to visit the Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center and downtown businesses. Driscoll then made her way to Leyden, where she toured Bree-Z-Knoll Farm and met with the Democratic Town Committee.
Driscoll, Salem’s 50th mayor and the first woman to occupy the position, also served as chief legal counsel and deputy city manager in Chelsea and the community development director in Beverly. In her bid for lieutenant governor, Driscoll faces fellow Democrats state Rep. Tami Gouveia, D-Acton, and state Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, in the Sept. 6 primary. Former candidates state Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, and businessman Bret Bero failed to reach the delegate threshold at the Democratic Party convention.
Pausing for lunch at Cocina Lupita in Greenfield, Driscoll mingled with area politicians and business owners, comparing and contrasting aspects of her communities with those in western Massachusetts. Throughout the conversation, Driscoll stressed that unity and common interests drive her leadership.
“I think that’s where the magic happens — when your city has an aligned vision and you’re locking arms to go get it,” she said.
Despite drawing connections between eastern and western Massachusetts communities and being a self-declared “city person,” she acknowledged a discrepancy in how state politicians have historically allocated attention.
“I get it. If you look at any of the western Massachusetts or statewide reports, it really highlights the inequities,” said Driscoll, who described herself as “someone who knows that, frankly, we don’t have to put our thumb on the scale for Boston.”
She took a position of at least partial optimism, however, when considering the relationship between Beacon Hill and western Massachusetts communities.
“I think there’s a lot of healthy ecosystems that exist in western Massachusetts because they don’t have that proximity to Boston,” she said, arguing that some lack of state attention has forced area towns to work collaboratively on their own solutions. “I think there’s a lot of collegiality in Franklin County between places, and I think in other places, that’s a model that could be worked a lot more.”
Driscoll said she observed positive reminders of Franklin County’s self-reliance during Tuesday’s visit. Seeing local residents at work, she said, excited her for “the opportunity to support an ecosystem.”
Regional familiarity aside, Driscoll stressed that Massachusetts residents across the state should be encouraged by her resumé.
“I think experience matters,” she said. “As someone who has been a mayor for 16 years making things work and work well, I’m excited for what I can do in the corner office.”
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.