By Marcia Parnell
Fresh off the Mass Pike from Boston, State Representative Leigh Davis held a “Constituent Conversation” at the BAC on Friday, June 20th. Attended by nearly forty constituents from several Berkshire County towns, Davis kicked off the session by explaining a bit about her background, status of the state budget, and experience thus far as a state legislator. She then queried every attendee about their top issue or concern.
Anticipating anxiety about the impact of federal funding cuts, Davis said she and her colleagues are keeping a close watch on what’s happening in the U.S. Congress and Senate. In FY 2025 federal funding accounted for 33% of the State’s $69.2 billion budget. Despite the uncertainty, Davis explained there is good news in that the state has $1.3 billion in its 4% surtax fund (aka millionaire’s tax), which can only be spent on transportation and education, and a healthy rainy-day fund. But she also cautioned that the rainy-day fund would not be used to replace federal funding. Instead, state legislators will be looking for alternatives, and Davis believes a lot was learned from the COVID experience that can be drawn upon.
Davis said that her time as a Great Barrington Select Board and Finance Committee member serves her well in her new job. (Davis was elected to fill the seat vacated by long-time rep Smitty Pignatelli and took office on January 1, 2025.) Still, it was a bit of baptism by fire, she explained. The legislative session opened on January 1, and bills were due by January 15. The process involved long hours and fast-paced, detailed work with colleagues and staff. She also noted that she has found her fellow legislators—132 Democrats and 25 Republicans—collegial and helpful, much more so than she anticipated.
Top issues cited by attendees, and recorded by Davis on her tablet, ran the gamut: education, health care, meeting basic needs, housing, infrastructure (including transportation, roads, schools, Internet and cellular access), voting rights, youth engagement, protection and safety of the immigrant population, poverty, energy policy, streamlining regulations, and small-business needs.
At the end of the conversation Davis presented BAC board chair Ken Cheeseman with a donation check of $500 from the Leigh Davis Committee. As she later explained, “As someone who comes from an arts background, I believe deeply in the power of the arts to bring people together, spark creativity, and strengthen rural communities. The Becket Arts Center’s mission reflects my own values—equity, access, and community investment.”
To learn more about the bills Davis is sponsoring, visit leighdavis.org/general-5. Davis also cited malegislature.gov as a great way to learn about bills in play that you may want to add your voice to in support or opposition.
