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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

League of Women Voters Forum on Regional Planning and Voting Rights - June 23, 2026

Selectboard & Town Boards — Tuesday, June 23, 2026

BodyLenox, Massachusetts

SessionSelectboard & Town Boards

DateTuesday, June 23, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 55:45

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:09

I'm very glad that you're all

Speaker 2

0:11

here.

0:11

And as we start tonight, I just want to welcome you.

0:16

Hope you will join the League of Women Voters if you haven't already.

0:21

And I hope that you'll keep abreast of what we're doing and that it will interest you.

0:26

There's lots of details about that that we're ready to bombard you with, but I'll spare you for that now.

0:33

Isn't it wonderful to be here in this space in this old town hall that's been completely redone?

0:41

It was an enormous historic moment when that all came together to happen.

0:48

And the high school, Waldorf High School, does it look on the project of remodeling this building.

0:54

Thank you, Patrick White, for all you've done to contribute to it.

1:02

It was a multi-million dollar project.

1:06

So ten figures.

1:09

I wasn't going to do the math.

1:12

And I'm going to go straight to welcoming you because I think we have an interesting and enlightening education this evening by two young experienced professionals, young to me, and they work in different organizations on issues that affect voters and our well-being in ways that you might not expect.

1:35

First, we'll hear from Laura Brennan, the new executive director of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, an arm of the government organized around the time, the county system was abandoned in 2000.

1:48

But since then, there's only been one other executive director.

1:51

So she takes on this role as the second, which is very am I correct?

1:57

Okay.

1:58

I may be wrong on that.

2:00

But after her talk and her slides, we'll hear from our second speaker, Chris Benton, who will be here for, and each of them will be here for questions afterwards.

2:10

So the Regional Planning Commission was established when the county system was abandoned.

2:17

And the organization seeks to enhance regional resilience and quality of life in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

2:39

It's my impression that very few voters recognize the BRPC and what it's doing.

2:46

And the impact, in fact, has a much larger impact than we recognize.

2:53

So while we're no longer a county government, except for the sheriff, the Berkshires are widely recognized as a community.

3:01

We're not seen as disparate.

3:04

On the other hand, each of our towns are fiercely independent with home rules central to the way of life here.

3:13

So Laura's going to present us with her overview of her organization and her strategies for running her organization.

3:22

And in a conversation mentioned that we had earlier, it's not imposing systems that are unwelcome.

3:30

It's about finding areas of collaboration and where the trade-offs can be.

3:36

A regional planning commission provides a focal point for the discussion and evaluation of area-wide and intermunicipal problems and the needs, and also provides us a nexus for collaborative solutions.

3:50

Laura, thank you so much for coming.

3:53

We appreciate

Unassigned speaker

3:54

it.

Speaker 3

4:01

Thank you very much.

4:07

I've met some very new arrivals.

4:11

Welcome.

4:11

And I've met some lifers.

4:14

Thank you for everything that you've contributed to the Berkshires over time.

4:19

I myself have been here for almost 20 years.

4:24

I think I have about two weeks until I hit my what I like to call my Berkshire versary.

4:30

And I embrace this region with the zeal of a convert.

4:38

I have never felt more at home.

4:42

I have never felt more welcomed or invited to be involved.

4:46

I think this is a region with a real strong cohesion.

4:50

And as Ramel mentioned, so many individual identities that are also worth preserving and protecting.

Unassigned speaker

4:58

So we'll talk a little bit about that.

Speaker 3

5:01

I want to check the sound.

5:03

Am I okay?

5:04

All right, great.

5:07

There they

Unassigned speaker

5:08

are.

Speaker 3

5:08

I've heard wonderful things.

5:11

So in communicating about today's session, I was asked to first share some background on BRPC, as it's true that very few individual residents of the region have a strong understanding of what we

Unassigned speaker

5:24

do.

Speaker 3

5:24

In truth, we're really woven into the fabric of how things happen in the Berkshires.

5:30

Is that because of this?

5:32

It's the elevator, okay.

5:36

But I'm happy to wait.

5:45

No, they're not bad at

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Community Engagement████████████████████████████28%

Voting Rights██████████████████████22%

Environmental Protection██████████████14%

Public Engagement██████████10%

Historic Preservation████████8%

Public Health████████8%

Arts And Culture█████5%

Economic Development███3%

Racial Equity██2%

Summary of Proceedings

League of Women Voters Forum on Regional Planning and Voting Rights - June 23, 2026

The League of Women Voters hosted a forum on June 23, 2026, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, featuring two speakers: Laura Brennan, Executive Director of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC), and Chris Benton of the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Education Fund. The meeting highlighted the role of regional planning in the Berkshires and the importance of voting rights and civic participation. The host welcomed attendees, noted the renovated town hall, and expressed pride in the Massachusetts League of Women Voters' lawsuit against the executive order banning mail-in voting, which a court allowed to proceed.

Presentation by Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC)

Laura Brennan provided an overview of BRPC, established in 1966, one of 13 regional planning agencies in Massachusetts, governed by 32 delegates from each town's planning board.
BRPC serves municipal governments with technical assistance, data, and mapping, noting that only eight Berkshire communities have their own planning staff.
Current program areas include land use, transportation, economic development, public health, energy, and environmental initiatives. BRPC operates with almost zero discretionary funding; staff time is covered by 162 competitive grants from federal, state, and private sources.
Key initiatives highlighted: Home Modification Loan Program (HMLP) for aging in place, Berkshire Benchmarks (demographic data portal), Art Week Berkshires (300+ artists, 10 days), Vaccination Clinics, Berkshire Brownfields (EPA-funded), Berkshire Overdose and Addiction Prevention Collaborative, Berkshire's Outside (600 outdoor access points), and Vision Zero to reduce traffic deaths.
BRPC also manages the Berkshire Group Purchasing Program (26 communities), the Berkshire Public Health Alliance, and Berkshire Funding Focus.
Brennan emphasized the value of regional collaboration, citing the "Berkshire Way" and examples of towns sharing services and nonprofits partnering.

Presentation by League of Conservation Voters Education Fund

Chris Benton discussed the connection between voting rights and environmental advocacy, explaining why a climate group prioritizes voter registration and turnout.
He highlighted the nonpartisan work of LCV Education Fund, aiming to register over 500,000 voters in the 2026 cycle, focusing on communities of color and rural areas using tactics like "site-based vote tripling" (one registration yields two additional by personal referral).
Benton described successful coalition work in Maine defeating Question 1 (a 2025 voter suppression referendum that would have cut early voting, ended mail-in voting, eliminated same-day registration, and required voter ID). The coalition included the League of Women Voters and Maine Conservation Voters.
He also praised ranked-choice voting in Maine, citing a recent primary where the winner initially had 28% of the vote but secured victory through ranked-choice tabulation.
Benton stressed that voting barriers are often intentional and disproportionately affect low-income and minority communities, and that clean energy, environmental justice, and voting rights are interconnected.

Key Outcomes and Discussion

The meeting concluded with a Q&A session. One question compared Maine's voter participation rates with other states. Benton noted that Maine has high participation but must account for its demographic composition (oldest and whitest state), and that the defeated Question 1 would have disenfranchised rural voters across party lines.
No formal votes or resolutions were taken; the meeting served as an educational forum.
The host expressed pride in the Massachusetts League of Women Voters for suing over the executive order banning mail-in voting, noting a court allowed the case to proceed.

Meeting Transcript

I'm very glad that you're all here. And as we start tonight, I just want to welcome you. Hope you will join the League of Women Voters if you haven't already. And I hope that you'll keep abreast of what we're doing and that it will interest you. There's lots of details about that that we're ready to bombard you with, but I'll spare you for that now. Isn't it wonderful to be here in this space in this old town hall that's been completely redone? It was an enormous historic moment when that all came together to happen. And the high school, Waldorf High School, does it look on the project of remodeling this building. Thank you, Patrick White, for all you've done to contribute to it. It was a multi-million dollar project. So ten figures. I wasn't going to do the math. And I'm going to go straight to welcoming you because I think we have an interesting and enlightening education this evening by two young experienced professionals, young to me, and they work in different organizations on issues that affect voters and our well-being in ways that you might not expect. First, we'll hear from Laura Brennan, the new executive director of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, an arm of the government organized around the time, the county system was abandoned in 2000. But since then, there's only been one other executive director. So she takes on this role as the second, which is very am I correct? Okay. I may be wrong on that. But after her talk and her slides, we'll hear from our second speaker, Chris Benton, who will be here for, and each of them will be here for questions afterwards. So the Regional Planning Commission was established when the county system was abandoned. And the organization seeks to enhance regional resilience and quality of life in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. It's my impression that very few voters recognize the BRPC and what it's doing. And the impact, in fact, has a much larger impact than we recognize. So while we're no longer a county government, except for the sheriff, the Berkshires are widely recognized as a community. We're not seen as disparate. On the other hand, each of our towns are fiercely independent with home rules central to the way of life here. So Laura's going to present us with her overview of her organization and her strategies for running her organization. And in a conversation mentioned that we had earlier, it's not imposing systems that are unwelcome. It's about finding areas of collaboration and where the trade-offs can be. A regional planning commission provides a focal point for the discussion and evaluation of area-wide and intermunicipal problems and the needs, and also provides us a nexus for collaborative solutions. Laura, thank you so much for coming. We appreciate it. Thank you very much. I've met some very new arrivals. Welcome. And I've met some lifers. Thank you for everything that you've contributed to the Berkshires over time. I myself have been here for almost 20 years. I think I have about two weeks until I hit my what I like to call my Berkshire versary. And I embrace this region with the zeal of a convert. I have never felt more at home. I have never felt more welcomed or invited to be involved. I think this is a region with a real strong cohesion. And as Ramel mentioned, so many individual identities that are also worth preserving and protecting. So we'll talk a little bit about that. I want to check the sound. Am I okay? All right, great.

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