PITTSFIELD — City Council candidate Corey Walker says her campaign for the Ward 2 seat is rooted in service, community engagement, and a personal commitment to rebuilding the city that helped her rebuild her life.
“This work… it’s changed my entire life,” Walker said in an interview on WTBR’s Morning Drive. “There is no more rewarding thing in the world than to help someone put their life back together.”
A Pittsfield native, Walker works at the Brien Center and is active in recovery and mental health outreach. She said running for office is a natural next step in that work. “I look at city councilors as… mediators between the neighborhood voices and the administration,” she said.
Walker emphasized her platform was built through door-to-door canvassing and conversations with residents. “I wanted to develop the platform with people,” she said. “It’s not just about me — it’s about all of us.”
Top concerns she identified include infrastructure, mental health and substance use, and economic instability — especially in Ward 2, which encompasses both high- and low-income neighborhoods. “There’s a cultural clash… but at the same time, we all want unity,” she said.
Walker proposed innovative approaches to long-standing problems, including tax-based incentives for employers to create job training programs and hiring pipelines into public works roles. “We really need people. We really need laborers. We really need licensed drivers,” she said, noting the city’s staffing shortages.
She also supports initiatives such as safe injection sites and expanded mental health resources. “We want to create safer spaces for individuals suffering from mental health issues or substance abuse afflictions,” she said.
A passionate advocate for working-class residents, Walker spoke at length about the challenges of rising rents and stagnant wages. “There’s a huge part of the population that gets up every single day… and they feel like all that work isn’t significant,” she said. “We need to restore the pride to the person who gets up every day and goes to work.”
Walker supports statewide rent control efforts and local policies to protect tenants while maintaining strong partnerships with responsible landlords.
Above all, she stressed inclusion and listening. “I will not beg and plead for you to vote for me. I will beg and plead for you to work with me,” Walker said in her closing remarks. “We can’t do anything alone — but I think we can do everything together.”
Editor’s Note: This article is based on the October 1, 2025 broadcast of WTBR’s “Morning Drive” and was written in part using ChatGPT. To view the entire program, visit https://pittsfieldtv.org/program/?id=54044. WTBR’s “Morning Drive” airs weekdays at 7:30 a.m. on 89.7 FM in Pittsfield and 88.1 in Lee; and is simulcast on Access Pittsfield channel 1301. The full interview is available to view through PCTV Select.
