Josh Vallieres followed first Cathleen King and then Marcus Lyon to be North Adams’ city clerk in 2022. Now, after less than a year, he too will vacate the position May 5th. 22 at the time of his appointment, Vallieres told WAMC he was excited to bring a youthful energy to the position.
“I really want to show that young people can be just as efficient, and I think that there's a deeply held problem in not only just the city, the state, but the national level, of ageism," he said. "Young people can do the job too.”
The July 2022 vote to confirm Vallieres as city clerk brought tensions on the city council to the fore, with a vociferous but unsuccessful opposition waged by councilors Marie Harpin and Jennifer Barbeau. Former clerk Lyon later told WAMC that Barbeau and Harpin were the source of both his and King’s decision to leave city hall.