Meg Britton-Mehlisch is reporting for The Berkshire Eagle that Timothy Shugrue, a former prosecutor and local defense attorney defeated incumbent Andrea Harrington in the Democratic primary for Berkshire County District Attorney that ended Sept. 6. Shugrue, of Pittsfield, told supporters at an election night watch party that voters had sent a clear message on their expectations for the office. “The message tonight, as you saw in the turnout — which was a nice turnout — and you saw it in the manner in which we won: people wanted a change,” Shugrue said. About 9:45 p.m., Harrington called Shugrue to concede and congratulate him on his campaign. She then appeared before a crowd of family, office staff and campaign supporters to let them know about her decision to concede. “I’m very dedicated to ensuring that we have a smooth transition in the District Attorney’s Office,” she said. Shugrue will become the next DA in January after his victory in the Democratic primary because there are no Republican challengers in the race. During the campaign, Shugrue, 62, drew strong differences between himself and Harrington, contrasting their views on what it means to be an effective progressive leader. During her tenure, Harrington focused on reducing racial bias in the criminal justice system, took a hard line against gender-based violence and brought an evidence-based approach to personal-use drug crimes. In the DA's contest she received support from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Massachusetts Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey. Shugrue said he intends to rebuild what he said was the "broken" relatioinship between the DA's office and local law enforcement. In the final weeks of the campaign, he was endorsed by the unions representing the Massachusetts State Police, North Adams police and supervisors, as well as the Pittsfield police. Shugrue said, “We need both campaigns to work together now in unison. To work together to bring crime under control in Berkshire County and to fairly reaffirm and reform the criminal justice system ... The stakes are high. We must come together once and for all because justice [is] for all.” Read the full story in The Berkshire Eagle.