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Pittsfield Will Hold Preliminary Election on Sept. 19

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is expected to hold a preliminary election on Sept. 19 to trim the candidate fields for mayor, Ward 2 and Ward 7, barring any last-minute withdrawals.

Friday was the last day to submit nomination papers to the Registrar of Voters for certification and preliminary ballot positions will be drawn on Aug. 10. Each of the three contested position will be narrowed down to two candidates on Sept. 19 in preparation for the general election on Nov. 7.

Peter Marchetti, John Krol and Karen Kalinowsky are now the three certified candidates running to replace Mayor Linda Tyer, who is not seeking re-election.

Craig Gaetani and David Webber had pulled papers but never returned them.

Krol is a former city councilor and Marchetti and Kalinowsky are current city councilors. This is the second mayoral bid for both Marchetti and Kalinowsky.

In Ward 2, Soncere Williams, Alexander Blumin and Brittany Bandani are vying for the seat. Current Councilor Charles Kronick is not seeking re-election.

And in Ward 7, incumbent Anthony Maffuccio is being challenged by Jonathan Morey and Rhonda Serre.

The other races did not meet the criteria for a preliminary. 

Incumbent Kenneth Warren is unopposed for Ward 1.

Bill Tyer and Matthew Wrinn are running in Ward 3 to replace current Councilor Kevin Sherman, who is not seeking re-election.

Incumbent James Conant is unopposed in Ward 4 and incumbent Patrick Kavey is unopposed in Ward 5.

Gaetani has been certified to run for Ward 6 against incumbent Dina Lampiasi.

At-large candidates include incumbents Earl Persip III and Peter White, former councilor Kathleen Amuso, and newcomers Alisa Costa, Craig Benoit, Lucas Marion and Daniel Miraglia.

For School Committee, William Garrity, Dominick Sacco, Diana Belair and incumbents Sara Hathaway, William Cameron, and Daniel Elias are in the running.

The last day to register to vote for the preliminary election is Sept. 9.

Candidate list

MAYOR

Peter Marchetti
John Krol Jr
Karen Kalinowsky

CITY CLERK

Michele Benjamin

AT LARGE

Earl Persip, III
Peter White
Alisa Costa
Craig Benoit
Lucas Marion
Daniel Miraglia 
Kathleen Amuso

WARD 1

Kenneth Warren. Jr 

WARD 2

Soncere Williams
Alexander Blumin
Brittany Bandani

WARD 3


Bill Tyer
Matthew Wrinn

WARD 4

James Conant

WARD 5

Patrick Kavey

WARD 6

Craig Gaetani
Dina Lampiasi

WARD 7

Anthony Maffuccio
Jonathon Morey
Rhonda Serre

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

William Garrity Jr.
Sara Hathaway
William Cameron
Daniel Elias
Dominick Sacco
Diana Belair

 


Tags: election 2023,   municipal election,   


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Berkshire Planning Commission Approves 'Conservative' FY25 Budget

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Regional Planning Commission has a "conservative" budget for fiscal year 2025 with a nearly 6 percent increase.

On Thursday, the commission approved a $6,640,005 budget for FY25, a $373,990 increase from the previous year.  The spending plan saw less growth from FY24 to FY25, as the FY23 to FY24 increase was more than $886,000, or over 16 percent.

Executive Director Thomas Matuszko said there aren't any dramatic changes.  

"This is very much different than a municipal budget in that it's not a controlling budget or a limiting budget," he said. "It is really just our best estimate of our ability to afford to operate."

The increase is largely due to new grants for public health programs, environmental and energy efforts, economic development, community planning, and the transportation program.

"We have a lot of grants and a lot of applications in. If any of those are awarded, which I'm sure there's going to be many of them, we would shift gears and if we have to add staff or direct expenses, we would," office manager Marianne Sniezek explained.

"But the budget that we have now is conservative and it covers all our expenses."

The budget was endorsed by the finance and executive committee before reaching the full planning commission.

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