John Krol, with his wife, Cara, is hoping to demonstrate the differences between he and his opponent over the coming weeks.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Tuesday's preliminary election has narrowed the mayoral field to Peter Marchetti and John Krol.
And in Ward 2, Brittany Bandani and Alexander Blumin will face off and Ward 7 incumbent Anthony Maffuccio will be challenged by Rhonda Serre.
It took less than 15 minutes after the polls closed for Pittsfield Community Television to air the unofficial results.
Marchetti, the current council president, polled 2,248 votes to Krol's 1,807. Left out was Karen Kalinowsky, who earned about 15 percent of the vote at 738.
Krol and Marchetti will face off in the November general election to determine who will occupy the corner office for the next four years. The winner will replace Linda Tyer, who declined to run for a third four-year term.
"I think our tagline of 'leadership you can trust experience, you can count on, and dedication that's already been proven,' is resonating with voters," Marchetti said.
"And I think that my record resonates with voters. I'm not someone who has been here and left and come back. I am someone who has been here working hard for Pittsfield for the last 30 years and will continue to do so."
Marchetti was welcomed to his preliminary election party by a room of cheering family, friends, and city and state officials. This included Mayor Linda Tyer, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, and several fellow councilors.
"I think I know something really serious and that is Pittsfield does want change and they want us," he said to the crowd followed by roaring applause.
The candidate was thrilled to be the top vote-getter in the three-way race with 47 percent support.
"I wish I could say that it's like any other time that I was top vote getter in the at large race but this is clearly a different race," he said. "And I wish voter turnout was a little higher than it was but I love the fact that we were able to claim 13 out of 14 precincts and lead the way into November."
This is his second bid for mayor after unsuccessfully running in 2011.
Krol wasn't troubled by his second place showing.
"I feel fantastic, it was a great day, the energy was high," said Krol at his party at Hotel on North. "We wish the turnout was higher but at the end of the day, the number of people who voted for change today was greater than the number of people who were in favor of status quo."
He's looking forward to showing the "massive differences" between himself and Marchetti as the campaign enters its final weeks.
The main things he's hearing from voters is taxes are through the roof and nothing's being done about them.
"We continue to hear from downtown business owners that we need to do something about aggressive panhandling, we have to address the fact that we have empty storefronts," he said. "We've been calling for a downtown foot patrol since the very beginning."
Describing the next weeks of campaigning as "fun" with a push for a greater turnout, he anticipated that parents and young professionals will vote in droves for his stance on community, schools, culture and a thriving downtown.
"This is a community that is about family and this candidacy is about family and and we are going to convey that and we're gonna win in November," he said.
Ward 2 will also see a newcomer in either Bandani or Blumin. Bandani is an attorney and fairly new arrival to the city; Blumin owns rental properties in the city and has been a regular at City Council meetings.
Bandani took the most votes at 166, followed close behind by Blumin at 150. Out of the race is Soncere Williams at 122. Williams' campaigning had been affected by tragedies in her family this summer.
Serre took the most votes in Ward 7 with 325 followed by Maffuccio with 194. Business owner Jonathan Morey was out of the running after tallying 58 votes.
Maffuccio is running for a third consecutive two-year term; he served on the council for several terms in the aughts. Serre, who ran unsuccessfully in 2017, retired as director of corporate communications for Greylock Federal Credit Union and has served on a number of civic committees.
"It feels very rewarding. I feel really good," said Serre, who was at Marchetti's party at the Polish Falcon Club. "I now realize the work pays off. And I'm looking forward to doing more work."
It was the work, she said, she felt resonated with the voters.
"I feel like everybody that I talked to was ready for somebody to prove themselves that they really wanted this job and that they wanted to represent them," said Serre, who added there was a lot more door knocking ahead for her.
Fewer than 5,000 votes were cast in the preliminary, down from just over 6,000 in the 2019 five-way mayoral preliminary. Total unofficial votes cast was 4,862 for about a 16 percent turnout.
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Belchertown Stops Pittsfield Post 68
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Belchertown Post 239’s Cooper Beckwith set the tone when he crushed the game’s first pitch to left-center field for a double.
The visitors went on to pound out 14 more hits in a 9-1 win over Pittsfield Post 68 in American Legion Baseball action at Buddy Pellerin Field on Monday night.
Beckwith went 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored twice, and Chase Earle went five innings on the mound without allowing an earned run as Post 239 improved to 15-0 this summer and completed a regular-season sweep of Post 68 (12-4).
“He’s a good pitcher,” Post 68 coach Rick Amuso said. “Good velo[city], kept the ball down. We didn’t respond.”
Pittsfield did manage to scratch out a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, when it already trailed, 7-0.
Nick Brindle reached on an error to start the inning. He moved up on a single by Jack Reed (2-for-2) and scored on a single to left by Cam Zerbato.
That was half the hits allowed by Earle, who struck out three before giving the ball to Alex West, who gave up a leadoff walk in the sixth and retired the next six batters he faced.
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The $25,000 raised will directly assist the Berkshire Humane Society in funding its various programs aimed at improving the lives of animals in need throughout the Berkshire County area. click for more
The short film follows Tom Levardi, who has been a supporter of the hiking community over the last 45 years by allowing Appalachian Trail hikers to camp in his back yard.
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On Thursday, the commission issued 36 conditions for the city project that include a new boardwalk, access stairs, paring improvements, seasonal docks, and a new swimming beach on the park’s two properties at 1447 North St. and 40 Hancock Rd. click for more
Mike Ressler was unhittable on the mound, and the Pittsfield Little League All-Stars completed a convincing run through the Don Gleason District 1 Tournament with a 19-0 win over Dalton-Hinsdale on Thursday. click for more