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Getting to the Heart of Pittsfield A Q & A WITH MAYOR PETE MARCHETTI B y A n a s t a s i a S t a n m e y e r // P h o t o s B y O l i v i a D o u h a n
for office , Marchetti met with city department heads as well as individuals from 1Berkshire , Downtown Pittsfield Inc ., the city ’ s TDI ( Trnasformative Development Initiative ), and other stakeholders . Days before taking office , in the starkly quiet city council chambers , I sat down to talk with Marchetti .
The city hall council chambers were packed . Overflowing , in fact . Family , friends , residents , the press , former mayors and council members , state elected officials — even Gov-
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ernor Maura Healey was on hand . The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Girl Scouts Troop 64912 , the invocation by Father John Salatino of St . Mary ' s Parish in Westfield , and the benediction by Salatino and Rabbi David Weiner of Congregation Knesset Israel in Pittsfield . There was even a special performance by 413 Cheer youth members . It was a real community event — the swearing in of the city clerk , new council members , school board members , and mayor . The naming of each elected official ’ s loved one in attendance and the drawing of council seats made this occasion even more special .
After Mayor Pete Marchetti took his oath of office , a few short speeches were made . One was by Healey . “ Pittsfield is a special place , and mayor , I want you to know that ,” she said . “ It ' s an important part of our state ' s history and our identity . It ' s the hub of regional activity and economy . Most importantly , Pittsfield has always struck me as a place where people work really hard , and they care for one another . Times may be challenging , times may be difficult , but it ' s about resilience . And it ' s about perseverance . And it ' s about evolution .”
Marchetti represents that evolution . He began his first public speech in the new post by saying that he might not be known as a trailblazer , “ but I am honored to be Pittsfield ’ s first openly gay mayor .” Marchetti was a council member for 16 years before becoming mayor , and those years weren ’ t continuous . He served under mayors Sara Hathaway and Jim Ruberto . Marchetti ran for mayor in 2011 and lost by a slim margin to Dan Bianchi , then served as city council president under Mayor Linda Tyer from 2016 to 2022 .
His recent mayoral campaign was on a platform of “ One Pittsfield .” To ready himself
What are the top challenges for Pittsfield ? We have so much need , but not as many resources to meet the need . That ' s the biggest challenge . We talk about mental health and substance use problems . Do we have the manpower ? Do we have the financial resources to do what we need to do ? We talk about roadwork that ' s desperately needed in Pittsfield . Do we have the resources , and do we have the money to do 204 square miles of roads ? We are a city that has banked on deferred maintenance . Can we continue to look the other way and use the band-aid approach ? Or do we need to spend the time to put the resources into our buildings before it ' s too late ? We have city buildings such as the old Hibbard Elementary School that is being used for storage . There has to be a better place for storage , and can we transform that building into a housing project ? In Pittsfield and the Berkshires , we need low-income housing to market-rate housing and everything in-between . We know that we ' ve got a jumpstart on housing with the White Terrace apartments and transitional housing that will be built on West Housatonic , but we ' re still in desperate need for more .
What else ? There ' s room for improvement in the school system . When I grew up , the way you define a family is different than defining a family today . The schools are competing with a whole mess of issues . It ’ s not just about providing education ; it ' s also providing an entire support system for students , such as mental health , substance use disorders , and homelessness .
Holiday Spring 2024 2023 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // // 61