PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Tricia Farley-Bouvier captured the Democratic nomination for 3rd Berkshire District in a special election primary on Tuesday that saw low turnout.

Farley-Bouvier, a former city councilor, topped her opponents by only a few hundred votes, garnering 1,430 votes to Peter White's 1,234 and Ryan Scago's 1,082.

About 17 percent of registered voters went to the polls. Votes were also cast in the Green-Rainbow Party primary for Mark Miller and as write-ins the Republican Party primary to place Mark Jester on the ballot for October.

Farley-Bouvier was magnanimous in victory, saying that she had "tremendous respect" for the other two candidates.

"This was the cleanest, friendliest campaign I've ever participated in," she told iBerkshires on Wednseday.

She will face off in less than a month against Miller, Jester and independent Pam Malumphy to see who will fill the state representative seat left vacant by Christopher Speranzo.

Meanwhile, White says he will mount a write-in campaign to see if he can hold onto his Ward 2 seat on the City Council. Kevin Morandi is running unopposed for the seat; White beat him for the council spot two years ago. Under Massachusetts electoral law, there is no minimum number of votes required for a write-in candidate — to win, they simply have to receive the highest number of votes.

"I'm not done serving Pittsfield," White told supporters gathered at Patrick's Pub on Tuesday. "I'm not ready to give up my Ward 2 seat."

White pledged to support Farley-Bouvier going forward in the special election.

"Make sure you listen to what goes on in this campaign, because everything we've talked about in this campaign still needs to be fought for. We still need single-payer health care, we still need jobs in Pittsfield, we still need to change our educational system," he said.

Farley-Bouvier also praised White's announcement that he will seek election through a write-in campaign for Ward 2. "At the very beginning of this campaign, I told Pete how valuable I believe he is on the City Council," she said. "I'm absolutely thrilled he will run for re-election to his seat."

She said one of the biggest concerns will be getting out ballot-weary voters for the special election on Oct. 18. Counting Tuesday's primary and the city's preliminary election on Tuesday, Sept. 27, it will be the third election in less than a month for Pittsfield. The general election is Nov. 8.

"The biggest surprise yesterday was the voter turnout, which was very low," said Farley-Bouvier. "So one of the big things will be educating people and making them aware that there is a special election going on."

Updated on Sept. 21, 12:03 p.m.

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— In the second of the series of election debates sponsored by the Pittsfield Gazette, Pittsfield Community Television and Berkshire Community College, three Ward 4 residents of varying backgrounds vied for the council seat left open by Michael Ward.

Candidates include Ozias "Chuck" Vincelette, who served as Ward 4 councilor until being ousted by Ward in 2005, Christopher J. Connell, who lost a bid for the seat against Ward in 2009, and newcomer James Bronson. The three will be winnowed down to two in the Sept. 27 preliminary election.

Over the course of the 50-minute debate, the three fielded questions from PCTV's Shawn Serre on key municipal issues, many of the same ones that would be raised again in the mayoral debate that followed.

The residential taxes for homeowners set in the last budget was one subject of concern that the candidates approached from different angles.

Vincelette said the residential rate was too high, blaming the City Council for failing to make cuts while adding to the capital budget. "The budget as passed was in many ways a failed budget," he said.

Bronson said he was generally opposed to further increasing residential taxes, and that it was the job of city councilors to look for ways to reduce spending without sacrificing quality-of-life services. 

"There's nobody out here who can tell me we don't have a couple extra dollars ... maybe some waste, or duplication, that we can find use some synergy or creativity to make those dollars stretch," he said.

Connell said he thought most Pittsfield residents probably felt uncomfortable with the current tax rate, and that there are several areas for budget expenses that could be cut to balance this.

"The first thing is ... I firmly believe the city should hire a city solicitor ... instead of paying legal fees of $185,000 on the city side, and $150,000 for legal," he said.

Like many involved in Pittsfield politics, all three Ward 4 hopefuls also took issue to varying degrees with Mayor James Ruberto's controversial appointments of "acting" directors for city departments.

"Certainly the mayor of any city has the right to get advice from the people that he or she feels are best qualified," Bronson opined. "That said, there's certainly been an awful lot of cronyism very recently with some of the people hired ... Suddenly, we have all these new 'czars' put in positions in government that I don't really think are necessary, especially at the end of an administration."

"Until we go through a charter commission, and look at everything that's in the city charter, the City Council needs to actually approve the appointments," Connell answered. "The acting appointments are a way to circumvent the council, and I think that's something to really look at."

Vincelette said he too supports the idea of a charter commission, noting it was first proposed a decade ago. 

"Having said, I do think Peter White came up with the absolutely correct compromise in terms of acting appointments," he continued, referring to a petition by White for a 90-day limit to acting appointments of department heads, with one 90-day extension possible, before the appointment must be approved by the City Council. "That was a reasonable compromise."

In their opening and closing statements, each candidate focused his reasoning for why he made the best candidate for the job. Vincelette cited his long career experience as a teacher and local banker, as well as previous experience in the Ward 4 seat as his credentials, while Connell stressed his current involvement in civic affairs, including roles on the Traffic Commission and YMCA board, and "experience working with over 30 communities." Bronson pointed to his fresh perspective and business experience managing hundreds of employees in his years as food and beverage manager at Jiminy Peak Ski Resort.

Stephen Fillio	Donna Walto	Joseph Nichols	Daniel Bianchi	Peter Marchetti

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Candidates vying to be the next mayor of Pittsfield spent just over an hour on Monday night staking out positions on issues ranging from school maintenance to the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority.

Stephen Fillio, Donna Walto, Joseph Nichols, Daniel Bianchi and Peter Marchetti, aligned according to their ballot position, answered questions from moderator Larry Kratka on the stage in the Boland Theatre at Berkshire Community College. Their numbers will be narrowed down to two in the preliminary election slated on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

More than a few of their responses were similar, but they diverged to some extent over use of the PEDA and how to bring jobs back to the city.

"The sense of urgency isn't there," said Bianchi of the PEDA board, noting the members all had jobs."We have to have a greater sensitivity to those people who are not that fortunate. We've got some real challenges."

The operation of PEDA was a flashpoint in Bianchi's narrow loss against Mayor James Ruberto two years ago. The former city councilor said he would appoint himself to the board that has been "plodding along" to ensure "a well-defined planned marketing plan." He also promoted the idea of an business development director to search out good companies and an incentive package to attract them, not just for PEDA but the city as a whole. "We need to have a greater sense of urgency to get these things done."

Marchetti said he would not appoint himself to the board but would put the members on notice they'd be replaced if they didn't perform. "I would make clear to them that we have goals and objectives that we need to meet," he said. "And if we can't meet them then by all means the appointing authority (mayor) needs to replace each member of the PEDA board that does not want to toe the line."

The current city councilor said communication was a major problem with the PEDA board and he would require a quarterly report to the City Council "so the public understands what's happening at the PEDA site."

Fillio said the PEDA board had to be more open-minded about possibilities, and earlier in the forum had suggested a multi-use stadium. "All they're looking at is one thing; they're looking at as just business, business, business, when there are some other things we can do." Fillio claimed some other concerns had approached PEDA but were turned down. He also said the city had to do more for the businesses already here, such as licensing. "As mayor I'd be right on top of that."

Walto had a more flamboyant vision, calling it an "opportunity to build the best, the brightest, the greenest building the city has ever seen" on the former GE site. She said the city should set an architectural competition to design a building for the William Stanley Business Park, based on the city's historic, industrial and innovative heritage.

"We need to be forward thinking, we need to make sure we design the best building," she said. "This could be the linchpin and be part of the economic development of the city once again."

Nichols said it was important to get out the message that PEDA was established to ensure the city and GE weren't held liable for the any contamination, and that brownfields legislation extended that to any companies building on the site. "As mayor, I feel it would be my position to talk to investors in explaining to them about the brownfields legislation and how they're safe to invest there," he said, adding he would also stop PEDA from contracting with outside marketing firms.

"We would be much better served for them to manage the site and have the mayor of this city, and anyone else who wants to help, to bring clients in," Nichols said.

All five said they would fill the city solicitor's spot, left vacant over the past several years as a supposed cost-cutting measure, as well as fill the higher-level posts including a director of personnel. Marchetti went a bit further, saying he would dispense with political appointments and put the personnel director in charge of most hiring and firing.

They all also agreed they were not in favor of making acting appointments, including to head the fire and police departments, as Ruberto has done.

Nichols called it "some kind of control mechanism for the mayor" while Walto dropped the quip it was all because of "the Ruberto administration's renaissance and the arts — everybody's in drama in the city now and that's why they're all acting." 

Bianchi said it might not be easy to fill the spots because of Civil Service rules, but "I don't think our goal should be acting chiefs but permanent chiefs." Marchetti pledged to push for permanent posts "to guarantee continuity in the deparments."

They also supported two high schools and better maintenance and upgrading of the Crosby, Conte and Morningside elementary schools that were left out of the last round of school renovations.

In opening statements, the candidates had touted their backgrounds and experience in demonstrating their capabilities to take on the duties of a mayor.

Walto (Berkshire BackRoad Tour Co.), Nichols (The Cove Bakery) and Fillio (construction work) noted their experience as small-business owners and entrepreneurs. Bianchi (former city director of administration and finance) and Marchetti (compliance officer at Pittsfield Co-operative Bank) also talked of their business and financial backgrounds as well as their strong involvement in muliple civic and community organizations.  

Fillio said his concern was the city's youth: "They literally have nothing to do but roam around the city and get in trouble."

Walto said she was the right candidate with "the strength of a man but the caring of a woman."

Nichols informed the audience he had "no party affiliation and no political baggage my only loyalty is to the people of Pittsfield."

Bianchi spoke of his family giving him "core values and traits that I think I could bring to the table and I think they would match up very well with the values of the people of Pittsfield."

Not to be outdone, Marchetti said he had "a great love for the city" and would listen to the people, and told Bianchi, "I, too share your family values."

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mark Miller, a candidate for the Green-Rainbow Party, has won the endorsement of the United Auto Workers, a major industrial labor union, in his bid to become the new state representative of the 3rd Berkshire District.

Willie Desnoyers, president of the UAW Massachusetts State CAP Council, said: "I'm proud to report that the UAW MA State CAP Council has endorsed Mark Miller for state representative for the 3rd Berkshire District. We are looking forward to working with Mark in the state Legislature. It is important to us that Labor endorses candidates that will respect collective bargaining rights and job creation in Massachusetts. We feel Mark is the best choice for Labor."

The decision comes even before the Democrats have had a chance to pick their nominee, who will face off against Miller and others in the Oct. 18 special election caused by the resignation of the incumbent, Christopher Speranzo. Miller welcomed the early endorsement.

"Pittsfield needs new jobs and I'm going to do all I can to bring them here. It's crazy that with so much work to do — like insulating every home in the city to bring down heating bills — our unemployment figures are higher than in the rest of the state. I'm thrilled that the members of the UAW are ready to help give Pittsfield a strong independent voice in the State House."

Usually the UAW backs Democrats. Miller says the endorsement shows a new willingness on the part of Massachusetts Democrats to break with the party, which controls 90 percent of the seats in the Legislature.

"I was a lifelong Democrat, but as with many Democrats there was a point when I had to say enough is enough. For me, that point came when the party caved in on health care," said Miller. "So although I'm not running as a Democrat I'm the candidate who is fighting for core Democratic policies like Medicare for All."

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The public is invited to attend a pasta dinner fundraiser to benefit the Committee to Elect Peter Marchetti Mayor on Friday, Aug. 26, from 5 to 8 at the Polish Falcon Club, 32 Belair Ave.

Cost is a $15 donation. Tickets may be purchased at the door, or reserved by calling 413-443-1411.

Peter Marchetti is a candidate for mayor. He is currently in his eighth year as on the Pittsfield City Council and as its vice president. He is chairman the council's Finance Subcommittee, serves on Public Health and Safety Subcommittee and is vice chairman of the Community and Economic Development Subcommittee. In addition he serves as the council representative on the Conservation Commission.

Marchetti is very active in the community, serving with the Morningside Initiative, on the board of directors of Pittsfield TV, state Youth and Adult Bowling leagues, the Helen Berube Teen Parent Program, Pittsfield Parade Committee, and many others.

Just this month, the Marchetti Campaign headquarters was opened at 766 Tyler St. Office hours have been expanded to Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to 1 and Tuesday through Thursday evenings from 6 to 8. The office can be reached at 413-443-1411 and 413-443-1220.

For more information, visit www.petemarchetti.com, pete@petemarchetti.com or Marchetti at 413-212-2163.