Election 2009: Pittsfield Ward 2 Profiles
PITTSFIELD — The three-way race for the Ward 2 City Council seat is one part rematch.Kevin Morandi is taking on incumbent Louis A. Costi again after coming within 28 votes of the seat in 2007. This time, Costi also has to fend off newcomer Peter T. White in the preliminary election has set for Sept. 22. Two of the men will continue on to the general election on Nov. 3.
Their names were drawn in random order on Aug. 20 for placement on the ballot. White took the No. 1 spot, followed by Morandi and three-term incumbent Costi.
It's a race at a critical time nationally and locally, and will be determined by their differing visions of the future of Pittsfield, if not their positioning on the ballot.
Read about their debate on Aug. 31.
LOUIS A. COSTI
 Louis A. Costi incumbent Unkamet Drive 413-442-9773 'Every single call gets returned,' says Costi. |
AGE: 67 FAMILY: wife, Joy EDUCATION: Pittsfield High School, 1960; two years of college EMPLOYMENT: Owner of commercial real estate TIME IN PITTSFIELD: 45 years PUBLIC SERVICE: six years on the City Council, Public Works Committee, Morningside Initiative, Barrington Stage Company Board, past vice president of the Rotary Club and many others PRIMARY ISSUE: Building the tax base |
A self-employed commercial real estate businessman, Costi believes that voters will recognize his efforts in the city whereever they turn.
"We've had more roadwork and more potholes and more sidewalk work in Ward 2 than anywhere in the city, because of my persistence. We've cut trees down, we've taken people to court over taking care of their property," said Costi.
Costi, a budget hawk, is against building two new high schools to replace the aging Pittsfield and Taconic high schools. Better to Costi would be to improve the existing infrastructure.
"I want to work toward making Pittsfield High School a very good, academic school, and to making Taconic a good [technology] school," said Costi.
The only councilor to vote against the current budget, feeling it was still too flush with unnecessary spending, Costi believes another $500,000 could have been cut without the city feeling the hurt. To counter the persistent lack of money, Pittsfield needs to build a stronger tax base.
"We have to work very diligently to get more people in town. We've laid the groundwork for that, and a lot of the ground we laid specifically is in creating more arts [venues] and working with the downtown, cleaning the downtown up," said Costi. "When a company comes and wants to move into a city, the first thing they look at is, 'What
are the amenities for my employees?' Boy, we really have something to show them now."
He was also part of the effort to produce more liquor licenses for the downtown, and all but two of nine remain available. This was done to make the downtown an option for bars and restaurants seeking a new locale.
"All of this brings people downtown and brings people to Pittsfield, and makes it much more enjoyable for a company to show their employees, 'If we move to Pittsfield, look at what we've got here. They've got movies, they've got theater, they've got the arts, they've got wonderful celebrations, we have the free ethnic fair, we have free Live on the Lake [concerts], we have free movies in the park, and it goes on and on. Most places don't have that," said Costi, an active participant in the Morningside Initiative, a community reinvention program.
PETER T. WHITE
 Peter T. White
Plunkett Street 413-464-9044 vote4petewhite@gmail.com myspace.com/ vote4petewhite Facebook/petewhite78 |
AGE: 31 FAMILY: girlfriend, Becky Tefft EDUCATION: Taconic High, 1996; BCC, associate's degree, early childhood education, 2001; MCLA, bachelor's, in history/poli-sci, 2005 EMPLOYMENT: program coordinator of Brien Center's Reach Out PUBLIC SERVICE: BCC Student government Association, Pittsfield 4th of July Parade Committee member, Morningside Initiative TIME IN PITTSFIELD: Born and raised PRIMARY ISSUES: Jobs, grassroots community building |
"I didn't win, but I was able to get involved in several different projects," said White, citing his time on the Traffic Commission, the Fourth of July Parade Committee, and the Morningside Initiative Steering Committee, of which he is vice chairman.
Now, he wants another shot to help Pittsfield be all it can be.
"We need to highlight the great things while working on the challenges," said White. "I'm running because I feel that I have a plan to help Ward 2."
His plan is accessibility: to be accessible to voters, not just with a phone number and e-mail, but with interactivity on Facebook and MySpace, and on the streets in person.
He plans to host quarterly neighborhood meetings to stay connected with residents. Additionally, White said he plans to be just as visible after the campaign as during.
"I just that think we need more now than a ward councilor's job typically entail. I want to do more grassroots community organizing, to put together neighborhood organizations, neighborhood watches, to be out there and visible, getting people motivated to be involved and take pride in their neighborhood," said White.
In its own take on the National Night Out, the Morningside Initiative group created Morningside Pride Night, a community event that has gone on for the past five years. White has been a principal organizer of these events.
The biggest challenge to building community in the city: lack of employment.
"We need economic development, and what I plan to do about it is to work with the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority, to work on the William Stanley Business Park, to be accessible to them, to not seek a position on the board, but to be there to ask questions ..., to make sure that if I don't see the results that I think should be happening, I ask why it's not happening," said White.
He's looking forward to working with the mayor, whether it's Ruberto or one of the nine other candidates, for the good of his ward and the city as a whole.
KEVIN J. MORANDI
 Kevin J. Morandi South Carolina Avenue
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AGE: 53 FAMILY: wife, Patty, and son, Kyle EDUCATION: Lee High School, Broms Barber Academy, Springfield, 1975 EMPLOYMENT: proprietor Clip n' Snip barber shop PUBLIC SERVICE: past member Lee Youth Association board & Lee Youth Commission, board of Adams Youth Center and Lee High School coach varsity basketball, junior varsity softball TIME IN PITTSFIELD: three years PRIMARY ISSUES: crime and jobs, stopping tax and spending |
"I was very encouraged by the way the voters responded to me, so I feel that there's this strong will to move Pittsfield forward and that the people of Ward 2 really want to be heard and really want someone visible in their neighborhoods," said Morandi. "I'm very passionate about giving back to the community through public service, something I've done again and again over the years."
Morandi and his family love it here, and he wants to help brace Pittsfield up. If elected, he's seeking to squash the rampant crime, boost jobs and unburden the taxpayers.
In an effort to achieve his goal to diminish crime, Morandi said he'll be an aggressive advocate for neighborhood, community and after-school programs. Crime and drug watches would be a big component.
"I would work closely with the police chief and his department, and get into the neighborhoods," said Morandi. He also wants to conduct monthly ward meetings in both of his precincts.
"I'm hoping to bring the community together and have the people come in and make it more of a close-knit community, and be the eyes and ears for the police, and really help each other out and watch out for each other in the neighborhoods," said Morandi.
Ultimately, he wants criminals to feel unwelcome anywhere in Pittsfield, so that residents feel safe.
"These people involved in crime and drugs are not going to be allowed here, not only in Ward 2 but in the city. That is something I will push strongly. We don't want them picking up ship from Morningside and going over to the West Side. That's something that's not going to be tolerated in the city at all," said Morandi, who was born and raised
in Lee, where he owns and operates the Clip 'n Snip barber shop.
He also wants to push for job growth by promoting the William Stanley Business Park, by sitting on the PEDA board, or by having a Ward 2 resident on the board in his stead.
Morandi said the tax rates need to be more reasonable, especially for businesses that might want to locate in Pittsfield. Tax breaks would be on his agenda.
However, he also wants to make sure that PEDA benchmarks are monitored closely so that the "companies aren't going to come in and burn the city and take their money and run, and not produce."
As the PEDA executive director is an interim leader, Morandi wants the next permanent economic development chief to be experienced in dealing with challenging sites like Pittsfield's, where there may be brownfields or other contaminated locales. Morandi said he unrelated to the other Morandis of North County.
