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James M. Ruberto*
Candidate For Mayor - Pittsfield James M. Ruberto was elected in January 2004 and is running for a third two-year term. He first ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2001.
The Pittsfield native said he running again because he wants to see the results of his initiatives, including the $12.9 million cinema/retail complex planned on Main Street. He has said his goal is to make the city a destination spot that will draw up to 500,000 visitors a year.
During his terms, Ruberto has encouraged entrepreneurs to make Pittsfield home with targeted tax incentives, while also pushing for businesses already in Pittsfield to grow by offering credits in exchange for new jobs.
He has worked to establish Pittsfield as a cultural center, particularly in his establishment of a cultural development office. Among the city's advances in cultural tourism and development is the relocation of the Barrington Stage Company to the former Berkshire Music Hall for year-round performances. He also was instrumental in the Colonial theater restoration getting a controversial $1 million from the GE Economic Fund that helped the century-old theater win millions in state grants.
Ruberto also helped establish an artist overlay district to allow artists to live and work on North Street and throughout the downtown.
Ruberto also led an effort to have Pittsfield recognized for its role in baseball history, after a 1793 bylaw referring to the game was found in its archives. This month, Yankee Magazine named Pittsfield among the top 10 reasons to visit New England.
If re-elected, he hopes to finally see the reconfiguration of Park Square, further improvements in the schools and the hiring of more teachers, and businesses moving into the Stanley Business Park.
While the park's overseer, the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority, has come under fire for its failure to drum up tenants, Ruberto has said the city won't be "pushed into making bad decisions."
"There are a series of steps that are needed to lay the infrastructure of what will be the most prestigious and most attractive business park in western Massachusetts," he said recently.
Ruberto is married to Ellen Reynolds Ruberto, also a city native. He graduated from St. Joseph's High School and received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Villanova University in 1968 and his master's of business administration from the University of Massachusetts in 1969.
Ruberto was employed in the plastics industry for 30 years, working as an executive in sales and marketing and later a a consultant.
He is a member of UNICO, the Elks Club and the Sons of Italy.
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