Early voting in Massachusetts opened on Feb. 21 and Secretary of State William Galvin said more than 700,000 voters had requested mail-in ballots within the first week of early voting. As of Monday, more than 50,000 people had voted in person.
Twelve years after his first run for mayor, Marchetti took the corner office winning every precinct and ward in the city over opponent John Krol. He will be the second mayor to serve a four-year term, succeeding Linda Tyer.
There were 6,050 votes cast more than halfway through the day, which is a 19.64 percent turnout. Numbers have already surpassed September's preliminary election, which had about 16 percent turnout.
The debates were a partnership of Pittsfield Community Television and iBerkshires and moderated by Brittany Polito, iBerkshires' Pittsfield bureau chief.
Monday's debate between the seven candidates for the four councilor at large seats offered some substantive dialogue and disagreements that were largely in degree.
Mayoral candidate John Krol has unequivocally called for ending the practice of using the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) as a mandatory requirement for graduation.
With about two weeks left until the general election, the candidates debated the management of schools, economic development, finances, and more to a packed crowd at Conte Community School.
Mayoral candidate John Krol has released a plan on how his administration will root out waste, provide effective financial oversight, find savings for residents and small business owners, all while growing the economy.
The debate, which was carried live on PCTV, followed debates for Ward 2 and Ward 7. Those ward elections, along with the mayoral, each have three candidates who will be narrowed down to two in the Sept. 19 preliminary election.
But Macksey, the first woman to lead North Adams, isn't conceding anything to chance and on Thursday she touted the highlights of her administration and promised, well, more of the same.
A couple more candidates have taken out papers for the November city election but so far there are not enough names to consider a preliminary election.
Deanna Morrow, a direct care support worker at the Brien Center's Keenan House North, and recent Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts graduate, announced on March 10 that she will run for a seat on the North Adams City Council.
Offices on this year's municipal ballot in November are a four-year term for mayor and two-year terms each for one city clerk post, four councilor at large seats, seven ward council seats (one for each ward) and six School Committee seats.
Costa is a local advocate with a career in public policy and community organizing, Wrinn has a background in criminal justice and community involvement, and Tyer has served on various committees and boards in the community.