PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Peter Marchetti is seeking re-election for his eighth term as councilor at large with a focus on making Pittsfield turn a corner for the better after a markedly difficult year.

 

The current City Council president wants to make sure that federal monies — including the $34 million in American Rescue Funds that was allotted to the city — are used to make improvements that benefit Pittsfield as a whole and prepare for the future.

 

"I think the focus really needs to be on where Pittsfield is today, as a community, I think that we need to focus on infrastructure, we need to focus on crime and gun violence, and we need to make sure we're doing all of that in a realistic environment," he said.

 

"I think that Pittsfield is at a place to turn a corner, and after coming out of the pandemic, I think all of us would agree that our hardest term ever as an elected official is probably in the last two years during COVID, and with the federal monies coming in, we have the ability to really invest those monies in a way to build for the future of Pittsfield in you know, I think that that's where the focus of this campaign needs to be."

 

Marchetti has been involved in local politics for more than 20 years. He first ran for council in 1999 and lost but two years later won his first campaign as a top vote-getter but ran unsuccessfully in 2003.

 

In 2005-2009 Marchetti again had successful campaigns as one of the top vote-getters.  

 

He ran for mayor in 2011 but was defeated by Daniel Bianchi and returned to the council in 2015, serving as council president since 2016.

 

The Pittsfield native is senior vice president of retail banking and operations for Pittsfield Co-Operative Bank, where he has climbed his way up the ladder during his 30 years there.

 

Between his employment at the bank and holding bachelor's degree in math from North Adams State College (now Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts), he believes that he brings necessary and valuable financial skills to the table.

 

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marchetti says the city now has the opportunity to use federal funding to also improve on certain industries that were harder impacted.

 

"We have the federal monies that we now have the ability to ensure that we use those monies correctly to improve upon where we're at," he explained. "And I think that certain industries have been harder impacted, and we need to make sure that we're paying attention to those as well as building a future."

 

Job creation and job development are a key issues that Marchetti would like to expand on. Because of the ways that the city — and the nation as a whole — have adapted to virtual work during the pandemic, he believes that this opens opportunities to bring professionals to the area.

 

"I think after the pandemic, how many people would have thought that we would have been doing government meetings and other types of meetings via virtual meetings?" he said.

 

"And I think that what we have been able to prove is that Pittsfield could handle that and you could work remotely from Pittsfield, at any company in the world, and how can we, how can we showcase that? I think that's important for us."

 

Because of his local ties and dedication to the city, Marchetti is also a huge proponent of community involvement.

 

Aside from his council duties, he serves on the Pittsfield Fourth of July Parade Committee and the Pittsfield Community Television Board of Directors, and coaches a youth bowling league.

 

"I've always run at large, and the logic behind it was that when you're involved with the community, people that live throughout the entire city, not just one particular ward, and part of a campaign is connecting with people that you know and sharing your ideas and asking for their support," he explained.

 

"And so I just thought for myself, I think it's a harder campaign to run because you're running in seven different wards, but it's the opportunity of reaching more people that know you and know what you do, and so that's why it's always been at large for me. Plus I think I'd much rather be a global thinker and problem solver rather than a smaller area."

 

Marchetti said community involvement and local politics run hand in hand because they both have the goal of making Pittsfield a better place.

 

The work he's done on the council that stands out to him the most is the economic packages that the city has been through such as the General Electric economic funds and the creation of the Berkshire Innovation Center that was completed in early 2020.

 

"Those are kind of, to me, the highlights of, recognizing that we need to attract new business as well as assist existing businesses that are already here," Marchetti added.  

 

In closing, he said besides his general admiration for Pittsfield, the city is important to him because of familial ties and because it is where he has grown professionally and advanced his career.