image description — School Committee candidates drop their names in to the tumbler for the ballot drawing in City Hall.

Pittsfield Draws Ballot Positions for Nov. 4 Election

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:53PM / Sunday, September 28, 2025Print Story | Email Story

City Clerk Michele Benjamin pulls names for ballot positions last week with Assistant Clerk Joshua Munn and Head Clerk Sandra Knight.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In preparation for the Nov. 4 municipal election, candidates for contested seats drew their ballot positions.

City Clerk Michele Benjamin addressed a small crowd in council chambers on Thursday, first congratulating all candidates for their nominations and placement on the ballot.

Positions were drawn for at-large, Ward 2, Ward 5, Ward 6, Ward 7, and School Committee. At-large candidates Lawrence Klein, Earl Persip III, and Sara Hathaway attended.

At-large ballot positions:

Karen Kalinowsky
Lawrence Klein
Kathleen Amuso
Earl Persip III
Peter White
Alisa Costa
Sara Hathaway

The four candidates with the top votes will be selected as councilors.

For Ward 2, Cameron Cunningham attended and drew second position behind Corey Walker.

Both Patrick Kavey and his challenger, Michael Grady attended the drawing. Kavey drew first position. Ward 6 candidate Walter Powell attended and drew first position over incumbent Dina Lampiasi.

For Ward 7, Katherine Moody attended and drew second position, with Anthony Maffuccio appearing first.

Nine candidates are running for a School Committee seat and Vicky Smith, Katherine Yon, and a representative of Jacob Klein attended.

Lawrence Klein, at-large candidate, was able to put his son's name into the drawing wheel.

He explained that his son, Jacob Klein, is a senior at Pittsfield High School, freshly 18, and wanted to give back to the community and run for local politics alongside his father. This is why Klein chose to run for an at-large seat.

"I say whether I win the position or not, I've won because I've done this great, fantastic thing with my son," he said.

"And think about this. How many people can say that in their first election that they got to vote in, they got to vote for themselves and their father or their mother?"

School Committee ballot positions:

Ciara Batory
Sarah Muil
Daniel Elias
Katherine Yon
Jacob Klein
Geoffrey Buerger
Heather McNiece
Vicky Smith
Carolyn Barry

Tags: ballot, election 2025, municipal election,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Healey Announces Housing Development Supports at Former Pittsfield Bank

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:29PM / Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Gov. Maura Healey poses with the bank's old safe. The building is being refurbished for housing by Allegrone Companies. The project is being supported by a commercial tax credit and a $1.8M MassWorks grant for infrastructure improvements.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Gov. Maura Healey stood in the former Berkshire County Savings Bank on Tuesday to announce housing initiatives that are expected to bring more than 1,300 units online.

"People come here from all over the world. We want them to stay here, and we want kids who grew up here to be able to afford to stay here, but the problem is that for decades, we just weren't building enough housing to keep up with demand," she said.

"And you guys know what happens when there isn't enough supply: prices go up. We have among the lowest vacancy rates in the country, so against that challenge, we made it our priority from day one to build more homes as quickly as possible."

Approximately $8.4 million from the new Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative (CCTCI) is designed help communities transform empty or rundown commercial buildings into new homes along with $139.5 million in low-income housing tax credits and subsidies through the Affordable Housing Development grant program.

The historic 24 North St. with a view of Park Square has been vacant for about two years, and Allegrone Companies plans to redevelop it and 30-34 North St. into 23 mixed-income units. The administration announced its Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative (CCTCI) and the Affordable Housing Development grant program as ways to aid housing production, both of which Pittsfield will benefit from.

The state is partnering with Hearthway for the construction of 47 affordable units on Linden Street, utilizing the former Polish Community Club and new construction, and Allegrone for its redevelopment of the block.

The Linden Street project is one of the 15 rental developments the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities is supporting through $25.7 million in federal low-income housing tax credits, $32.4 million in state low-income housing tax credits, and $81.4 million in subsidies.

Allegrone's project is supported by the commercial tax credit and was recently awarded $1,800,000 from the MassWorks Infrastructure Program.

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said she fully comprehends the importance of housing and how crushing it is in communities that need it and want to build, but face difficulties with high construction costs.

"Housing is the key to keeping people in the community in a safe way and giving them an opportunity to fill those many roles that we need throughout the Commonwealth in cities and towns, large and small, urban and rural, these are all important work. Having somebody fix your boiler, fix your car, we want those individuals to be able to live in our communities as well, particularly in our gateway cities," she said.

View Full Story