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,

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Pittsfield Council Revisiting DEI Office Rename

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:11PM / Tuesday, October 13, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The conversation about the DEI office renaming that was halted by a charter objection will resume on Tuesday.

The City Council will discuss a request from Mayor Peter Marchetti to rename the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

It proposes to rename the DEI office to the Office of Equity, Access, and Opportunity and merge the Human Rights Commission and Affirmative Action Committee into an Equity, Access and Opportunity Commission.

The Ordinance and Rules Subcommittee supported the changes in August, and in September, Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham delayed the vote with a charter objection.

Pittsfield's City Code prohibits charter states that "if a single member present objects to the taking of the vote, the vote shall be postponed until the next meeting of the city council." It also stipulates that at least four members must object if it is an emergency measure.

Cunningham also submitted a petition, which was referred to O&R under Rule 27, to replace the DEI Office and the Human Rights Commission with an equity, access, and opportunity coordinator in the Department of Community Development, with formal complaints and Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action functions assigned to Human Resources.

At the last meeting, he spent more than an hour querying the mayor and chief diversity officer about functions and effectiveness of the department, wanting more quantitative data. Cunningham proposed an ordinance that he says keeps Pittsfield's commitment to equity, access, and opportunity, "refocuses it on measurable results for our residents, and delivers it at a fraction of the current cost."

Under this petition, the equity, access, and opportunity coordinator would be a $60,000 to $80,000 per year position.

The DEI Office's fiscal year 2027 budget was about $200,000 after cuts during budget season; $106,700 for the chief diversity officer and $58,000 for the administrative assistant. The coordinator would be appointed by the director of community development and the mayor.

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