Pittsfield Inauguration Includes State of the City Address

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:30PM / Saturday, January 03, 2026Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — On Monday, a largely similar City Council will be inaugurated, along with an almost completely new School Committee.

The ceremony kicks off elected officials' two-year terms. City Clerk Michele Benjamin, at-large and ward councilors, and School Committee members will be sworn in at 10 a.m. on Jan. 5 in the council chambers at City Hall.

Many familiar faces will return to represent Pittsfield constituents, as only two councilors will be new.

Earl Persip III, Peter White, Alisa Costa, and Kathleen Amuso held their seats as councilors at large during the municipal election on Nov. 4. There were no races for Wards 1, 3, and 4. Patrick Kavey was re-elected to Ward 5 and Dina Lampiasi to Ward 6 over challengers Michael Grady and Walter Powell, respectively.

Vacancies in the remaining wards were filled by newcomers. Katherine Nagy Moody secured representation of Ward 7 over Anthony Maffuccio, and Cameron Cunningham the Ward 2 seat over Corey Walker.

Brittany Noto did not seek re-election in Ward 2, and Rhonda Serre stepped down from her Ward 7 seat in the fall to work in the Pittsfield Public Schools.

The School Committee will only see one incumbent, Daniel Elias, on the six-member body. Ciara Batory, Sarah Muil, Katherine Yon, Heather McNeice, and Carolyn Barry were also elected, ousting Jacob Klein, Geoffrey Buerger, and Vicky Smith.

Exiting the School Committee will be Chair William Cameron, Diana Belair, William Garrity, Sara Hathaway, and Dominick Sacco, who did not run for re-election. Hathaway ran unsuccessfully for councilor at large.

This was a significant turnout for the School Committee during an eventful year that included the middle school restructuring, the proposal to rebuild and consolidate Crosby Elementary School and Conte Community School on West Street, and the staffing controversy that Pittsfield High School became embroiled in in late 2024.

The council will also elect a president and vice president, and Mayor Peter Marchetti will give an inaugural and state of the city address. Community members are invited to join the ceremony in person, and it will be live broadcast on Pittsfield Community Television.

White served as president for the 2024-2025 term, and Persip as vice president.

The annual state of the city address given by the mayor gives reflections on the municipality's year and outlines priorities for the new year.

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Fenton: Governor's Council Must Deliver for the Berkshires

Community submissionGuest Column
10:22AM / Friday, August 28, 2026

I am a Springfield lawyer running for Governor's Council and I am asking for Berkshire County residents to support me over an incumbent from North Adams.

Here's why: Last year I learned about staffing issues in our regional courts that I could not ignore. In 2025, it was reported that four of Western Massachusetts' 11 Superior Court judgeships were vacant, all at the same time. A few weeks later, that grew to five vacancies. This meant there were only six Superior Court judges serving all of Western Mass at a time when Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden counties had more than 100 pending homicide cases.

Those numbers were alarming to me, so I started to engage with leaders in the community who work most closely with the court system and I came to learn that these vacancies were only the tip of the iceberg here in Berkshire County.

I learned that no Superior Court or District Court judge had been appointed from the Berkshires since the current incumbent took office. As a result, there is not a single Superior Court judge who lives in the Berkshires today, and several of the District Court judges drive in from other counties to support Berkshire courts in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and North Adams. Court staff also informed me about severe staffing shortages at the Berkshire Clerk of Courts office resulting in other counties needing to loan staff to the Berkshires just so hardworking employees can take a brief and planned summer vacation. This is not normal. These issues are a reflection of genuine problems with the Berkshire County court system and show a lack of proactive attention from our Governor's Councilor.

Instead of focusing on regional equity, I watched as the current incumbent celebrated that she has voted against the governor's nominees more than any other councilor, without much explanation as to why. Most recently, she voted against two extremely qualified former prosecutors for the Parole Board. This was despite an in-person plea from the governor and a letter of support from all the three of the district attorney's from Western Mass. Those votes do not show independence or standing up for principles, they demonstrate naivete, and an unwillingness to work with the key stakeholders.

I had seen and heard enough. I decided to jump in the race and challenge the incumbent to address these problems head-on.

I am a partner of a regional law firm. I understand our courts and the importance of having qualified, fair and hardworking judges. And I know how important it is to have judges from the Berkshires serving the Berkshires. To achieve that, you need strong relationships with the legal community and local stakeholders. You need to know how to use the power of the Governor's Council to fight forcefully for our region. And you need to be laser focused on identifying vacancies before they occur so that they can be filled quickly with local candidates.

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