Pittsfield Swears in City Council, School Committee
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city welcomed both new and familiar leadership for the next two years during its inauguration ceremony on Monday.
There were contested races for School Committee chair and vice president of the City Council. Councilor at Large Earl Persip III, was elected president of the council, Councilor at Large Peter White vice president, and Mayor Peter Marchetti was elected to chair the School Committee, the first mayor to sit as chair in nearly 30 years.
"As I think I have stated to most of you, I hold this role very similar to the way that I've held the role of council president. This seat does not make motions," Marchetti said, who is halfway through his four-year term.
"This seat is a voting member. The seat doesn't debate from the chair and doesn't make motions."
Persip was elected president unanimously as he approaches a decade on the council. He was nominated by White, the former president.
"I want to thank the residents of Pittsfield for electing me again. It's important that representation matters, and I'm glad I'm able to serve you and do the work I'm allowed to do," Persip said during the ceremony.
"I'm also to the City Council that elected me as president. Your faith in me makes me feel good about what is happening and Pittsfield."
City Clerk Michele Benjamin, the City Council, and School Committee members took the oath of office in front of a packed council chambers. The council composition is largely the same except for two new ward councilors, while the School Committee has only one returning member.
Newcomers Ward 7 Councilor Katherine Nagy Moody and Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham were sworn into their first terms after winning the open seats.
Persip, White, Alisa Costa, and Kathleen Amuso held their seats as councilors at large during the municipal election on Nov. 4.
Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren, Ward 3 Councilor Matthew Wrinn and Ward 4 Councilor James Conant ran unopposed, and Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey and Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi fended off challengers to return to office.
Sitting on the new School Committee are incumbent Daniel Elias and former member Katherine Yon, and newcomers Ciara Batory, Sarah Muil, Heather McNeice, and Carolyn Barry.
Votes for City Council vice president were divided between White, who was nominated by Amuso, and Lampiasi, who was nominated by Costa. White was elected vice president 6-5.
Warren explained that his vote for Lampiasi is consistent with his core belief that young people should be politically involved, as "people were looking nationally and locally for youth energy and new insight" when he entered politics.
"Now it's time we turn the reins over to a new generation. I'm looking at people with less than 10 years of service on the City Council. I support Earl Persip, who had just eight years of service, for president because he is well respected among his colleagues," he said.
"And while there are many people who are qualified for the positions of both president and vice president, I am supporting somebody who is an up-and-coming young leader that I think can carry us forward as we go forward."
Amuso seconded that many councilors could serve as vice president, but noted White's governmental experience and the knowledge that comes along with it.
"Our vice president assists our president with the council rules, and nobody knows the council rules better than Pete White," she said.
Cunningham, who voted for White, said that while he is a big supporter of fellow young people and change, he is not a big supporter of change just for the sake of change.
"I feel the city needs to move in the direction of competence, it needs to move in the direction of efficiency, and I feel councilor White has the qualifications, the experience, and the know-how to inform the new president and ensure that this council moves in the right direction," he said.
During the School Committee's organizational meeting, Elias nominated Marchetti for chair, and Batory nominated Muil, who said she was not yet ready to take on the role. Batory then nominated herself for chair, explaining that she would step up as new leadership, but Marchetti won the vote 5-2.
McNeice was unanimously voted vice chair, though Yon nominated Elias, and Batory was elected clerk, nominated by Muil.
Marchetti is the first mayor to take the chairmanship since Mayor Edward Reilly in the early 1990s. Reilly's tenure seems to have prompted a consideration of removing the mayor as a voting member, which went nowhere. This past fall, the City Council dropped a proposal to designate the mayor as chair, a requirement removed by a charter change in 1983.
Batory, who was motivated to run by her displeasure with the district's handling of the Pittsfield High School staff investigation into alleged misconduct, said the community went through a lot last year, and people expect change. She said the committee's chair selection sends a message on day one.
"I believe we need a clear slate as much as possible, and we do not do that by putting leadership back in the hands of anyone tied to the old regime, whether that's fair or not to the individual, it's the reality of public trust. Perception matters, and trust has to be earned back," she said.
"If we elect leadership that represents more of the same, we risk crushing the hopes of voters that they placed in us, and once hope is crushed, it's hard to get the community support back. Support will absolutely need to move Pittsfield Public Schools forward. The way we do not crush hope is by taking necessary steps to build trust, transparency, accountability, and open communication."
Batory said when people trust the district, they show up to help instead of criticizing, and this is the kind of community that she wants to be a part of. She came to the inauguration with a petition regarding the release of the PHS investigation report, and was told to present it for the committee's Jan. 14 agenda.
"I do hope that I can change the narrative," Marchetti said.
Tags: reorganization, swearing in,
