Four Pittsfield wards face contested City Council races. Here’s what you need to know about the candidates | Central Berkshires | #citycouncil

PITTSFIELD — In Tuesday’s City Council election, voters in four wards will decide whether they’d like to return several familiar faces to the city’s legislative branch or infuse the body with new ideas. 

Races in Ward 6 and 7 will serve as a referendum on two of the city’s incumbent councilors. Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi is once again facing a challenge from Craig Gaetani. In Ward 7, the long-serving councilor Anthony Maffuccio is trying to fend off a challenge from Rhonda Serre. 

Wards 2 and 3 will have their choice of a new representative as councilors Charles Kronick and Kevin Sherman step back from their roles on the council. In Ward 2, Brittany Bandani and Alexander Blumin will go head-to-head and in Ward 3, Bill Tyer and Matthew Wrinn are vying for the open seat.

The Eagle reached out to each of the candidates and asked them to fill out a questionnaire about their background and goals for the city. All the candidates but Tyer responded. 

Here’s what you need to know about each candidate before Tuesday:

Candidates are presented in ballot order.

Ward 2

Brittany Bandani

The top vote getter in the preliminary ward election by 16 votes, Brittany Bandani said she’s running because of her belief in the city’s potential. Bandani is a practicing family law attorney at Community Legal Aid. Bandani said she’s “prepared to bring my advocacy skills to the table” and “elevate Pittsfield to its highest potential.”

A newer resident to the Berkshires — she moved to Pittsfield in 2021 — Bandani said she hopes to bring her “fresh perspective” to the council to work on the city’s housing and infrastructure shortcomings and make the city more business-friendly. Bandani set herself apart from the current Ward 2 Councilor Charles Kronick calling his charter objections while on council “disruptive, attention-seeking and conducted in bad faith.”

Alexander Blumin

A frequent petitioner and presence at City Council meetings, Alexander Blumin says he’s running to “give the power of decision making back to the people.” Blumin, who previously ran for an at-large seat on the council in 2019, is focused primarily on the city’s fiscal issues and a rising budget.

Blumin immigrated to the United States from his native Ukraine in the early ’90s and moved to Pittsfield in 2005. A local landlord, he said he’s focused on serving as the people’s watchdog on the council. When it comes to issues in his ward, Blumin said he’s against the bike lanes on North Street but is in support of a new proposed ordinance that would end standing in the medians — and some say would curb panhandling.

Ward 3

Matthew Wrinn

Matthew Wrinn is a political newcomer who said he hopes to bring his “insight, experience and my pragmatic problem-solving ability to the city council.” Wrinn is a long serving insurance fraud investigator currently working as a senior criminal investigator on the Western Massachusetts Task Force of the state’s Insurance Fraud Bureau.

When it comes to his priorities for his ward, Wrinn said he’s focused on public safety and improving city streets and sidewalks. He said the recent term of council has proved “chaotic and unproductive,” something he hopes to change if elected. When it comes to some of the recent council controversies, Wrinn said he would have supported mosquito-control spraying efforts as a public health practice and would keep the charter objection.

Bill Tyer

Bill Tyer’s political career includes time as a Lee Planning Board member, Berkshire County Regional Planning Commission member and Pittsfield Youth commissioner, according to a recent informational post on Tyer’s Facebook. Tyer spent his professional career working in human resources with KB Toys as well as odd jobs in the food service industry. Now retired, Tyer ran in 2021 for a position on the Pittsfield Public School Committee.

Tyer was unable to attend the recent Ward 3 debate, but his personal and campaign Facebook include posts calling for a streamlining of the city’s budget, support of the council’s charter objection and opposition to roundabouts.

Ward 6

Craig Gaetani

A long-standing feature of Pittsfield politics, Craig Gaetani has previously run for mayor, councilor at large and Ward 6 councilor. Gaetani has had a varied career as a Vietnam veteran, former Pittsfield Public Schools teacher and former marketing manager for Krofta Engineering.

Gaetani’s campaign follows similar lines to his frequent City Council appearances. He said he thinks his science background would be a benefit to the council and that he would continue his focus on trying to find savings at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Gaetani said he sees hope in the city’s plans for the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority properties but wants a more concerted effort to attract new companies to the area.

Dina Lampiasi

Incumbent Dina Lampiasi is running for a third term as the Ward 6 councilor. The former chief of operations at the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office, Lampiasi is defending her seat because she’s “focused on Pittsfield’s post-pandemic resurgence and securing our future.”

Lampiasi said if she’s reelected she’ll seek to “intensify collaboration with agencies to enhance support for individuals dealing with substance abuse, mental health challenges, and homelessness” and direct resources to the city’s deferred maintenance projects. She highlighted the council’s use of $7.5 million in free cash for road and sidewalk repairs as in line with the type of work she’ll continue to do if reelected.

Ward 7

Rhonda Serre

Local public relations professional Rhonda Serre has thrown her hat in the ring for the Ward 7 seat. Serre was the economic development specialist for former U.S. Rep. John W. Olver and served in executive communications and development roles for MassDevelopment, Elder Services and Greylock Federal Credit Union. Serre previously ran for the seat in 2017 and for the 3rd Berkshire District state representative seat in 2005.

Serre said she entered this year’s council race to “return leadership, decorum, and professionalism to our ward.” She’s most concerned with the city’s housing issues — be it increasing housing access and ownership, supporting more affordable, workforce and supportive housing or preventing gentrification. She called out recent use of charter objections during city budget talks — of which her opponent was one of several charter objectors.

Anthony Maffuccio

Anthony Maffuccio has served as the Ward 7 city councilor for five terms, first between 2004 and 2010 and again between 2019 and to date. One of two incumbents on the council facing a challenge, Maffuccio trailed his opponent by about 130 votes in the preliminary election.

Maffuccio, who is a former Big Y manager, said his run for a sixth term on council is fueled by his desire to “be a part of moving Pittsfield forward with a new administration and redefining” the city. The councilor said he’s focused on attracting more businesses and well paying jobs to the city — especially downtown — and working on housing issues. He said he’s in favor of using tax increment financing to make this happen and was against residential tax increases from large city budgets.