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School Committee candidates drop their names in to the tumbler for the ballot drawing in City Hall.
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Pittsfield Draws Ballot Positions for Nov. 4 Election

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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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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Lanesborough OKs Open Space Plan, Short-Term Rental Forms

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday set fees for short-term rentals and adopted an Open Space and Recreation Plan.
 
Town Administrator Gina Dario discussed the draft for STR registration and certificate of inspection since the new bylaws were passed at the annual town meeting.
 
The draft shows the process to file for inspection through Permit Eyes, the town's online permitting system that includes the state building code and safety requirements. Dario said members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and the building commissioner looked at other town models to come up with the best process for registration.
 
Inspections will be annually for non-owner occupied units and five years for owner-occupied. The inspection fee is a flat $50. The last suggestion discussed was the posting requirements for key information.
 
Dario said they looked at about four other communities on how they used non-sensitive information on owner contacts. Chair Deborah Maynard motioned to have the information posted both inside and out to help with law enforcement if needed.
 
"I'm going to make a motion that we put that relevant information not only on the inside of the short-term rental but on the outside, so if the police need to respond, ambulance needs to respond, fire especially needs to respond, all that information is there, nobody has to go searching for it," she said. "If push comes to shove, and it's a matter of minutes, that's going to make a big, a big difference in the outcome of the incident."
 
The board then heard a presentation from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's community planner Andrew McKeever and Open Space and Recreation Committee Vice Chair Mark Hawthorne.
 
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