Pittsfield Municipal Election Preview

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Voters will elect a city clerk, six School Committee members, four at-large city councilors, and seven ward councilors on Tuesday.

Polls for the municipal election open at 8 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. 

After a tumultuous year in the schools, the School Committee will be largely brand-new come January. The only incumbent running is Daniel Elias, and the only other candidate with experience on the committee is Katherine Yon. Newcomers are Ciara Batory, Sarah Muil, Jacob Klein, Geoffrey Buerger, Heather McNiece, Vicky Smith, and Carolyn Barry.

On the City Council, at-large incumbents Kathleen Amuso, Earl Persip III, Peter White, Alisa Costa, are being challenged by Lawrence Klein, Karen Kalinowsky, Sara Hathaway. Klein is the father of 18-year-old Jacob Klein, who is running running for School Committee; Kalinowsky is a former councilor, and Hathaway, former mayor, currently serves on the School Committee. 

Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren, Ward 3 Councilor Matthew Wrinn and Ward 4 Councilor James Conant is running unopposed for re-election. 

Corey Walker and Cameron Cunningham are vying to represent Ward 2, and incumbent Patrick Kavey is being challenged by Michael Grady in Ward 5. 

Incumbent Dina Lampiasi is being challenged by Walter Powell in Ward 6, and former councilor Anthony Maffuccio and Katherine Nagy Moody are running to represent Ward 7. 

Candidates have participated in an iBerkshires questionnaire, debates hosted by iBerkshires and Pittsfield Community Television, as well as several other publications to give voters an idea of their priorities for Pittsfield. 

School Committee Q&As can be found here and City Council's here.

City Clerk Michele Benjamin is running for re-election unopposed. 

All positions have two-year term lengths. The last municipal election, which included the mayor's position, had a 31 percent turnout for registered voters. 

Pittsfield polling locations: 

Pittsfield Council Says 'Yes' to Soccer at Crane Park

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:35AM / Saturday, June 13, 2026

The pitch will have the logos of the city and the US. and Massachusetts soccer associations. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is gladly accepting a "mini-pitch" from the U.S. Soccer Foundation to bring games back to Crane Park. 

Fueling excitement around the World Cup, U.S. Soccer has been working with the Massachusetts Youth Soccer League to make these facilities available to 20 communities — one of which will be at the park at the intersection of Benedict Road and Springside Avenue. 

The City Council accepted the gift on Tuesday during its regular meeting. 

A mini pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates. It has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together; installed on the existing inline hockey court. 

Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham said he has gone door to door speaking with nearby residents, and they are "really excited" about the upgrade. He also sees it as a great addition. 

"They say that nobody really uses the court a ton now, and they are excited to see kids back on there playing," he said. 

Decades ago, the Crane Park facility was a wading pool. It closed in 1980, and before the turn of the century, it was filled in and marked for hockey. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained that the wooden border around the rink is showing its age, has been vandalized and tagged, and the facility is seeing a "real decline" in use. 

"This would seem to be an appropriate spot for us to remove the board system that's in place and install the mini pitch system through this grant," he said.