PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council Chambers were packed from wall to wall and poured out into the hallway when Linda Tyer took to the podium. Local and out-of-state news outlets turned their cameras and microphones and voices recorders on. Pittsfield Community Television aired it live. 

 

"It is for all of you, our senior citizens and our young learners, our business leaders and their hardworking employees, our artists and cultural leaders, our dreamers and achievers. It is for all of you I devote myself to building a modern government that seeks opportunity and races toward it," Tyer proclaimed as she delivered her inaugural address. 

 

But in the crowded City Hall filled with former mayors, current and past councilors, businessmen, state representatives, government employees, and the School Committee, she wasn't addressing solely those who she'll have direct contact with that day. She also was addressing the thousands of others who watched, who will read or who will hear it on the radio.

 

"I really resisted the temptation to list a set of projects. I really wanted it to be setting a tone for the overall work and sort of broadly say what our priorities would be. But also really making a specific point about how important the collaborations are — not only among government officials but in the community," Tyer said at the Berkshire Museum just a few hours after delivering her speech.

 

The Tyer administration has its specific priorities — early education, hiring more police officers, and tackling blight — but overall, she wants everyone heading the same direction, a direction she says will be "shaping a modern city where prosperity is for all."

 

With the election of former colleagues and supporters of hers to City Council leadership, the city is poised to go in one direction.

 

"I am very happy it was a unanimous vote for both the council president and the vice president. I think the community told us in the last election that it is time to heal. It is time to come together and it is time to more forward," said new City Council President Peter Marchetti. 

 

"I think today was a step in the right direction of getting everyone one the bus and this is traveling toward moving Pittsfield forward. We all got on the bus today."

 

Marchetti, too, has his specific priorities in the Morningside Initiative, neighborhood development, job creation, and public safety. Many of those blend with Tyer's focus, giving him support from the corner office. 

 

"I think our ability to work together as councilors will be beneficial to helping us work as the legislative and executive branch together," the former mayoral candidate said of working with Tyer during his prior stint as councilor when she represented Ward 3. "It was no secret I was a Linda Tyer supporter in the mayoral campaign."

 

Ward 6 Councilor John Krol was elected vice president after serving six years on the council and working in the former James Ruberto administration starting in 2005. Krol says there are many members of the council with long-term knowledge and involvement in city affairs, which will keep the city moving in a cohesive direction.

 

"You really have this depth of experience of people who have been through different administrations, who have been through the ebbs and flows. They are not beholden to administration or tied to any administration. They just want to see things get done," Krol said. 

 

"I think that is the crux of this council. I think you have people who are willing to put everything aside — the political battles, egos or whatever — and just get things done."

 

Krol has his priorities of finishing the Taconic High School project, decreasing the number of school-choice students leaving the district, and trying to make Pittsfield a more welcoming place for younger families. He says with the Tyer administration, the council will be able to focus on those issues and take a collaborative and deeper look at solving them.

 

"That is going to allow us to take a good look at the difficult challenges that we have. We have SABIC leaving town with 300 jobs — that's a challenge right there to understand what the impact is going to be. I think the issue of being attractive to young professionals and young families is something Linda talked a great deal about," Krol said.

 

"I've got a great relationship with Linda Tyer right from the get-go. I think that was important for a lot of councilors to understand that you have a president and a vice president and mayor who already have an exceptional rapport and that there is no learning curve."

 

Tyer returned the sentiments about Marchetti and Krol.

 

"I am very pleased that I will be working with President Marchetti and Vice President Krol. They are colleagues of mine and I've known them a long time. The three of us share a common, progressive, collaborative attitude. I was very happy the votes were unanimous. I think that goes a long way to building unity," Tyer said.

 

She added that while they share similar goals, they'll disagree as well. 

 

"While we have a common political philosophy and common belief about our community, I also think we all have enough confidence to say to one another this is not the right path or right initiative or we need to do it differently. At the same time we can still maintain respect for one another, professionalism and friendship," Tyer said. 

 

Only incoming Ward 5 Councilor Donna Todd Rivers has no prior experience on the council — all other councilors were incumbents or returning to the council after two years off. Rivers may be the newbie as far as councilors go but she does have government experience as a former assistant city solicitor and later personnel director.

 

"I'm excited and energized. I'm incredibly positive about what's going to be happening for the city and my ward. It is a great group of people," Rivers said. 

 

Later she said, "I think it is going to be a new day in Pittsfield. I hate to use an old cliche but the speech was inspiring. It was positive. I believe she is all inclusive; I felt that today."

 

Her first priorities include forming a committee to look at the airport operations, which she is doing as a joint petition with other councilors. Though she may be the council newcomer, she doesn't feel it will take long to get acclimated. 

 

"I feel incredibly supported. As soon as I arrived in the council chambers this morning everyone of my new colleagues showed me around, spent some time with me individually. They've all offered to meet with me so I am looking forward to that as well. The vice president, Mr. Krol, and President Mr. Marchetti both extended their hands out to me. Councilman Connell has extended his hand to me. I have a lot of support," Rivers said. 

 

Peter White is returning to the council in the at-large capacity. His focuses will be adding additional police officers and attracting more businesses. 

 

"I'm just looking forward to working on the issues we talked about during the campaign," White said. "We have a great team, a great School Committee. Now we just have to work together to fine-tune the beauty before us." 

 

White says it won't take long for the city's new administration to get rolling and, too, sung the praises of Tyer's push for an inclusive government.

 

"I think Mayor Tyer has been easy to work with since she was Ward 3 councilor and nothing has changed," White said. "I don't think there will be a huge learning curve. We can all hit the ground running."

 

Tyer said immediately her plans include increasing transparency in government. 

 

"One of the things I plan to do is have more press conferences about the work that we are doing," Tyer said. "We will certainly be more open, more transparent and have better relationships with media overall." 

 

She plans to use her first month to continue her transitional work of meeting with every department head and making "assessments as to where to shift priorities." And then she'll start her work on the bigger issues. While everything is celebratory on inauguration day, when things get tough, Tyer vows to continue to strive for an open relationship with the council.

 

"I make a commitment to extend myself to them and I hope they will also extend themselves to me," Tyer said. "I know what I am going to do and if there are councilors who resist that or don't want to be part of that, that is their responsibility. But, I will continue to engage with them."

 

Already speaking the same language, Marchetti voiced a similar comment in a separate interview saying, "If the members of the council don't want to work with us along the way, that will be their decision, not ours."

 

That is the message Tyer hopes to spread the day she takes office for a four-year term with councilor leadership supporting her because as Tyer wrote in her inauguration address, "the people of Pittsfield are counting on us, you and me, to bear them in mind as we build mutual respect for one another in order to create our future and realize our shared destiny."

 

Krol said, "If you know Linda, you know she will be that way and lead that way."