PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Former radio host Bob Heck plans to seek a seat on the City Council.

 

Heck announced on Monday that he plans to run for an at-large seat on the council. The Alden Avenue resident is the former host of "Bob Heck in the Morning" on Live 95.9 and later on WBRK. He now owns and operates an entertainment business for weddings, parties, and bars and taverns throughout the county.

 

"The council has big decisions to make on the William Stanley Business Park, trash collection, and how to fund the city as we are at our levy limit.  I'm very concerned about how this will affect our school system. The next two years will have a direct impact on my two children, as well as the many parents and teachers in our community," Heck wrote in a statement released Monday.

 

Heck will be graduating from Berkshire Community College in June with an associate degree in business administration and plans to pursue a bachelor's degree in economics at University of Massachusetts at Amherst in the fall. 

 

He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and two children, Kendall and Ashley, both of whom attend city schools.

 

Heck is the ninth resident to take out nomination papers for an at-large seat. Others include Alex Blumin, Ed Carmel, Craig Gaetani, Ty Allan Jackson (who later announced he would withdraw from the race), incumbent Peter Marchetti, incumbent Melissa Mazzeo, Earl Persip, Auron Stark, and incumbent Peter White. So far only White and Marchetti returned papers. Kathleen Amuso said she would not seek re-election. There are four at-large seats on the council.

 

In other races, Michael Cirullo, Gabriel Ecklund, and Helen Moon took out papers for Ward 1, none of them have been returned yet. 

For the School Committee, all six incumbents took out papers but none have returned them yet. Challenger Dennis Powell took out and returned papers to become a candidate, and Gaetani took out papers but hasn't returned them.