PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Community Television, in partnership with iBerkshires.com, will present live debates for all the contested races in the city of Pittsfield during the month of October. The debates will take place in the auditorium at the Berkshire Athenaeum.

 

The candidate forums will begin on Thursday, Oct. 14, with the ward council debates beginning at 6 p.m. 

There are no races in Wards 3, 5 and 7. 

 

On Monday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m., the candidate forum for School Committee will take place. All candidates on the ballot received invitations to the debate, including incumbents William Cameron, Mark Brazeau, Nyanna Slaughter, Alison McGee, and Daniel Elias; and challengers Vicky Smith, Katie Lauzon, Sara Hathaway, Karen Reis Kaveney Murray, and Bill Tyer. Two of the candidates, Slaughter and Lauzon, have indicated they are no longer running for a seat on the six-member committee. 

 

On Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m., the six at-large City Council candidates will face off in a 90-minute debate for the four seats up for election. The candidates for the at-large race are incumbents Yuki Cohen, Pete White, Peter Marchetti, and Earl Persip III as well as challengers Craig Benoit and Karen Kalinowsky.

 

The series of debates are moderated by representatives of iBerkshires and Pittsfield Community Television. They are open to the public and will be broadcast live on PCTV CityLink Channel 1303 in Pittsfield, on the PCTV Select App available on Roku and Apple TV, and on the Pittsfield Community Television Facebook page.

 

PCTV and Berkshires are also soliciting questions from the public. You can submit your question for the candidates to election@pittsfieldtv.org and the moderators will work some of the questions into the debates. 

 

Pittsfield's municipal election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 2.  Polls open at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

 

Pittsfield Community Television is Pittsfield's Public, Education and Government Access Television Station. A 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, PCTV's mission over the past 35 years has been to provide access to the medium of television and related technologies and to provide the Pittsfield community with local television programming.  

 

iBerkshires.com is an independent, locally owned, online-only news publication that has been covering Pittsfield and the Northern Berkshires for more than 20 years. Its mission is to keep the community informed of local news and events.