Pittsfield mayoral candidates Peter Marchetti and John Krol meet on Friday in their first debate, hosted by columnist and commentator Dan Valenti.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mayoral candidates Peter Marchetti and John Krol discussed mental health needs, policing, schools, and positively marketing the city during the first debate campaign season hosted by local blog Planet Valenti last week.

Krol, a former City Council vice president, and Marchetti, current City Council president, kept the conversation focused on the issues. Both "cheerleaders" of Pittsfield, their campaign styles were described as a difference of personality.

The two agreed that there is a significant need for mental health resources in the city.

"It is clear to me for a whole host of reasons that mental health is a major factor that plays in our homeless community. It plays and some of the activity that we see in our downtown. People need help and to find the resources. It's clear across the board," Marchetti said.

"You can talk to the folks in the Brien Center, they need more resources. You can talk to the folks at Berkshire Housing, they need more resources. So I think at the heart of a lot of our problems that we talked about — the panhandling, the homeless issue, mental health — it's all in the forefront of mental health issues and substance use disorder and we need to tackle that problem and that's not something that a mayor normally talks about. Right? We normally say that this is something that we can't solve. It's a state problem. It's a national problem. It's an epidemic."

Krol expressed a need to fix the six-month waiting period for a mental health appointment at the Brien Center, which is the case for residents with MassHealth insurance.

"I know that our friends of the Brien Center have met with the delegation and talked about this, the reimbursement for MassHealth has not changed in about 13 years," he said. "Now, is that the only issue? No."

He added that staffing issues are one of the factors in this problem.

When asked if the state representatives could do more to address this issue, Krol said he is "not in the room" but more needs to be done.

Marchetti feels the delegation has not ignored the problem but that more needs to be done.

"I would pressure them and more so I think I would be on the federal level with Congressman Neal, Senator Markey, Senator Warren, saying that this is a national epidemic and what are you guys doing for it?" Marchetti said.

"I think it's a double-sided approach because a lot of state dollars sometimes comes from federal resources so we need we need all hands on deck, both at the federal level and the state level, along with the city."

Krol would like to see downtown police foot patrol in the center of the city.

"I see our police officers in action each and every day downtown. We have wonderful officers who are excellent at de-escalating," he said.

"They're professional, they're well trained, and I do believe that enhancing community policing, and we call it boots on the ground, that's a way to build relationships and it's not punitive, I think, when we're developing relationships in our community."

Marchetti does not agree with heavier foot patrols, saying the community needs to change the face of policing.

"So if John's vision of more foot patrol is more Officer Darren Derby's in downtown Pittsfield doing outreach and getting the community to buy into policing then I'm on John's side," he said.

"If it is just a uniformed officer walking down the street, and currently, whether they're there or not it seems to be that we have an issue with panhandling and the homeless situation and the activity that's happening in our downtown. If they were there, would they be doing anything or would they just be patrolling?"

Derby has taken the initiative in the department's local outreach, including on social media and with the hoops with cops and the popular Operation Copsicle. 

Krol said there are more people than Derby in the Police Department who have community policing skills.

"I love Darren, but our police department is diverse in our skills and our strengths and I feel as though that the community policing model is a good thing," he said.

"So I've had a conversation with Tom Dawley, the incoming interim chief, I've talked to [Sheriff] Tom Bowler about this, [District Attorney] Tim Shugrue, they all feel the same way that it is really up to our city to say, 'You know what, our police department is a vital part of our community so let's get in with the community policing and be able to develop those relationships.' I think that helps and it's not a bad thing."

Marchetti replied that there is a big difference between community policing and boots on the ground.

"I think if you ask the members of the public what is community policing and what is boots on the ground, people have two different interpretations of what those are," he said.

The two discussed multiple aspects of the Pittsfield Public Schools such as school choice, resources, and district restructuring.

Marchetti said school choice has been an issue going back to his first days on the council decades ago.  Part of his platform is proposing teacher and paraprofessional roundtables because he believes that the solution to losing students to school choice is within the classrooms.

"I think too many times we have the conversations with the administrators and not with teachers and paraprofessionals. Those are the people that see firsthand what happens," he said.

"I also think that sometimes people choose to choice out because they feel that our school system isn't so safe and they go to other communities. I would love to be able to get the real data about the safeness of our schools and our surrounding community schools."

He thinks that Pittsfield schools will always make the front page of the paper for issues that are similar to smaller communities that do not get the attention.

Krol, who is married to a PPS teacher, feels that the city doesn't need data at this point. He said teachers and parents have been assaulted and that Reid Middle School is a "big problem" right now.

"Let's be very clear, the Pittsfield Public Schools have some of the finest teachers, parents, and administrators in the entire county. There's no question about it and Pittsfield High School is a shining light right now in our school district. Taconic High School is doing very well, our elementary schools are really the core of many families in our city, let's make no mistake about that. We really have a challenge at the middle school level," he said.

"So I would look at things and understand hey, when you have a classroom of 22 kids and there are two or three very much problem kids who are disruptions, we are not doing a good job in managing that situation. We really have to look at ourselves in the mirror and say, 'How do we do this better?' For me, it is about putting more of the resources in the classroom. At Stearns Elementary School, there is a pilot program that has two full-time teachers and a para[professional] in every single classroom. We have to make sure that those classrooms have the support so that is my philosophy overall is to say how do we look at the school budget and emphasize most of the dollars or more of the dollars making sure that it's engaging the kids in the classroom."

Krol feels that the district needs to look at the whole concept of middle school, possibly looking into a kindergarten through sixth-grade program with seventh or eighth grade at the high schools.

The two agreed that PHS has the opportunity to be the performing and liberal arts hub of the county and has the potential to be a performing arts magnet school. They also highlighted the need for pointed career advancement programs in various trades at Taconic, the city's vocational school.

Marchetti said part of the problem is people telling students what they should be when they grow up rather than encouraging them to be what they want to be.

Dan Valenti, the creator of Planet Valenti and moderator of the debate, gave the candidates a chance to address each other, first asking where they see the greatest contract in campaigns.

Krol said he loves Marchetti and that people will "see the difference."

"When I look at the mayor's position, it is one where you need to elevate the community," he said. "You need to be able to make sure people feel great about this city and know that we are looking for opportunities each and every day."

Krol pointed to many things that he believes the downtown needs to enhance the existing landscape such as a bagel shop, a chocolate shop, and a bakery as well as the recruitment of people to sell the city.

Marchetti said he and Krol are two different personalities but that they share some of the same priorities.

"This is a 'Marchetti for Mayor' campaign. I don't really care what John Krol for mayor is doing, right? He's going to run his own campaign. Pete's going to highlight his own skill set. Pete's going to highlight his 35 years in the business community and how he can take those skills and put it to Pittsfield. Yes he'll also have to do some cheerleading, yes he has to promote a city that's already there," he said.

"And I agree with John in the fact that we have the Barrington Stage and the Colonial Theatre and Hotel on North and the Beacon Cinema. Those are all there but we also have to, in my opinion, address the fundamental perception of what Pittsfield is before we can start bringing all this stuff in. Maybe it can be at the same time but when I talk to members of people from outside the Berkshires, and this is like one of our key failures, they will come to Pittsfield for a show at the Colonial Theatre, Barrington Stage but on their way up from South County they stop in Lenox and eat because they want to minimize the amount of time in the city because and that is an issue that we have to be addressing day No. 1."

From working for former mayor James Ruberto, Krol said that is the way he knows how to be in the position.

"And that is the only way I really know how to be mayor as it relates to the approach," he said. "And the approach is we're always looking for opportunities. We're always looking to sell the city and this downtown needs revitalization."

The two also spoke of being a "cheerleader" for the city.

In terms of what Pittsfield needs today, Krol said it is time to have a cheerleader that will accomplish things that make people feel good about the city again.

"When we revitalized downtown Pittsfield for the first time, it was in part because people were excited," he said. "We were talking about making this feel the greatest small city in the Northeast and people will need it and we all get it and that's why I did the work for the mayor at that time. So and that, that's the fire that still burns today."

Marchetti said he has a proven track record of being a cheerleader with his community involvement and getting into the corner office would only be an expansion of that.

The debate covered many topics such as the city budget, the relatively new Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, city employee wages, and the Fourth of July Parade.

In closing remarks, the two candidates gave voters a look at what they can expect from them.

"I had the opportunity to talk to a 100-year-old resident, a 95-year-old resident at their home. I've had the chance to meet a 23-year-old single mother knocking on doors in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. This position is all about the people and that's how intend to run the office. I intend to be the most accessible mayor in the history of Pittsfield and that's why I am knocking on every single door in the city so we can have conversations at the doorstep," Krol said.

"Pittsfield has such potential. There is so much we can do but we have to have the guts to do it. We have to have the energy and the cheerleader, someone who has been there before. I've worked in the mayor's office for two years as a city councilor for a decade and I know my way around City Hall and we're going to do it so let's elevate our city, let's make it the 'Berkshire city' and we can do this together."

"I look forward to the next six months so knocking on doors and meeting and greeting people and having conversations with people," Marchetti said.

"Here is my ideas. It's Ok to push back and tell me where I need to make some improvements. That's the conversations that I'm having with community groups. That's the conversations I'm having with people across the city. I want to lead you. I want to be your cheerleader, maybe not as charismatic as John would be, but I will get the job done and I think that my track record proves that I can get the job done."

Pittsfield resident Craig Gaetani has also taken out papers for mayor. A preliminary election, if needed, is scheduled for Sept. 19 and the general election is on Nov. 7.

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