PITTSFIELD — There’s still two months until nomination papers for this year’s municipal elections are available, but already the mayor’s race has generated multiple candidates. Noticeably absent from the list of names of potential city leaders is current Mayor Linda Tyer.
In December, Tyer said that she had made a decision about whether to enter the race and seek a third term as mayor. She told The Eagle that she’d make a formal announcement following the holiday season.
When asked in recent weeks about when that announcement would be or whether she had decided to run, Tyer did not comment.
During a tour of the Springside House on Wednesday, following the announcement of a new grant supporting that project, Tyer was asked if a change in leadership might jeopardize the plans to renovate. Tyer said that would be a good question to ask the candidates.
Then she added, “If I return to office, this will continue to be a priority.”
Tyer took office in 2016, and was the first mayor to serve a four-year term. In 2019, Tyer won reelection against former city councilor Melissa Mazzeo in a contentious election.
If Tyer enters the race this time, she will face two longtime figures of city politics. Current City Council President Peter Marchetti and former City Council Vice President John Krol announced in early December that they intend to run for the position.
Krol was a 10-year veteran of the council before he decided not to seek reelection in 2019. Marchetti’s career on the council has spanned a total of 15 years and one prior unsuccessful run for mayor in 2011 against former Mayor Dan Bianchi.
While both candidates said their campaigns would ramp up more fully come spring, Krol and Marchetti have spent some of the last two months handling the bureaucracy of running for mayor. Krol launched a campaign website and both candidates have reported campaign finance accounts.
Along with the mayor’s race the 2023 election cycle will include races for city clerk, the four city councilor at large positions, the seven ward city council positions and six Pittsfield Public School Committee positions.