A black woman is charging Pittsfield Mayor Dan Bianchi with racism and discrimination. The matter was brought to the city’s human rights commission, less than one month after it was formed. The woman has expressed interest in relocating a business to Pittsfield and being employed by the city.
Doreen Wade has requested the human rights commission investigate Mayor Bianchi and the city’s hiring practices. The Medford native says Bianchi made racist comments and intimidated her during two meetings in spring 2013.
“After a year of dealing with this, our leadership is racist,” Wade told the commission Monday night.
Bianchi says those claims are inaccurate and misleading.
“Unfortunately in our society anybody can accuse anybody else of anything,” Bianchi said Tuesday. “My mistake was not having somebody else in the room with me at that initial meeting.”
The independent human rights commission tabled the request until its next meeting June 9th and asked Wade to provide printed copies of her job applications to the city and related information.
The full story will air on Wednesday's Midday Magazine from noon to one on WAMC.
