Two years after an uncontested mayoral race, a primary election has been triggered in Pittsfield.City Clerk Linda Tyer is challenging Mayor Dan Bianchi’s bid for a third term and now political outsider and staunch critic of city hall, Craig Gaetani, has returned the 300 signatures needed to certify as a mayoral candidate. He says Tyer and Bianchi are part of the city’s long-standing political class.
“All the good ol’ boy network…I plan to break their backs because I have no use for them whatsoever and they’re the ones that created the mess that we’ve got today,” Gaetani said. “Thirty years of their puppets running the city.”
Eric Bassett and Donna Walto have also taken out mayoral nominating papers. Barring a tie, the Sept. 22nd primary will determine the two finalists for the general election Nov. 3rd.
