City Clerk Linda Tyer beat out Pittsfield Mayor Dan Bianchi in the race for the city’s first four-year mayoral term Tuesday.Linda Tyer bested Mayor Dan Bianchi by a nearly 60 - 40 split with about 42 percent of registered voters casting ballots. Tyer says she didn’t expect such a wide margin.
“We had the right message that people could believe that we have work to do to make our city a next generation city,” Tyer said Tuesday night. “I think they appreciated the tenor of our campaign. We won fair and square.”
Despite his defeat, Mayor Bianchi stood by what he sees as achievements during his four years in office.
Speaking to supporters after calling Linda Tyer to congratulate her on Tuesday’s victory, Bianchi pointed toward a new Taconic High School and the Berkshire Innovation Center as hopeful signs for the future. But, Bianchi also says he’s faced constant criticism during his time as mayor.
“My opponent had a crew of people who spent the last couple years not being terribly truthful and they did their job,” Bianchi told reporters Tuesday night. “We have local newspaper that I think they’ve been gunning for me for four years.”
The Berkshire Eagle endorsed Tyer for mayor.
