The race has devolved into scandal. Both city council president Peter Marchetti – who won the low turnout September preliminary election – and former city councilor John Krol have found themselves fighting to explain away misconduct allegations in the final days of the contest.
While both are well known quantities in Pittsfield politics, each with long tenures in public life, accusations about their character and past behavior have defined an otherwise low-wattage election season. The pair are running to succeed Mayor Linda Tyer, who is stepping down after two four-year terms. At the Pittsfield Community Television and iBerkshires.com hosted debate Wednesday, each attempted to defend themselves.
For his part, Marchetti has been named in a lawsuit against Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, where he works as a senior vice president. Documents filed in federal court in September allege the bank’s leadership, including Marchetti, discriminated against and harassed female employees. The suit includes claims that Marchetti verbally abused the plaintiff, screaming at her and calling her a bitch, and that he admitted to having gotten in trouble in the past for similar behavior.
“As you may understand, this is an ongoing matter of litigation, and I'm not at liberty to discuss any details," said the city council president. "However, I will say this: I dispute many of those allegations, and I would like to share a part of the response from my employer. ‘The investigator concluded that Mr. Marchetti did not violate the bank's anti-harassment and discrimination policy, nor did he violate any laws, including the sexual harassment laws. She also determined that the bank and its officers did not engage in any wrongdoing.’ Personally, I strongly support that harassment of any kind has no place in the workforce, none whatsoever. That is why I supported the creation of the [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] Office at city hall. It is important to have protections for women and all marginalized people. As a gay man myself, I understand the importance of fair, respectful, and harassment free culture. I have and will continue to support a safe and non-hostile work environment, a culture that is accepting of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, and disability. I will stand up for fairness of women and anti-harassment and discrimination policies in the workplace.”
Just after September’s preliminary election, the Berkshire Eagle published a bombshell article accusing Krol of embezzling money from a defunct non-profit cat rescue called Animal Dreams he served on the board of. Bank documents show that Krol used $6,800 from its bank account to pay off his own credit card bill. Krol says he resolved the situation by accepting money from Animal Dreams President Stacey Carver’s then-husband, Allen Harris of Berkshire Money Management, to pay off the over $6,000 balance he owed the nonprofit after returning $750 out of pocket. Krol has denied any criminal conduct in the matter and described the entire episode as an accident and contends it was a no-strings-attached gift from Harris. Harris says it was intended as a down payment on work for his company by Krol’s marketing business OneEighty Media that was never delivered. Krol has framed the article as a political hit job and has insinuated Marchetti’s campaign was involved in it — something his rival denies.
“I have gone before the Berkshire Eagle, I have brought all the evidence forward, and I have been open and honest, and I have sat down for two hours and fifteen minutes in front of the editorial board, [publisher] Fred Rutberg, [editor] Kevin Moran, and the reporter, Meg Britton, and I have answered those questions," said the former city councilor. "I have not hid behind an attorney, I have not hid behind anything. I have been open and honest in regard to that. And as we know, we discussed, I have evidence from the banks, including documents that have shown that my intent was true, and we can certainly show more of that. But let me be very clear- A mayor needs to not hide behind attorneys. They have to be able to come out and be able to be open and honest with the evidence, and that's exactly what I've done.”
The documents Krol turned over to the Eagle revealed he had actually misappropriated even more money from Animal Dreams than was initially reported, which the candidate again framed as a mistake. Marchetti fired back at Krol.
“It has nothing to do with hiding behind attorneys, and you claim that you came forward with the with the facts- I'm also going to remind you that when you took the $6,800 donation from Mr. Harris, you were a city councilor and violated the state ethics law by accepting more than a $50 donation from someone," he said. "So, we can continue to play this game all night long. I want to sit here and talk about how we're going to move the city of Pittsfield forward and stand strong on the issues.”
“I did not bring up that issue," Krol responded. "And I have been talking about the issues from the very beginning, Peter. I have been talking about change in the city. And I understand that in many of the debates, you have definitely lost your cool. I understand that. And you've gotten upset in a lot of ways, and temperament is something that is an issue when a mayor is in a position of power and he has staff members working for him, department heads. It's- If you can't keep your cool in front of the cameras, and in front of people in public, what is it like behind closed doors? Now we have heard over the last few days what it is like behind closed doors when it comes to Peter Marchetti and how he treats coworkers. So when it comes down to it, that is very, very important. And I think that when it comes to the full investigation that Pittsfield Cooperative Bank did, that they need to come out with that before the day after the election. It is absurd that all that information is being held until after the election. That is not fair to the voters. That's not fair to the city of Pittsfield."
“You want to talk about hiding- My campaign has not once talked about your issues and your problems," said Marchetti. "Your campaign volunteers have been all over since last Saturday night, hammering away, hammering away, hammering away. I think that the statements have been pretty loud and clear that an investigation was done and there was no wrongdoing found- And there's a difference between losing your cool and standing up for yourself.”
You can hear the full debate here:
The election is Tuesday.
