For the last 20 years, Pittsfield, Massachusetts Mayor Linda Tyer has been a public figure in city life. She won a city council seat in 2003, and served in that role until securing the city clerk position in 2009. In 2015, Tyer unseated incumbent Dan Bianchi to become the first mayor in Pittsfield history to serve a four-year term. In a hard-fought 2019 campaign against city councilor Melissa Mazzeo, Tyer successfully defended her seat – after unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud from her rival led to a recount that reaffirmed her win. The next year, Tyer was faced with navigating Pittsfield through the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, subsequent economic downturn, and the rebuilding process. After choosing to not seek a third term this year, Tyer is preparing to turn over the corner office to City Council President Peter Marchetti, who defeated John Krol in November. Marchetti will be sworn in on January 2nd. WAMC visited city hall this week for an interview with the outgoing mayor.
TYER: I've been thinking a lot about it because I am starting to wind down my time here in city hall, and I'm really proud of some of the things that we've accomplished in the last eight years. We got the Berkshire Innovation Center built, we got the Morningstar St. Mary's campus saved and restored, we launched the At Home in Pittsfield program, we lead the community through a global pandemic, we managed $40 million [in] federal ARPA funds. And there's so many other things big and small that I think about over the, that occurred over the last eight years. And it's really been a privilege. We've faltered in some ways too, but most of the time we've had some great successes.
WAMC: Now your successor is Peter Marchetti, someone you've known for many years, he's been a close political ally, and certainly, you guys have been in close communication through this transition. If you had to communicate to him what should be on the top of his docket heading into this new year and his first term, what issues come to mind?
The first thing I would encourage him to do, and we've already started putting some of this in place, is to begin the search for the next chief of police. The second thing would be to make sure that we keep the momentum going around the housing initiatives that are underway. I would say the third thing is making sure that we keep Wahconah Park on the agenda, because that is a community asset and a community amenity that I think everyone is excited about.
You alluded to this earlier, but I think in a lot of ways, it'll be impossible to separate out the COVID-19 pandemic from the broader to Linda Tyer mayoral experience. When you look back on that unprecedented challenge – and there's a word that certainly in 2020, we heard almost ceaselessly – what stands out to you from that experience?
I think the thing that stands out to me is just the remarkable collaboration that occurred right here inside of city hall and with our community partners to keep the community safe. It was- At the beginning, it was terrifying, and nobody really knew what to do, or how to organize or what to plan for. And so, in the beginning, the task force was meeting daily and trying to put together the best response and have the most careful advice to give to the community. And as the year, the first year went on, it became obvious that we were really in this for the long haul and the information about how it was transmitted changed, and then the information about how to keep people safe changed, and there were some really difficult decisions that had to be made during that time. But we also put out nearly a million dollars into the hands of our small businesses during the pandemic to keep them afloat during this difficult time. And then once the vaccine came online, and we put together the vaccine clinics- When I look back on it, it's going to really reflect how Pittsfield and the Berkshires, when it gets hard, we all come together. And in that particular case, there were no egos, everybody went above and beyond their job title. And I will be forever grateful for the team of people that I had the privilege of being with during that really difficult time.
Partially due to historical trends and certainly exacerbated by the pandemic, Pittsfield’s budget and spending has been a big topic of conversation this year. Certainly, your final budget was considerably higher than the year before, taxes are going to be considerably higher next year than they were in 2023. When critics talk about Pittsfield having a spending problem or how to best allocate our free cash reserves towards lowering the tax rate- When you look ahead and look forward into the challenges that your successor, Peter Marchetti, will face, what's your response to those accusations about Pittsfield’s “spending problem”?
Yeah, so I'm going to tackle this two ways. First, what I would like the community to know and your listeners and readers to know is that we have positioned the incoming mayor to have the best financial stability that he could possibly have. We've got more money in reserves than ever before, we've got $8 million coming in from [General Electric] to refund the city's economic development fund, we've got $500,000 available for from the opioid settlement. So, from that standpoint, there is a lot of opportunities for there to be some really creative investments in the city of Pittsfield. When it comes to the discussion about the municipal budget, I struggle a little bit to understand the criticism, quite frankly, because there were a number of things that we heard in the last year's budget and then this one that we're in now around wages, around raising wages. Pay the teachers more, we’ve got to do something for the school community, the paraprofessionals, custodians, bus drivers, we've got to raise their wages. I agreed with that. So, when you have those conversations, and you're hearing that the legislative body wants to support our schools, for example, by paying teachers more and paying the staff more, there is a consequence to that to the budget. I understand that. For the community, it is really difficult to swallow a tax rate increase whether it's a little bit or a lot or just right. The challenge is, though, that we are providing extraordinary services. People get public education and 24-hour fire protection and police protection. People get the roads plowed, people get clean drinking water, and when you flush the toilet, it goes away. All of that costs money. I would like to hear, and I hope at some point, somebody comes up with some ideas for how to cut the budget in a way that has an impact on the tax rate. So, what is it that we're willing to live without? Are we willing to live without trash collection? Are we willing to live without the other things, like a public health department? So, I think, it can't just be nibbling around the edges. If you want to impact the tax rate, it's got to be big money.
During the last city council meeting of the year, Ward 1 city councilor Kenny Warren floated the idea of a residential exemption for Pittsfield moving forward, that would more equitably distribute the tax burden more so on to homeowners of high-cost properties and less so on owners of low-cost properties. This was introduced in Williamstown this year and was aggressively denied by the community. What are your thoughts on that tool? Would that be something that would help more equitably distribute the tax burden here in Pittsfield?
I would have to- If I were still here, I would be interested in exploring it. It's hard to say what the impact would be, except that we know that some people would pay less and other people would pay more. I don't know from a from a public policy standpoint without having details whether that's a good thing or a bad thing for Pittsfield. But I think that the other the other piece to this is that the property values in Pittsfield have also increased, which means for the individual homeowner, you have more value in the thing that's probably your biggest asset, your home. And people forget that that's an important part of your of your calculation of your wealth. It means that you can borrow money, it means that when you go to sell your home, you can have a return on that investment. If you are keeping your home in your family, it means that your family is having an opportunity to grow their wealth. So, I'm not too sure about a residential tax exemption. I think it would be a hotly debated issue, if it ever came to the table.
One of the most controversial moments of your tenure involved the police shooting of Miguel Estrella, a topic we've talked about at great length. In the fallout of that incident, many activists in the community were very critical of the City of Pittsfield for not acting quickly enough to carry out aspects of police reform or altering emergency services. From your perspective, at the end of the day, how do you think your administration reacted to that incident? And do you feel there's any credence to those criticisms?
First of all, I just- It was a traumatic event for the entire community, and especially for Miguel's family and friends. And that has never left me. I will say that that was, when I think about some of the most difficult days, that's right up there. It was an awful, awful thing for the community to go through. I think though, that- And I think the questions about how do we police better are fair. I also think that we do many things well, and there's always opportunities for improvements. I know that there was momentum around this alternative emergency service model, which is interesting, but also difficult to implement. So, maybe if I was doing a third term, I would put much more, greater thought into, how do we bring that to the city of Pittsfield? In the meantime, we've expanded the co-responder program, we've created the hub, which gives us an opportunity to pull together our community partners to focus on an individual who might be in crisis and bring resources to that person. So, we've tried to create a variety of ways of responding to people who are experiencing a mental health crisis or struggling with substance use disorders. And I think, sometimes it's not an easy, one size fits all solution- Not for the city and the way that it operates or even for the individual who's in need. So, I think having a variety of ways to approach it is actually a good solution. And clearly, there's always room for improvement.
During this most recently mayoral election, you largely were on the sidelines, you didn't make a lot of public appearances, though you did support Mr. Marchetti. From your perspective, when you listened to that campaign – for the first time in many years as an outsider – what were your thoughts on the discourse around Pittsfield that was being expressed on the campaign trail?
Well, I think that it's always- Campaigns are always a debate or a competition for ideas. And so, you have to, sadly, you have to come up with things that are wrong, you have to state things that you think are broken and then offer a solution. So, it's all- From my perspective, it was hard to hear some of the things that were being said, but I understand how campaigns work, and I understand how the political process works. There were things that were said during the campaign that were just not true, which, also, that's the way that it goes in a campaign. But for me, personally and professionally, I know exactly who I am and I know exactly who we are. I know what we did well, I know where we struggled. And I'm really proud of my team, and I'm proud of our community. I think that there's a lot of talk about downtown, and I think it's a pretty nice place. And so that was sort of a surprise to hear. I am mystified by the idea that you would be so highly critical of your downtown, whether you're a candidate or a business owner or anyone who cares about downtown, because it is the place where we're trying to run a business or encourage people to live. And so, if you're highly critical of this place, you're- The marketing strategy has always been a little bit of a mystery to me.
I want to talk about the framing of crime statistics and Pittsfield, because it's usually a hot topic in any campaign. You campaigned on crime in 2015, in 2019, your challenger Melissa Mazzeo campaigned on crime, and this year, it seems like everybody campaigned on crime. Looking over the data that's available from the Pittsfield police, we have seen a broad decrease in crime across many sectors over your tenure in office. With that in mind, what does this tell us about perceptions versus reality when it comes to crime in Pittsfield?
Well, I think that Pittsfield, unfortunately, has always had a stigma around crime. And because we're in Berkshire County, and we're the largest city in the county, and our neighbors are smaller and more rural, we are certainly going to have more instances of crime and different types of crime. And so, it's easy for people to stigmatize the city of Pittsfield around crime. Obviously, crime is a campaign topic no matter what the year is, because it matters to people. People want to live in a place that safe. But, you know, again, we go back to- We have put in a variety of measures, tried implementing different things to address issues of crime. And again, it's not one silver bullet that's going to solve all of our issues around crime. But it's really smart policing, smart law enforcement, smart neighborhoods who are willing to engage in conversations around crime. Those are the things that keep our city safe.
As the city prepares to hire a new police chief, what kind of things are you communicating to Marchetti about that search and about what you think – and from your experience working with the police chief – the city could most use in the next person to hold the seat?
Well, I think that we have to continue to emphasize our work around equity. I think making sure that the next chief of police understands or is willing to focus on best practices around equity within the department, but also out into the community. I think the next chief inherits at a time when policing has gotten more difficult and where the expectations of what a police officer does has expanded beyond what our grandparents knew of policing. So, someone who is able to navigate the complexities of the policing, of law enforcement, and the expectations that communities have. Someone who is able to lead with a calm confidence, who inspires respect among the rank and file, the men and women in the police department, a person who can engage thoughtfully with the community. Somebody who can build a budget or be creative around, what are some of the best future strategies for law enforcement? So those would be some of the things that I would encourage the mayor elect to think about as he undertakes this this selection process.
Earlier, you alluded to moments along the way where you feel like you faltered while leading Pittsfield. We mentioned the tragedy around the Miguel Estrella shooting- Are there any other examples that you feel like epitomized moments that you wished you could take a second crack at?
Yes, yes, there are. And one of the- As you mentioned, we've talked about Miguel. The other one that continues to haunt me, and lots of lessons learned, was when the St. Joseph shelter- When ServiceNet closed St. Joe's shelter, and we had people who are vulnerable living in our parks. And that was so difficult for the people who were living outside, and it was an awful time for them. And they were upset and angry and hurt and struggling- And understandably so. And I wish that I had been more aggressive around engaging with ServiceNet and insisting that they reopen the shelter. At the time, I was feeling like I didn't have the authority to make a demand on a nonprofit organization. I attempted to encourage them, cajole them. But I never said to them, I am demanding and insisting that you reopen the shelter. That's something that has haunted me, and the fact that the encampment extended for such a long period of time- I learned a lot from that experience. I learned a lot about the struggles that that people who are unsheltered have. If I were ever in that situation again, I would have a completely different approach. So, that was one that was one of the one of the most difficult times in my tenure as mayor.
At this point, what's next for you? Is this your retirement from public life? Do you have a new job lined up? What's the future hold for Linda Tyer?
I am going to for sure step away from public life. I don't anticipate running for office of any of any type again in my future, and I'm excited about my next opportunity. I've just been selected to be the new Executive Director of Workforce Training and Community Education at Berkshire Community College. So, my next chapter will be at BCC, and I'm really looking forward to joining that academic institution and working with the whole county around, how do we help people achieve their best potential for job opportunities and for higher wages, and how do we think about that? And what's the future economy for the workforce? I’m really looking forward to it.
Only years into covering you did I find out that you were a fan of the band Tool. Tell me about that- You're in the Tool Army? Is that fair to say?
Yeah, I'm in the Tool Army, and people are always surprised by it. But Tool is just a magnificent group of three musicians and one singer-songwriter, and they have the most mystical, poetic sort of irreverent lyrics in their music. They're very artistic, and their music is layered in really creative ways. It's a little- I find it a little almost creepy that they released “Fear Inoculum” like two years after the pandemic, and they were writing all this music prior to the pandemic- Takes them forever to release an album. But I love their shows, I love the musicians. I think that Maynard James Keenan, who is their singer-songwriter, just has this amazing lens on the world and has crazy, crazy lyrics. But it is sort of one of those guilty pleasures that I have. Yeah. It's great.
And lastly, Linda, any final message to our listeners after eight years of serving as Pittsfield mayor?
So, I think about this a lot because I feel deeply, deeply honored to have been entrusted to do this work, whether it was my time on the city council or the city clerk, but especially as mayor. And when people ask me about this, I often tell the story of how I always I feel so honored to know that someone walked into a ballot booth took a ballot and filled in the oval next to my name, and I don't- I didn't ever lose sight of that. Even when people maybe disagreed with my decisions, I felt honored to be in this position for the last eight years. I want to say thank you to everyone who supported me. Even people who were critics of me taught me something, they sharpened my thinking. And as we go forward as a community, I just want us to continue thriving together, growing together, being proud of our city, being excited about the place where we live and work, welcome visitors, think about, how do we grow our economy? How do we, what's next for our public schools? Our city is so ripe with opportunities, and always keeping an eye on the future is something that, you know, hopefully, I can be engaged in other ways besides elected office to help be part of our community.
