Friday was Debbie Pedercini’s final day working for the city of North Adams, Massachusetts after more than 30 years. Pedercini, who spent much of her municipal career in the Community Development Office, served as city clerk since 2019 after working as an assistant city clerk. Pedercini tells WAMC that she’s moving on to become Executive Director of the Lee Housing Authority.
PEDERCINI: I’m kind of getting back to the roots of what I used to do in community development, and it's been going well. So, mostly going to spend some time with my grandkids and my family. The job that I've taken in Lee is just a part time position, so that will free up some time for me, which I'm really looking forward to.
WAMC: You started working for the City Clerk's office in 2016, a very eventful time in the country, in the county, and I'm sure in the city. What was that like looking back on that five years later?
Oh, gosh, well, that was one of them. For sure. We had a great crew here. My assistant Kathy and Brenda borrowed help, got us through the elections. That was that was pretty amazing. I've never seen as many ballots in my life as that election. Yeah, it was very unprecedented. I guess I’d use. You know, clerks all across the state felt the way that I felt. It was pretty intese – exciting to be part of too, I would say.
As the city moves to fill the position you’re leaving, what do you think is the most important thing to know as city clerk of North Adams for the next person to succeed you?
Oh, gosh, you need to be a multitasker for sure. Accuracy. Basically, you are the portal for everyone's questions. We are kind of the 411. Everyone calls us for information. We keep the records here, we’re – clerks are special people. I’ve been fortunate to work with good people.
How did the job changed over those five years?
I would say the most changes – we’ve done a lot of things online. Pretty much everything you could do in our office, you can do online now, other than, you know, a marriage intention where you actually have to be in person. But no, that has streamlined a lot of things. We've certainly seen the mail-in ballots, probably never going away. And I think that in a lot of ways, that's really great. You've gotten people to vote that probably would never have gone to vote. So it's been a good change.
Have you noticed any trends as city clerk over the last few years, anything that stands out to you as like, you know, “I'm dealing with this more than I used to before” or “it sure seems like a lot of this or that's being asked about”?
Oh, yeah, definitely. I think when the new REAL ID for your license, that became an incredible amount of change, because everyone needed their birth certificate, they needed a marriage certificate. You know, that was in the door every day. You know, you can't get your license without it now. So it's become a necessity. So we are it! We hold you up. If you can't get your, you won't get your license without your birth certificate.
What's one thing people don't know about a city clerk that you think is interesting, or something that they should know?
I will tell you, when I came in this office, I had absolutely no idea how many records there were. This is our history here. You know, it's just amazing to me, the amount of history. You know, every record you can imagine is in here, every bit of information for the council, your city ordinances – I never realized how much information was in the small little vault. I’m sure there is not enough room in here for another five years, but somehow they'll figure it out.
Well, and lastly, what do you think you're going miss the most about being city clerk?
Oh, gosh. The people. I do like the people. I like, you know, interacting with people. Of course, since we've had the pandemic, I haven't really had the opportunity to do that in the last year, but I will miss the people I worked with. I will say that, again, great people to work with. Hardworking people. That's what I'm going to miss the most.
