PITTSFIELD — Residents will choose from five candidates for two Town Council seats at the Nov. 8 election, one serving District 3 and the other an at-large position.
Candidates for the at-large seat are incumbent Lindsay Holmstrom; Heather Donahue, a former councilor; and new candidate Eric Glencross.
In District 3, incumbent Peter Logiodice is opposed by Howard Margolskee, also a former councilor.
Both seats on the council have three-year terms.
Holmstrom has served as an at-large councilor for six months, after winning a special election in April. The seat became vacant when state Rep. Amanda Collamore stepped down last December.
Holmstrom wrote in an email she has enjoyed her time on the council and feels she has gained momentum to help modernize town operations and help steer infrastructure improvements.
“I just want to let the citizens of Pittsfield know that I have truly appreciated the opportunity to serve the community so far,” Holmstrom said, “and I am confident that I will be able to continue to help make the important changes that are desperately needed.”
Donahue, a former councilor, said she feels her experience serving on the council is an asset, especially when several current councilors are new to the town’s governing body.
She served on the Town Council for several years before being defeated last November by Eric Saucier. Donahue also ran in the special election in April, but was defeated by Holmstrom.
Donahue said she feels she has more to offer the town. She also said that as a former educator, she was concerned about recent discussions on the council about closing the library to save money. The library provides a variety of services, she said, that are important to residents.
“There’s a lot of value in having someone on the council that actually knows how the council operates, and understands the rules and constraints of that,” Donahue said, adding it is important councilors “value the work that our town employees do.”
Eric Glencross, a newcomer to local government, said he was primarily concerned about the conditions of roads throughout town, and would like to see more roads get repaved.
He said he did not have specific ideas of what the town should do differently to improve the roads, but he would listen to new ideas and persuade other councilors to do more.
Glencross said he is also concerned about bullying issues at local schools, and said he would like to see the district bring back a school resource officer.
“I think I could persuade council to do more stuff, not just get mad every time somebody says no,” Glencross said.
Only residents who live within District 3, which includes a northeast portion of the town, with Interstate 95 serving as one of its borders, will vote in that district’s council race.
Logiodice, the incumbent, has been on the council for three years and is now the deputy mayor. An electrical and maintenance technician, Logiodice said he is running for reelection because he wants to continue to serve the town.
“The only motive I have for volunteering to be a councilor and continuing to serve on the council is to continue to have Pittsfield be an affordable nice place to live and raise a family,” Logiodice wrote in an email.
Follow-up emails sent to Logiodice seeking further details were not returned by Monday.
Logiodice is being challenged by Margolskee, a former councilor who did not run for reelection several years ago because he was in the process of retiring and reevaluating, he said.
After conversations with residents and current councilors, he said, he thinks his experience and forward-thinking style would benefit the town.
Margolskee said he is concerned with transparency and leadership among town employees. When it comes to transparency, Margolskee said he would like to see a sign outside the Town Office advertising upcoming meetings and events. He said he knows such information is posted online, but not all residents have easy access to the internet.
Margolskee also said he is concerned with the level of turnover among town employees, and he suspects it comes from a lack of support and leadership from the town manager and department heads.
“Our staffing in the town hall and for many departments has been scattered and kind of sporadic,” Margolskee said. “We’ve had difficulty, as a lot of places have. However, it seems to have gone on a lot longer here.”
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