PITTSFIELD, Mass. - Pittsfield voters will be deciding on a new mayor this fall. Karen Kalinowsky, Peter Marchetti and John Krol will be on the ballot for the preliminary election on Tuesday, Sept. 19.

Spectrum News 1 spoke to the three mayoral candidates Wednesday about the key issues they feel the city is facing, asking them each the same questions.

“We have a bloated budget," Kalinowsky said. "We really need to cut back on our budget to what the city needs to run properly, because we have a lot of elderly that is the highest population of the city that are given are being driven out of their homes by high property taxes and water and sewer fees.

"We also have a high addiction, people that are homeless here with addiction issues. Our roads are not in good condition. I know we're slowly working on them. I've been on the council for 18 months now and it is something that we're start trying to deal with more. But I'd like to see more done coming to our sidewalks and roads in the city.”

Kalinowsky is currently serving her first term as an at-large city councilor and is a retired Pittsfield police officer of more than 30 years.

Peter Marchetti has 15 years of experience on the city council and is in his eighth year as council president.

“I think the first is something that's not unique to Pittsfield, it is mental health issues and substance use disorder issues, which I think leads to a lot of our crime," Marchetti said. "Workforce development, training and economic development are major issues. Schools are a major issue. And I think it's about time that Pittsfield starts taking care of its infrastructure and fixing things as we need to have them fixed rather than waiting until they've already gone too far.”

John Krol is a former city council vice president with 10 years of experience before stepping away from city government in 2019.

“I think people are very much concerned actually with their tax bills," Krol said. "That's something that I'm hearing quite a bit. There was an opportunity to utilize a record amount of cash reserves as well as our ARPA dollars to reduce the tax and water sewer rate burden on our residents. This administration did not take that opportunity.

"I look at our downtown and it needs our help, absolutely, at this point. There is aggressive panhandling that's happening in our city. There are buildings that are empty that need to be renovated and we need to have a better use for those. And we've got to support our cultural economy.”

Among many other topics, the candidates also mentioned the change they’ll bring to the mayor’s office.

“I just hope the voters out there look at me," Kalinowsky said, "I am not part of a political machine that's been here in the city. I really love our city and I want to see it do better.”

“This election is very important and critical to the city of Pittsfield," Marchetti said. "And I ask the voters when they go to the ballot box on September 19th, which is less than two weeks away, to cast a vote for me, Pete Marchetti, a vote that means leadership you can trust, experience you can count on, and dedication that's already been proven.”

“We've got to make sure people feel like this city is doing everything it can to make sure they're getting their money's worth," Krol said. "And so we need that change. We need that change.”

The municipal elections will be on Sept. 19 and Nov. 7. The deadline to register or change voter information ahead of the preliminary is Saturday, Sept. 9.