Capping off a 40-year run in local, county and state offices, State Rep. Smitty Pignatelli will not seek another term in the Massachusetts House, the 11-term Lenox Democrat confirmed to the State House News Service Tuesday morning.

"I just feel that the time has come," said the 64-year-old Pignatelli. "I think it's time to turn the page and move onto the next chapter of my life, whatever that may be."

The Berkshire Eagle first reported on Pignatelli's decision not to run for reelection. Pignatelli, joking about the reactions he's heard so far, told the News Service, "Based on the article today and the response I'm getting from people, I think I'm going to change my mind. I didn't realize I was that popular."

Pignatelli said part of his decision not to run again was based on losing friends in the Legislature, including Rep. Josh Cutler, who resigned over the weekend to join the Healey administration. Pignatelli said he's also spent a lot of time "soul-searching."

"It was just a combination of a lot of things and looking at each day as a blessing," he said. "I want to enjoy things in a different realm right now, so I have more work to do, but I just feel in my own heart and mind, it's the right time."

Pignatelli joins a growing list of state lawmakers who plan to seek a different office or not run for reelection. That includes Sen. Susan Moran and Reps. Dylan Fernandes, Sarah Peake, Daniel Carey and Mathew Muratore.

In a social media post Tuesday morning, Pignatelli wrote, "It’s NOT a retirement but the close of one chapter and the opening of a new one. More to come."

Pignatelli's sprawling district includes Alford, Becket, Dalton, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mount Washington, New Marlborough, Otis, Richmond, Sandisfield, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington and West Stockbridge. He said he hasn't spoken to any people yet who are interested in running for his seat.

"We're at a critical juncture politically in the Berkshires, and I think someone's going to have to hit the ground running and be very compassionate about the people," Pignatelli said, as he reflected on the region's aging population, the vast majority of whom are MassHealth recipients.

"I always say we're smaller, we're sicker and we're poorer," Pignatelli said, as he invoked a proposed commuter rail connecting western Massachusetts to Boston. "But there's an amazing opportunity to turn things around with West-East rail, to live here, work there, with our traveling tourism economy, which is our economic engine."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pignatelli said people flocked to the Berkshires so they could more naturally practice social distancing.

"We need to make investments to keep them here with high-speed broadband, uninterrupted cellular activity for phones in the live-here, work-there mentality - I think could really pay huge dividends for the Berkshires and turn things around," he said. "So I'm very bullish on that. I'm not going to be quiet about that, even after I'm out of office."

Rep. Tricia Farley Bouvier said she was grateful for Pignatelli's service.

"Smitty has been a great partner in the small but mighty Berkshire delegation," the Pittsfield Democrat said in a Facebook post. "His passion for his district shines through with everything he does."

Sen. Jamie Eldridge, a former state representative, said he has "truly enjoyed" serving with Pignatelli. 

"You are a great fighter for your district, and leader on environment, municipal, farming & healthcare challenges," Eldridge said on X. "Our House Class of '02 remaining is getting small, Smitty!"

A lifelong Lenox resident and a licensed master electrician, Pignatelli worked at his family's electrical contracting business for 20 years. He later became business development manager for Lee Bank and attended Babson College School for Financial Studies, according to his biography on the Legislature's website. 

Pignatelli was elected to the Lenox Planning Board in 1987, and in 1992, he was elected to the Board of Selectmen, where he served as chair. He also served as a Berkshire County commissioner and chaired the board, according to his biography.

In his inaugural speech in the state House of Representatives in 2004, Pignatelli said he spoke in support of same-sex marriage.

"The eyes of the world were upon us. We were the only state, Massachusetts, to do it," Pignatelli said. "And we kind of laid the groundwork for the national movement - marry who you love, regardless of their sex. I think that was an important, historic moment in American history."

As he finishes out his term representing the 3rd Berkshire District, Pignatelli said his focus is on housing affordability, regional equity, and "horizontal infrastructure" like water, sewer, roads and bridges.

Pignatelli said he also intends to keep advocating for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clean up toxic waste in the Berkshires, where the Housatonic River has been contaminated with PCBs that cause cancer.

Looking to his next chapter, Pignatelli said he's working on writing a book about his experience in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Pignatelli said he took a crew of 25 contractors from the Berkshires to New Orleans, and they rebuilt a house in six days.

"It was such a game-changer in my life and the guys I went with," Pignatelli said.

Asked whether his next job would keep him in the Berkshires or maintain his presence in Boston, Pignatelli seemed open-minded as he stressed his passion for helping "our communities."

"So if that keeps me in the Berkshires or pulls me to Boston, I love to call the Berkshires home," Pignatelli said. "And that will never change."