Ruberto keeping busy post-mayor’s office

PITTSFIELD – Despite enjoying some personal time, former Pittsfield Mayor James M. Ruberto has remained active in the year since he left office.

Mayor Ruberto served two terms, from 2004-2011. During this time, Pittsfield underwent what many have characterized as a renaissance, particularly in the city’s downtown and arts scene. He chose not to run for re-election in the 2011 mayoral race, which was won by current Mayor Daniel L. Bianchi.

Since he left office, Mayor Ruberto said he’s done a significant amount of traveling, much of which he’s tied together with cheering on the Boston Red Sox, of which he is an ardent fan.

“It’s been a welcomed rest. It’s afforded me an opportunity to….really enjoy myself,” said Mayor Ruberto, who spent the first part of last year in Florida watching the Red Sox during spring training.

Keeping busy

At the end of last year, Mayor Ruberto got more involved with the Massachusetts Cultural Council and accepted a position as a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Funding Board.

He’s also working with Christine Condaris, chairperson of the fine and performing arts department at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), on creating an undergraduate course at MCLA on using the arts as a catalyst for reviving cities. Mayor Ruberto will be teaching this course in the college’s fall 2013 semester.

“I’ve always had an interest in teaching,” he said, acknowledging this will be his first foray into the field.

Political ambitions

As for any future political ambitions, Mayor Ruberto confirmed to The Beacon, with a laugh, he would not be seeking the United States Senate seat expected to be vacated by Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.).

“With a deficit in my campaign fund, it’s out of the question,” said the mayor.

Still, Mayor Ruberto has not ruled out a return to elected office.

“Were I ever to run for a position in municipal government again, I can assure you that the first one I would consider is the school committee,” said Mayor Ruberto, who expressed his desire to see Pittsfield offer pre-kindergarten starting at age 3.

“It is critical that all children begin kindergarten on an equal academic and intellectual footing,” said the mayor.

When asked if there was anything he was disappointed about and/or wished he had finished, Mayor Ruberto said he wished Pittsfield had begun construction of a new high school before he left office. He also said he would have liked to see the creation of an employee base for Pittsfield’s schools and government that better reflected the diversity of its people.

Thoughts on the city

When it comes to what’s happened in Pittsfield since he left office, Mayor Ruberto noted he’s still seeing the initiatives of his administration pay off.

“I think the good things that have happened [in the past year] were the formalization of the things that were in process when I was mayor,” he said.

Some of these developments the mayor pointed out were the South Street road improvements, the completion of the first and second phase of the downtown streetscape and Pittsfield being acknowledged as one of the first five communities in Massachusetts with a cultural district.

When asked if he’d seen any negatives in the city since he left office, Mayor Ruberto talked about the importance of progressive government for the future of the city.

“How do we…re-establish progressive government in the City of Pittsfield that is directed to…making the community more livable for its people?” said the mayor. “I really feel that we need a return to progressive government that establishes a clear-cut vision to guide the people of Pittsfield, and show that the community will be more livable under a host of initiatives…led by its municipal government.”

On the subject of Pittsfield’s economic future, the mayor stressed the need to bring more broadband technology to the city.

“I think we have to step back again [and] understand how we can get the highest level of broadband technology to every house in the City of Pittsfield,” said Mayor Ruberto.

“We can’t wait for Time Warner, we can’t wait for Verizon to get us there. We’ve got to get there on our own,” said the mayor. “It has to be a public-private partnership that leads the charge.”

The mayor said research on such a project had occurred during his final six months in office.

“It would be helpful if that work were to continue,” said the mayor.

Still, when asked if he’d approached Pittsfield’s municipal government about this, Mayor Ruberto said he’d chosen to remain detached from the activities of city government.

“I’ve chosen to remain silent…[on] municipal issues that relate to city government,” he said.

When asked about where he saw the city in 20 years, Mayor Ruberto was optimistic.

“With progressive government and strong municipal leadership, I continue to believe that Pittsfield will be the best-done small city in the Northeast,” he said.

As for his own plans, Mayor Ruberto said that they once again involved the Red Sox.

“My immediate plans are to spend a winter in Florida rooting for my beloved Red Sox,” he said.

When he returns to Pittsfield, however, the mayor plans to work on a project to make sure “individuals that have stood above all others in making…selfless contributions to the community get recognized.”

Looking back

When asked what he was the most proud of about his time as mayor, he pointed to a number of achievements, including improving the city’s school department, normalizing relations between the city council and the mayor’s office, using the arts as a vehicle to revitalize the city, fighting for low income housing and highlighting Pittsfield as a green community.

“There were a number of aggressive initiatives that came from a firm belief in progressive government as the only way to move a city forward,” said the mayor.

When asked if there was anything he wanted to say to the people of Pittsfield, Mayor Ruberto got personal.

“I’ll always be grateful to the people of Pittsfield for the way they treated me but particularly the way they treated Ellen,” said the mayor.

Ellen M. Ruberto is Mayor Ruberto’s late wife. She passed away in 2009.

Posted by Bera B. Dunau on January 10, 2013. Filed under Community News,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry