MARCHETTI FACES A CRUCIBLE OF IDENTITY … & MAYBE A FINAL CHANCE AT RECLAMATION
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE MONDAY, FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, 2025) — A few days ago, Mayor Lumpy lit Bitchfield’s Christmas tree. THE PLANET had our spies there.
When it came time to flip the switch to light the midget evergreen, Peter Marchetti first had to stick his middle finger in the wind to see which way the hot air was blowing. He waited so long that the tree shrunk 27 inches. Pine needles could be heard weaving green epitaphs. That’s Marchetti’s way, as it has been since making his Great Mistake, which was venturing into “elective” office — to make even the simplest action an agonizing test of worth, scared that an actual choice might begin to define who he actually is.
Good government has no chance when the chief executive moves through life panicky about his own humanity.
In Peter Marchetti, we see a man struggling with identity, looking for it in the eyes of others. The mark of such a fellow is that he wants everyone to love him.
THE PLANET has for years tried to assure Lumpy of our earnest intentions for his welfare; we have assured him of our love and support, but he has refused it. We have plenty of company in this, but the longer he closes himself off to the honesty of love, the more he will eat his emotions and try to drown them in grog.
———- ooo ———-
It’s easy armchair psychology to tie this disposition with Marchetti’s homosexuality. He struck an odd note at his inauguration in 2024 when he declared himself “openly gay.” Be clear. THE PLANET supports personal freedom. People’s lifestyles should be sacred unto themselves … but that’s just it. Because we remain indifferent to such choices, we won’t accept it when someone gets in our face about how they live. Be who you are, but don’t shove it down our throats.
The need to do this, especially when it rises to a communal value, misappropriates public life. This results in xenophobic “celebrations” of sexuality, gender, and race. A city such as Bitchfield, a state such as Massachusetts, caught up in the totalitarian collectivism of identity politics, embraces the very sort of discrimination and exclusion it claims to abhor.
Some of the most “racist, sexist and exclusive” folks THE PLANET knows are those who condemn “racism” and “sexual discrimination” — many of DEI and LGBTQIA2S? enclaves. They have “religion” and can’t see the colossal irony that imprisons them like a dragonfly trapped in amber. As Orwell wrote in 1984, “Freedom is Slavery.”
———- ooo ———-
Back to our Right Honorable Good Friend, Pete Marchetti.
Looks do not deceive when they are so consistent, those pictures and photo ops of an unsure lad with that pained, constipated look, ill at ease even in an innocent and fun-filled occasion of a Christmas tree lighting.
The look of one lost
THE PLANET feels like the Ghost of Christmas Past — Peter’s past. We take him back to the first time we want on the air with him. It was 1997 in the studios of WBRK during a radio debate on The Dan Valenti Show in Marchetti’s first try for public office. He lost that council race. After the show, we talked with the candidate at length, telling him of the promise and potential we saw there. We encouraged him to run again, and we publicly supported that effort.
Peter took our advice. He ran again (1999). He won that next race but lost himself.
Where did that good fellow go?
THE PLANET has always been saddened seeing unfulfilled potential. Peter lost his soul to politics, and not once has he stepped forward to become his own man. Instead, he chose the comfort and security that comes from being owned. Bondage, even when it comes with a six-figure salary and a giant pension, remains enslavement nonetheless.
Can he be redeemed?
Yes. It’s never too late.
Peter faces a crucible in May. He’s a defendant in a lawsuit that will be tried in federal court. You know the charges. THE PLANET shan’t repeat them. We only say this will represent a tipping point for Marchetti, the man, as opposed to Marchetti the mayor.
For all of it, THE PLANET again offers our hand to him in friendship and support. He’s got our number. We stand ready in support … or not.
His call.
————————————————————–
“Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the seas” — From a ’70s pop song.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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Dan, you nailed the symptoms, but here’s the part no one ever says out loud:
Marchetti didn’t spend his life trying to be “openly gay.”
He spent it trying to be openly not feminine.
His whole identity is one long performance of masculinity — not because he’s confident, but because he’s terrified of being treated the way he treats women. He knows exactly how dismissive, patronizing, and small he makes women feel. His greatest fear is ending up on the receiving end of that same disrespect.
That’s why every public moment looks like he’s choking on his own indecision. It’s not leadership. It’s fear leaking through the cracks of the act.
VAL
Yes, and that’s why the Victoria May’s court action represents a crucial moment for Peter. Her charges seem to support precisely the point you are making. Question is: Will he see it that way? The actual verdict in the case will not address this question. The only thing that will do so will be how he, in his heart and soul, frames the fact that he is accused and what that actually represents.
Victoria May. Theresa May is the political lady from the U.K.
Thank you, JM.
I don’t see a relation between his misbehavior at PCoop and his 20 odd years of abusive governance, which he shares with the rest of that lot of miscreants. Some have been abusing their office just as long maybe longer.
Also, why would a man aspire to the feminine? Makes zero sense. That idea makes for dull fiction (and more than a few costly marketing flops).
Exactly. Victoria May’s case is the mirror Peter’s been avoiding.
A verdict won’t answer whether he’ll face what those accusations say about him — only he can.
This is a character test. Let’s see if he shows up for it.
Though it is rare that any of the big boys in town get more than a wrist slap. If that. It is all about the shield they have built around them eh?
Rare indeed when the locals don’t control the outcome.
That’s the beauty of the May case — it’s federal, out of Berkshire County’s reach.
And her attorney isn’t from here, doesn’t owe anyone favors, and isn’t tangled in the usual county politics.
For once, the orchard doesn’t get to grade its own apples.
Vale, Governor Maura Healey, Pittsfield State Representative Tricia Farley Bouvier, and Shoe-gum Sara Hathaway all endorsed Peter Marchetti for Mayor of Pittsfield in 2023.
Where are misguided Maura, Tricia Country Buffet, and Sara Shoe-gum now in late-2025?
*Sarcasm: I think the other high profile woman – Deanna Ruffer – lives in Cape Cod.
Oh, those 2023 endorsements aged like milk in a heatwave.
Misguided Maura? Missing.
Tricia Country Buffet? Still loading…
Sara Shoe-gum? Firmly stuck to silence.
And Deanna Ruffer?
Safely in Cape Cod, watching Pittsfield like it’s a true-crime documentary she once guest-starred in.
Amazing how nobody wants to claim their “I endorsed Marchetti” souvenir mug in 2025.
But there may be some willing to accept some leftover Covid Coins should he offer them up.
Facts.
I’ve met Mayor Lumpy a few times over the years. He never struck me as a guy who exhibited confidence. He always seemed way over his head. Maybe it was an act or maybe it’s just Lumpy’s (lack of) personality? Who knows.
I do believe it’s safe to say, Lumpy hates or is easily intimidated by women. Especially a woman who challenges Lumpy’s “manhood” or his authority. He’ll soon answer (and possibly pay) for those emotions.
Lumpy is definitely lucky he had the job of mayor of Bitchfield, aka-“fill-in” for the GOBSIG’s, on his horizon. If he were just a bank executive with his current federal case pending, Lumpy would have been joining the ranks of the unemployed.
I don’t see the civil case as being too big a deal, sort of like betting with the houses money and there’s always a chance the bank settles for it goes to trial
I think given the high profile of the defendant that it should be televised. And after the verdict the mayor should release the school investigation report like he said he would.
It is a significant matter, because a civil case forces real transparency — something institutions usually avoid at all costs.
Once it’s filed, you get discovery, which pulls emails, texts, documents, and decisions out of the dark and into evidence. Then come depositions, where everyone must answer questions under oath with no PR script to hide behind. That alone can expose more truth than any verdict.
Civil litigation also creates public access. Filings, exhibits, and testimony become available for journalists, bloggers, and anyone paying attention. That level of scrutiny is often far more threatening than the lawsuit itself.
And this is why banks and municipalities often settle: not because they’re generous, but because they want to avoid their internal behavior becoming public record.
The money matters — but the exposure is the real impact.
You’re absolutely right: confidence has never been his brand. He moves through life like a man who’s always two steps behind his own emails. And yes, women — especially smart, vocal ones — send him straight into emotional vertigo. Nothing terrifies a fragile ego like a woman who doesn’t flinch.
And let’s be honest:
If he were just a bank exec with a federal case hanging over him?
He wouldn’t be “Mayor Marchetti,” he’d be “Now Hiring: Former Finance Guy.”
But Pittsfield’s GOBSIG machine needed a warm seat and a willing signature, and voilà — Lumpy got promoted from background character to temporary plot device.
The bill for all that insecurity and misconduct is coming due, though.
And this time, he can’t overdraft his way out of it.
2-Pete’s Pittsfield politics is a failure in leadership on many levels!
Marchetti is a complete failure as an executive. Just look at his time at the Pittsfield Cooperative Bank and his time as the council president. He is afraid of everyone not liking him. If he doesn’t get his way, he throws a hissy fit and temper tantrum. Executives don’t act that way. They make tough decisions and own up to mistakes when they occur. All he represents is another failed mayor in the same class as Tyer.
Marchetti doesn’t lead — he erupts.
Full-grown man, full-budget mayor, and still throwing temper tantrums like someone ate his Lunchables.
He yells at staff.
He calls women “bitches.”
He stomps, sulks, snaps, and spirals.
This is a man so thin-skinned he could get a sunburn from a flashlight.
So fragile that a strong breeze of female competence could shatter him.
So emotionally brittle that his ego needs bubble wrap just to get through a meeting.
He’s more like the styrofoam packing peanut of leadership:
takes up space, flies everywhere, and dissolves the second anything real touches him.
If confidence were currency, he’d be filing for bankruptcy.
If integrity were a mirror, he’d refuse to look into it.
If maturity were measurable, he’d still be waiting to clear preschool standards.
Kick him in the ego?
Honey, his ego is the only muscle he’s ever exercised —
but even that’s starting to look winded.
“This is a man so thin-skinned he could get a sunburn from a flashlight.”
You’re cookin’, VAL.
Metaphorical argument.
Indeed it is. Satire has always relied on metaphor — it’s how truth gets past fragile egos without needing permission. And now everyone’s received an unsolicited lesson on “metaphorical arguments”… on a blog made entirely of satire. Truly a bold place to discover literary devices.
No group was more delighted than the special interest folk, to see an individual with these insecurities come along into Pittsfield politics. He was easily groomed, pampered and supported all the way to the position of mayor. On his own he would have been stuck at the dead wood, city councilor position and lasted one or two terms. But they saw in him, (and White) that useful idiot trait and they latched on to him. Financial backing and coaching pushed him up the ladder to the launch position of city council president and he mentored under the mayoral useful idiot before him.
He refuses to even look at ways to trim taxes. He refuses a forensic audit even though the city financial situation is screaming out loud for one. He hires “friendly” types rather than more qualified people to help him run the city. He is not a leader but rather one who is led. Led by the folk who got him elected and set his agenda for him and make sure he follows the path set before him
its May vs Gay. May all the Way…..just sayin
Well if you have a 200 million plus budget you would be screaming for a financial audit….unlesssss?
Dan. Eagles big tonight.Pay your Lumpy tax bill. Eagles are due and Chargers are critically injured.
What is the vision that our mayor professes for Pittsfield? He does not communicate this to the populace, if there is one. How is he and the city council going to bring businesses into the city? Seems the PEDA area would be great for all the needed data centers that AI is looking for…is he looking towards the future or the past?
Same vision that the Voters voted for. Tax and spend, Tax and spend. More tax credits for the usual suspects and expand the bloated School Department, even though enrollment is plummeting. No consolidating services or cost cutting. Same as it’s always was. Pittsfield deserves it.
Proclamation night again for the Lumpster.Another fire fighter proclamation saving victims on the ice. Same time last year they saved a dog. Lumpy can’t go wrong with a proclamation.
Silly stupids stay off the thin ice. Buffoons.
I agree. Someone got to say it
Just a quick note: it’s “had to say it.”
You’re welcome — I know how much you enjoy these teaching moments.
Fire Chief needs to go on a diet along with Kufflinks and Cardo.
The two heavyweights city councilors retired are also getting an award. For agreeing with everything on the mayors agenda in 24.
Participation Trophies
A Data Center requires massive amounts of electricity. Massachusetts has one of the highest electrical rates in the continental United States. Not happening.
I don’t agree with Dan et al mocking Marchetti. Over the years I lived in the Pitt, I found him to be a good listener & considerate person. Didn’t always agree with his opinions, and never found him skilled at politics, but willing to consider all solutions to problems. Never agreed with his homo lifestyle but then again we live in a free country. Don’t have an opinion about the May lawsuit but then again I wasn’t a witness.
Now that you have taken up residence in the Pitt – are you running for political office Dan?
Thanks for the feedback, FRITZ.
December 09, 2025
Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
Sarcasm:
I support my relative, Mayor Peter Marchetti (we share the same great-grandparents who emigrated to the U.S.A. from Italy well over one century ago), because….
All Sarcasm….
The 2-Pete’s Pittsfield politics pounds people’s purses.
The close to $230 million municipal operating budget in Pittsfield is tens of millions of dollars more than similarly sized small cities. Westfield’s operating budget is over $62 million less than Pittsfield’s spending document in the current fiscal year 2026. Pittsfield and Westfield are two similar small cities in Western Massachusetts.
The 2-Pete’s Pittsfield politics persecutes people.
The Munn’s couple case, Evan Skubel’s case, the Pittsfield public school cover-up case that cost taxpayers 6-figures, the pot permits settlements case that included millionaire Nuciforo’s marijuana business receiving a city check for $341,000 in 2024, and so on.
The Level 5 (failed), Group 11 Pittsfield public schools.
Reid Middle School ranks in the ROCK BOTTOM one-percent statewide. Between 650 to 700 students choice out of Pittsfield’s schools to neighboring public school districts.
There are many more criticism to write about my native hometown, including downtown’s North Street being called “Social Services Alley”, the around 15 empty storefronts there, the distressed inner-city neighborhoods that surround North Street being called “The Ring of Poverty”….
The city’s violent crime rate more than doubling the statewide average since at least 1980….
The political insider’s corruption that is sarcastically described as “the 5 families who run Pittsfield” (The Godfather movie reference)….
The Berkshire Eagle’s yellow journalism that always endorses the same political clowns who make a career running the one political (Democratic) Party show in state and local government that always fails the people the government is supposed to represent in Pittsfield City Hall and the Boston Statehouse….
Mayor Peter Marchetti being named in Victoria May’s federal lawsuit whereby she alleges that he called her a BITCH at the Pittsfield Cooperative Bank where her employment was terminated from years ago now…
Mayor Peter Marchetti’s “War against the underclass” whereby he said that he intentionally threw the community into chaos with his punitive proposals against panhandlers and homeless resident that always were voted down by the Pittsfield City Council.
Mayor Peter Marchetti being called horrible names at open mic, including him being called a fascist, a cruel bully, that he doesn’t care about the poor people, that he is a structural racist, and so on.
The 2-Pete’s Pittsfield politics refuses to talk to Berkshire County’s best journalist and blogger, Dan Valenti, because they only want favorable media coverage despite the above evidence that they are complete failures in city government.
Jon Melle
I found his advice very helpful off the meetings. As you say, no good comes from caricature.