By Cary Shuman
Political observers of City Council meetings have consistently lauded Ward 6 Councilor Peter Pietrantonio for his uncanny knack of taking large-scale issues and putting them into basic, people-on-the-street perspectives.
Some might call it a refreshing “lunch pail” approach to political discussions, but Pietrantantio has apparently mastered it during his quite productive first term as a councillor.
On the Council’s most-discussed topic of the evening– live animal testing – Pietrantonio took the issue beyond its main topic, stating, “I wish we had this passion for our kids in the schools – [where] we have overcrowded – I wish we had the people come up and talk about schools like they talk about animal testing, no disrespect to anybody, but we’ve got problems everywhere.”
Pietrantonio also offered a thoughtful suggestion when the issue of improving the quality of food in the senior meals program was brought to the floor. “I think we personally should start keeping record [of complaints], so we can have backup and say [to the procurement officer] ‘Hey listen, this is why we’re not taking your bid.’’’
Later, Pietrantonio tried to blame himself for one of the department heads not appearing at the Council meeting. That was a gesture you don’t always see at meetings.
“I have to apologize to my fellow councillors, because I’m the one who probably caused these questions because I wanted to talk to the elections director and the DPW director and I had to write my questions out,” said Pietrantonio, using the term “false narratives” while elaborating on the matter. Pietrantonio is clearly enjoying his life as a city councilor. His basic, well-focused approach to issues large and small might explain his son, Ross Pietrantonio’s spectacular athletic career at Everett High School and Trinity College. Ross mastered sports fundamentals, though he did have “some” expert assistance from John DiBiaso, the legendary EHS football coach, along the way to greatness.