PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Frederick Conyers Jr. had a choice: he could run and hide from his past or he could face it head on.

 

On Tuesday, he sat, flanked by the mayor and the fire chief and surrounded by microphones and cameras from a half-dozen local reporters, detailing his criminal history, incarceration and rise to redemption.

 

Conyers is set to be appointed as one of the city's newest firefighters despite opposition from members of the firefighters union and some in the general public. 

 

"When I did move back to Pittsfield, that's when I started heading down the wrong path, making bad decisions in my life, which led to me being incarcerated. I went to prison for 3 1/2 to five years. I had a drug charge and I got caught with a firearm," Conyers said. 

 

"When I came home [from jail], I basically knew I had to change my life. Unfortunately, when I went away I had a daughter. She was one-month old when I went away. It crushed me having to do time and be away from my daughter. It was important for me to be a good father. That was a major changing point in my life."

 

It was in 2003 when Conyers was arrested for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and illegal possession of a firearm. He was sent to jail in Concord, transferred to Garner, and then back to Concord. He entered a pre-release program in Boston where prison officials got him a job at Home Depot. He transferred back home and later moved on to work for Unistress. For the last seven or so years, he's been a painter with Gentleman Painting. 

 

"I knew I had to show change before I could even be acknowledged on the list. I did that and finally put the application in for the department," Conyers. 

 

His work takes him into schools and courthouses, places that perform CORI, or Criminal Offender Record Information, checks, and even the State House. At home, he raises two more children with his wife, whom he's been with for 20 years, and coaches every sport his children play.

 

Conyers said he put in his time building up a work history and set his sights on a profession he always wanted.

 

In the early 1990s, a large early morning killed three of his friends on Atwood Avenue. Ever since that day, he's felt he wanted to become a firefighter.

 

After playing sports in local schools, he had a promising basketball career. He attended the University of Massachusetts for three years before coming back home. He had an opportunity to try out to play overseas, as he was playing for Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, when his career was curtailed because of the arrest. 

 

"When I was younger, there was a big fire. Three of my friends died in the fire. Since I was a kid it was something I always wanted to do but being that I was doing so good in basketball, I wanted to pursue it. When I got in trouble, I knew I had to get some work history under my belt to show the community and everybody that I had changed," Conyers said. 

 

Later he added, "I was actually supposed to sleep over that night. I was supposed to be there. These were my friends since we were babies. After that I've always wanted to pursue being a fireman. I always respected the profession."

 

Now he's taken the emergency medical technician certification course, the Civil Service test, and sits at the top of the Civil Service list for candidates. He, alongside four others, will be appointed to the department next week. 

 

But, while he feels he put his past behind him, not everyone else does. On Monday night, the Pittsfield Professional Firefighters Union issued a letter to Mayor Linda Tyer and members of the City Council opposing his hiring.

 

"We support anyone who has changed their lives for the good but we believe this Fire Department is an inappropriate avenue or tool to promote the rehabilitation of this one candidate. Keeping out of the courts is not the same as changing your life. If, prior to his candidacy, the candidate had demonstrated long-term and consistent advocacy in the public eye that he was anti-violence, anti-drug, and advocated to the youth of our city that he changed for the good and helped keep the youth of our city from making the mistakes he did, the membership would feel much different," reads a letter written by union President Robert Leary.

 

"We live and work in this city and do our best to ease the hardships of its residents. In the first few seconds of arriving on a call we make judgments and need instant rapport with people on the scene. Unfortunately, the candidate's reputation and history will affect how he is perceived and how the 2647 membership is received. Our membership has concerns because we have been told by friends, family, and other public service workers that his public perspective is negatively influenced by his and his family's history and associations to drugs and violence."

 

The letter cites "internal discussions" among the membership leading to that being the opinion of "the majority." However, Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski said there are many officers in the department who do support the hiring, so the feeling isn't unanimous. Czerwinski said he has confidence in Conyers' ability and that over time the members will accept him.

 

"There's already been some push back. Again, a lot of mis-facts are given. People keep saying 'we heard this, we heard this, we heard this,' but nobody comes up with any proven facts. There was an article that was written a week ago by somebody who was totally out of line because none of it was true," Czerwinski said.

 

"We have some push back from inside but I firmly believe in Fred's conviction that he is trying to turn himself around and do some good."

 

Czerwinski was referring to a post on PlanetValenti.com that accuses Czerwinski of bypassing others who scored higher on the exam to hire Conyers as a political favor to Sheriff Thomas Bowler, who wrote a letter of recommendation for Conyers.

 

Both Tyer and Czerwinski rejected those notions, saying Conyers earned the job "fair and square."  

 

"Fred's position on the list is at the top of this next block of potential candidates. As is standard for process, Fred was invited to partake in the next round of vetting by signing on the list, saying he would like to be considered. It is important to state that the Civil Service law allows a candidate who has a criminal history to be eligible to take the test after five years," Tyer said. 

 

The hiring process includes not only the exam but also psychological, drug, and health tests, as well as a physical fitness exam — all of which, the mayor said, "Fred excelled." The mayor is confident in the hire.

 

"It wasn't until we started receiving these inquiries and getting bits of misinformation, that we were thrust into having this conversation, which I think is very important. We want to reassure the public that there has been a thorough and comprehensive review of his candidacy and that we are confident going forward," Tyer said. 

 

She later added that "I would reiterate how important it is to me, as the mayor of our city, that we support one of our own, a Pittsfield son who was born and raised here, who had some personal challenges in his early life, has overcome those challenges, have returned to this city and is making important and valuable contributions both through his family and the kids he coaches."

 

The mayor, fire chief, and Conyers, shared the story in a closed press conference Tuesday with local media. The mayor said she believes in second chances, and reiterated that Conyers was at the top of the Civil Service list, but the rumor mill about the candidate had started churning with incorrect facts and that's why she called the press conference. 

 

"I think it is important to be honest and upfront with what really presents ourselves with a unique set of circumstances. Normally, we don't have a candidate with this type of life history, which in many ways informs his future. I think it was important to be honest about those circumstances without there being speculation, rumor, and innuendo," Tyer said. 

 

Tyer is the sole appointing body, so Conyers will join the department and start drill school later this month. Czerwinski said he is confident that if Conyers proves himself, the firefighters who are currently concerned about the hire will embrace him.

 

And that's exactly what Conyers intends to do. 

 

"I understand it. I'm a little disappointed in it. Not the Fire Department but the community, people feeling like people can't get a second chance, I'm a little disappointed in that. But push back from the Fire Department is expected. I don't want them to just give me respect or think I was going to be a great fireman right away. I want to earn that. I want to go in and earn that, show them that I am serious about it. I want to be the best firefighter I can be," Conyers said. 

 

The push back so far, he said, "motivates me a little bit. I want to earn it. I want to earn their respect. I want them to look at me like a brother. I want them to accept me and I know I have to earn it."