Daderot

Worcester City Hall – Worcester, MA. Via wikimedia commons

Worcester has an odd system for electing the mayor. We have an 11-seat city council. Five council members are elected in local elections, and the remaining six are elected in an at-large election. In this at-large election, all the candidates run in city-wide vote and the six candidates with the most votes are awarded seats on the council. 

In order to become mayor, someone running must run for mayor and one of these at large city council seats. They must finish first in the mayoral election, and win an at-large council seat. 

For the upcoming city council elections there are eleven candidates running. Of those, six dropped out of the mayoral race. This leaves five candidates for mayor, including Joe Petty, the incumbent. An unapologetically leftist description of these candidates in alphabetical order follows:

Bill Coleman

Bill has run for mayor at every election except two since 2001. As a perennial candidate, he does have a strong connection to the city. He hosts a show focused on Worcester, and in it, he garners some local attention but is generally considered an outsider for the role.  He is a moderate liberal with a kind demeanor but not much to offer in terms of real progressive politics. In an interview with Patch, he said he supports Worcester Police and their adoption of ShotSpotter. Blah. 

Donna M. Colorio

Businesswoman Donna Colorio is hands down the worst candidate for mayor in the race. Somehow, she has managed to secure the endorsement of the Central Mass Labor Council, despite being unequivocally in favor of the capitalist class. She is a current city councilwoman serving her second term and is a reliable conservative vote. In her own words, she is “trying to turn Worcester red” – and unfortunately not in a good way. Having her as a councilwoman has made Worcester worse and having her as mayor would be disastrous.

Guillermo Creamer

Newcomer Guillermo Creamer is a breath of fresh air within Worcester politics. Although not as far left as many of us Clarkies would like, Creamer is a self-proclaimed progressive with a track record of fighting for human rights and progressive ideals. He is particularly shrewd on removing power from the unelected position of City Manager and putting this power back into the democratic system. Is he a savior for Worcester leftists? No. Is he an order of magnitude closer to the ideal than most of the other candidates? Yes.

Krystian King

Near-decade long city council member Krystian King is throwing his hat into the mayoral ring for the first time. King is a social worker who has a history of fighting for the working class, even being the local vice president of a local chapter of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) union. He has previously fought for increased minimum wages and has a solidly progressive platform. Throughout his time in politics, he has been clear about his beliefs, and fights vehemently for a better Worcester. He is no socialist, but he is a solid progressive choice for Mayor.

Current Mayor Joe Petty

Joe Petty’s dozen years as mayor have largely seen a regression of the city. Although his government has claimed we are experiencing a ‘Renaissance’, this claim is dubious at best. It’s hard to argue (as Petty does) that our downtown is healthy and rebounding when the only convenience store downtown is closing due to lack of business. Rents are outstripping wage growth, WPD has been continuing to be corrupt, the WRTA is significantly underfunded, and Petty’s centrist policies are and have proven to be a failure time and time again. Worcester has rested on its laurels as a city with inherently good bones – location to Boston, inherent density, and an educated workforce. We must leverage these strengths into a new, better city, and Joe Petty certainly is not the man for that job.