On Tuesday, September 2, Worcester voters went to the polls to cast their ballots in the preliminary local elections to decide the make up of Worcester City Council. This election is not the general election; instead, the preliminary election is used to narrow down the number of candidates on the ballot for the “at-large” seats on the council to just 12 candidates. 

Of the candidates that filed to run on the council, only two were eliminated in this election: Charles Luster and Bernard Iandoli. Additionally, the results of the preliminary showed who would’ve theoretically won the at-large seats had this been the general election. 

These hypothetical results showed that Donna Colorio, the sole registered Republican on the council, would lose her seat to Jermoh Kamara, a former member of the school committee. The current mayor, Joe Petty, would also retain his title, coming in first place with the most votes of the at-large councilors. His opponent, Khrysten King, while still retaining his seat on council, was almost 6,000 votes short of unseating Petty as mayor. 

Additionally, council candidate Satya Mitra, who has gained attention for raising a whopping $92,000 in donations, would still have lost the election, although he may be able to use his massive war chest to boost his votes in the general election and win a seat. 

The general election will take place on Nov. 4, 2025 and will see both the at-large councilors and the district councilors up for election in a contest that could see the defeat of major incumbents and the arrival of new faces to Worcester City Hall.