It is no secret that Clark has a history of educating politicians. A former Worcester mayor and eight state congresspeople all tout their Clark diplomas, as do three of the eleven members of Worcester City Council. It is much rarer, though, for a Clarkie to run for office while being a full-time undergraduate student. But as it turns out, this is exactly what one senior is doing.
Political Science major Marcus Palumbo has a busy life. On top of all his classes and work as The Scarlet’s News Editor, he spends time every week knocking on doors and trying to get himself elected in his home of Sprague, Connecticut.
Palumbo is running for Selectman in the 3,000-person town, which is the equivalent of a city’s Councilor or Alderman. “The Board of Selectmen is the head of the whole town government,” he says. “And ours is made up of three members.”
Palumbo had been involved in Connecticut politics for a while, working for a group advocating for affordable housing initiatives. This summer, he contacted his local Democratic Town Committee pledging his support. But when Democratic State Senator Cathy Osten called him back, she offered him much more than he had bargained for.
“I wasn’t sure about it at first,” Palumbo says. “But if she thought I could do it, I figured, why not give it a try?”
Osten went on to describe how she was ousted as first selectman in 2019, and how the Republicans have been in control of the town ever since. In that time, the Democrats had never mounted a clear opposition to the Republicans in charge. This year, for the first time since, she was trying to take it back, and she needed a running mate.
“Obviously I was upset with the Republicans, but I was also upset with the Democrats because they had dropped the ball and not put forth the most compelling message that they could,” Palumbo says. “I decided I didn’t want to sit on the sidelines anymore.”
He also felt encouraged after his time interning at Rep. Jim McGovern’s office in 2023. “That internship put in perspective for me that Congressmen, Senators… they’re just people. It really humanizes them in a way,” he says. “And if they can get there, why can’t I?”
Multiple times a week, Palumbo takes the hour-long drive home to canvass, fundraise, strategize with Osten or do campaign work. “It’s been a whirlwind, and I’m still sort of figuring that out,” he says. “I try to be down there as much as I can and really put in the effort.”
As the only young person on the team, Palumbo also takes the lead on making videos for the campaign’s social media. “I can reach young people and communicate with them in the way our generation does,” he goes on. “And so something I’m doing is trying to translate the issues we’re talking about into short form videos.”
Sometimes Palumbo compares his work to taking a fifth course. After all, four of the five sections in his notebook are dedicated to each of his courses, and the last one to notes from the campaign.
“It certainly is teaching me a lot,” he says.
The campaign has also changed Palumbo during classes. “Every time we’re talking about something, my thoughts usually go to, is there some way that this interacts at all with local government?” While most issues are far too big to be tackled at the municipal level, considering how they relate to towns provides an entirely new way of thinking.
“That whole viewpoint is something I hadn’t really thought about before,” he says.
In other cases, the issues are entirely local. For example, most decisions on affordable housing are made at a municipal Zoning Board or similar authority. If elected, Palumbo promises to clean up the streets, maintain and repair the town’s infrastructure, and be more efficient with its finances to avoid future tax hikes. “The sense we’re getting is people are not thrilled with how the Republicans have been running things, and so we’re trying to offer an alternative.”
“I am running to help make Sprague more affordable for working and middle-class families and give the town the care it deserves.” At some point, Palumbo hopes to run for State Representative or get a law degree, and try to move the Democratic Party in a better direction.
On Nov. 5, voters will head to the polls and establish Palumbo’s—and the town Democrats’—futures, at least for the next year. Until then, though, he has a lot of work to do.
Note: Marcus Palumbo is the News Editor of The Scarlet. To maintain journalistic integrity, he played no role in the writing or editing of this piece.
