Worcester Preliminary - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Vote The Change
Local politics are nonpartisan, so officially neither democrat or republican, but I see candidates as either “Conservative” or “Progressive”
Conservative people try to conserve the current problematic systems, often advocating for them to be more harmful, whereas Progressives advocate for a better more accessible society. As soon as the subject of housing, healthcare, education or policing come up, it becomes readily apparent which one candidates are.
My thoughts are based on knowing some of these people individually, watching the incumbents, and how they interact with their communities. I have a significant amount of “inside” knowledge and cannot share all my reasoning, but will try to as I’m able. I see some people as better candidates (trying to get elected) than politicians (once they’re elected), and this factors heavily into my thinking.
GBU is an unfair binary and it’s gonna force me to put people in categories I don’t want to. I wanted to have an “Unsure” category because some of these people I am unsure of, so I’m going to make it “Unknown”.
TLDR:
The Good
Cayden Davis
Jermoh Kamara
Khrystian King
Jessica Pepple
Owura-Kwaku Sarkodieh
The Bad
Donna Colorio
Morris Bergman
Kate Toomey
The Ugly
Joseph Petty
Charles Luster
Satya Mitra
The Unknown
Edson Montero
Gary Rosen
Bernard Iandoli
Let’s start with the easy parts of this
The Good
Cayden Davis is a proud trans man who is running because he knows that change is going to take regular Worcester citizens stepping up, and that’s all he is. He doesn’t have a large social media following, companies behind him, or personal wealth but has jumped headfirst into Worcester politics with a genuine campaign that is refreshing and addresses people’s actual concerns. I’m excited for the ideologies, perspectives, and attitudes he brings to the table. I fell in love with him politically before he was running, when Joe Petty tried to steamroll him during public comment. He’s a great candidate, and will also be a good politician.
Jermoh Kamara was previously on the school committee, and was very productive there. She brings an academic approach and grassroots organizing to every conversation she’s in, and is not afraid to ask the difficult questions in a group or private settings. She brings solutions and ideas to the table, and advocates in support of improving conditions for everyone in Worcester. I have extra respect for her, because we once got in an argument when she was a customer at my old business - customer service has never been my strong suit and that was no exception - she handled it excellently on a lot of different levels,
Khrystian King - King For Mayor. I haven’t really heard anything bad about him politically, but everyone seems to have complaints or criticism they don’t hold against other At-Large candidates who do the same/worse. He’s a social worker of thirty years, a “girl dad” and one of the founders of Black Families together. His entire life is advocacy, and I think he does it well. He’s been consistently calling for necessary change in his role as Vice-Mayor, and has respectfully but firmly called out problematic actions from our administration and various bodies. I’m sure we disagree on many things, but think he’s fighting for many of the things that matter.
Doctor Jessica Pepple is the director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion at the special education highschool I graduated from, so i’m biased in the sense of loving this cosmic small-worldedness, and also knowing that if she can handle my ilk she can handle Worcester politics. Her background in education, mental health, and administration makes her a qualified candidate, but her campaign hasn’t been loud about these things, and unfortunately most people don’t know who she is, or how she would help Worcester. She’s passionate, persistent, and I think would strive to improve the city in a few different important ways.
Owura-Kwaku Sarkodieh is a lifelong resident of Worcester, works for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and has a background in criminal and legal justice. He spoke against the xenophobic petition brought forward by the Worcester Republican Committee last October, and seems to stand for good things.
The Bad
These people are ones who consistently advocate against good things. They use their voices to uplift police and developers, while making it harder for renters and communities harmed by the Worcester Police Department. They consistently vote against accessibility, helping the unhoused community, and fear monger to prevent good things from happening in this city.
Donna Colorio is a proud Republican who has thankfully been mostly silent at city council meetings the past few years, notably using her power to delay the 25 MPH speed limit, advocate against investigating discrimination, she actively complains about funding resources for the unhoused community, but has gotten Pickle ball courts pushed through in her neighborhood.
Morris Bergman is best represented by our cities many Speed Bumps - he brings up neighborhood solutions that help individual streets instead of city solutions that would actually benefit the city At-Large. He’s a landlord attorney who uses legalese to fear monger (a tactic I’ve come to label Bergmongering) and never actually brings ideas to the council. People like him because he spends money at their businesses, but after months of asking I haven’t found anyone able to list anything good he’s done for the city - aside from always asking for the lowest residential tax rate. He petitioned the council to ask for Israeli hostages to be released after October 7th, and has vehemently fought not to allow petitions condemning the ongoing colonization and genocide of Gaza. In his role as chair of the municipal operations and legislative committee, he has pushed restrictions on petitions and signage at city council meetings, and suggested setting aside the constitution, which he then denied, and accusing me of mischaracterizing his words. He lacks integrity, and supports violence, and Worcester will be much better without him representing it.
Kate Toomey would be a cop if she wasn’t so incredibly unlikable. Her entire family is, and she works for the sheriffs department. Like Bergman, she would probably be unemployed if she didn’t have power in local policy. She consistently advocates for more funding and less accountability for the WPD, and as chair of the safety committee pushed shotspotter connect on the city, using city manager contingency funds while the DCU center was still a covid recovery center. She’s known to be close friends with the man who assaulted me during City Council last year.
The Ugly
These ones are less ‘bad’ and more spineless tools of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, instead vertically supported by the Police Union’s arm up their ass moving their mouths like a puppet. These people claim to be advocating for others, but functionally serve to maintain The Old Boys club
Joseph Petty has been Mayor for like 14 years, and Worcester is as bad as it is. Maybe it’s not all his fault, it has all been his responsibility. He might believe he’s listening to the voters, he’s dumb if he actually thinks that and then doesn’t pay attention to voter turnout and realize which communities he is absolutely not representing. He’s made way for things like Polar Park, and the chamber of commerce’s Food Hub, instead of things this city actually needs. Our dilapidated infrastructure is his fault as much as the manager’s. He’s often the tie breaking vote ensuring good things do not happen.
Charles Luster is a black man the black community has loudly made it clear they do not support after repeated acts of harm. He’s never threatened me personally, but I’ve heard from literally a dozen others that he has threatened them and their family. He knows what he’s doing and is ensuring to build power, but it seems to only be for those who have helped him along the way, and that defeats the purpose.
Doctor Satya Mitra is a a tax consultant and financial advisor with a background in medical research. I want to like him, but he seems to be entirely intertwined with the chamber of commerce, and if he actually wanted to help the people of Worcester, he would already be doing so financially, serving on boards is more professional networking and rapport building than community service in that line of work. His campaign website says they’re relying on grassroots support, their campaign finances say quite the opposite.
The Unknown
Gary Rosen is known to most of Worcester, but I only started paying attention to local politics a few years ago. He’s a retired teacher with a TV show, who was elected previously. He’s apparently an advocate for public transportation, and less conservative than the average Trumper. If you must vote for an old white guy, think of him as the good Bergman.
I don’t know and haven’t heard anything about Bernard Iandoli
I like Edson Montero, he has seemed great every time we’ve talked, and he seems to be helpful and well connected behind the scenes in Worcester. His campaign seems good, but I’m seeing some concerning support for the police. More importantly, I cannot in good conscience thoroughly endorse him because of a few things I have heard from one source that I trust implicitly. I feel they may directly tie into local politics, and am wary about him saying the right things to get into power, unsure who he would represent after that. If you have met him, and like what he has to say about what he will do for Worcester, I encourage voting for him. He has spoken many times at city council public comment in support of good things.
And if you’re in district E….
This one is easy because Kathi Roy is both bad and ugly. She’s a known insurrectionist who helped organize a bus of J6ers, consistently votes as one of the cronies of the actually evil Maureen Binienda, and called the police on her colleague for asking what she though about Republicans destroying the country
Pick Nelly Medina and Noelia Chafoya