Recommendations for 2019 Worcester Preliminary Election - first installment (City Council)

Some people wonder if municipal elections are important.  Some might say there is not a progressive way to fill a pot hole or to collect garbage (we would disagree); but surely there is a progressive way to promote affordable housing or to bring about greater equity in the public schools.  Especially now, with cruelty and scandal stripped bare every day on the national scene, our answer is a resounding, “YES,” local government is where the rubber hits the road.  In our blog from a year ago, commenting on state elections, we wrote, “…we feel that it is crucial to use whatever power is available in state government to address the problems we face and hold a firm line on further erosion of human rights.  We need leadership.”  We believe strongly that this is also true of municipal government. 

This year we have a larger than typical field of candidates running for both City Council At-Large and School Committee.  This post will focus on City Council.  Stay tuned for a separate one on School Committee in a few days. 

The preliminary election on Tuesday, September 10^th will narrow the 15 candidates seeking At-Large positions on the City Council to 12, since according to the City’s charter the final election must have no more than twice the number of candidates as positions to be filled.  There are no district City Council races which require a preliminary election.  In the At-Large race, you get to vote for up to 6. 

One incumbent, Konnie Lukes, is not seeking re-election.  This means that at least one person not currently on the Council will be elected.  Theoretically all of the seats are “open,” since we do not have staggered terms.  It is unusual in this system for incumbent at-large councilors to be defeated, but it can and does happen. 

Our very strongest recommendation for your vote this year is Etel Haxhiaj.  We have gotten to know Etel over the last several years in a variety of social justice settings.  Her passion for justice is both fierce and compassionate.  She herself was a refugee from Albania as a teenager.  She recognizes the challenges that marginalized people face and she is determined to create a city where everyone is treated with respect, where everyone is welcome, where everyone can thrive.  Despite being under 40, Etel has a wealth of experience in public service.  She worked in the state Attorney General’s office as a consumer advocate, served the City of Worcester both on the Community Development Block Grant Committee and the Citizen’s Advisory Council, assisted homeless families managing The Village at Central Mass Housing Alliance, and currently works for Mothers Out Front, where she organizes mothers to fight for a livable climate for all children.  She states, “As a single mom of two boys in Worcester Public Schools and as a community organizer, I am deeply invested in the issues that affect working families, our children, and economically vulnerable communities.”  We think she would be a fearless, remarkable, and positive addition to the Worcester City Council.  (In case you are wondering how to pronounce her last name, a phonetic spelling would be Ha-jee-eye.)

In our assessment, Etel’s strongest competition for the “open” seat will likely comes from Tony Economou, who previously held the District 1 seat on the Council, and Donna Colorio, a former School Committee member.  We urge you NOT to vote for either one of them. 

When on the Council previously, Economou consistently sided with business interests over those of residents.  He is determined to change the tax rate to make it less favorable to homeowners.  We think that is a bad idea, and that his overall approach to policy is detrimental to our vision of a city that values equity.    

Donna Colorio participated in local voter suppression efforts, opposes reproductive choice, actively supported Geoff Diehl against Elizabeth Warren in 2018, and chairs the local Republican City Committee.  We don’t need her anywhere near city government. 

As to incumbent councilors, we feel strongly that Khrystian King should be returned to the Council.  He has been a consistent voice and vote for justice on all fronts.  Other incumbent at-large councilors have mixed records, and we are not making recommendations about them at this time. 

We have tried to do our due diligence regarding other challengers for the Council.  A couple of the new candidates don’t have a web page, campaign facebook page, or twitter account, and we can’t find out anything substantive about them.  This suggests to us that they are not taking the race very seriously.  This includes Sean Parretti-Noone and Ralph A. Tiscione, Jr.  A few others do have campaign sites.  James Bedard is a friend and we share a fundamental political outlook, but he doesn’t seem to have put serious work into his campaign; his web page just went up in the last day or two.  Evan Corrigan has a Facebook page and a twitter account, and his motivation seems to be only that he wants to be on the City Council; there is no evidence of him standing for anything.  Jesse Gibson has a web page where he raises some important issues about racial disparities, but he is a graduate of (Jerry Fallwell’s) Liberty University and that raises a red flag for us.  We would not vote for him unless we saw a statement that he does not share its point of view of Christian hegemony married to unfettered “free” markets.  Owurakwaku Poku Sarkodieh has a web page (which I had trouble finding, probably because of the complexity of his name; google just his last name and you will find it) and might be worthy of consideration if he makes it past the preliminary.  Bill Coleman is a nice guy and a perennial candidate who consistently fails to put together a serious campaign.  Unfortunately there is no evidence that that will change this year.

If you want to get into the weeds like we do, you can take a look at candidates’ financial records on the web site of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF).  City Council candidates are classified by OCPF as “depository candidates,” which means that they have to file a financial report showing donations, expenditures, and cash on hand every two weeks.  Click on “Browse Registered Filers & Reports” to find out about a specific candidate.  There are multiple ways you can use the search function on this site; check them out. 

Please feel free to contact us if you have further questions; and to share these recommendations with people you think might be interested in and benefit from them.  (A link to this post is the most efficient way to do that.)

Thank you for allowing us to share our opinions about elections with you.  We are honored that many of our friends actually ask us for them.  We also appreciate that some people who like us and who we like don’t share our views.  Whether you agree with us or not, please be sure to vote!

Sincerely,

Margot Barnet and David Coyne