Recommendations for 2019 Worcester Municipal Election

This year in Worcester’s municipal elections (Tuesday, November 5th) there are seriously contested at large races with more viable candidates than in recent years.  We have preferences in all or almost all of these races but we are choosing to limit our recommendations in order to focus on the candidates about whom we feel most strongly, and in particular on the need for dramatic change on the Worcester School Committee.   

In each of the at-large races, you get to vote for up to six candidates.  If you vote for more than six (this would include a symbolic/tribute vote for recently deceased longtime School Committee member Brian O’Connell) your entire ballot for that race will be disqualified.  

We are proud of our adopted city and we recognize with great appreciation the many excellent and dedicated teachers in our public schools.  The context for our views and recommendations for this election is the extraordinary failure of the Worcester Public School Administration and the Worcester School Committee.  For us, and for many of our friends and allies, this takes the form of heightened public awareness about many problems, including:

1. large differences by race and ethnicity of out of school disciplinary suspensions;
2. failure of WPS to provide comprehensive, LGBTQ inclusive, and age appropriate sex education;
3. failure of WPS to provide consistent and appropriate support to English language learners;
4. failure to provide proper goals and guidance for evaluation of the superintendent;
5. the renewal of the superintendent’s contract with a poor process that lacked transparency;
6. failure to facilitate culturally appropriate communication among school administration, teachers, staff, students, and their families;
7. the renewal of a school bus contract with a company that has a terrible track record and at a cost significantly above an in-house option.

You can find a fairly detailed history and analysis of the unfolding of some of these issues in our previous post from before this year’s preliminary election.  

We would most especially urge you to vote AGAINST incumbent School Committee members Dianna Biancheria, Molly McCullough, and John Monfredo because, on issue after issue, they have been part of the WSC majority who are responsible for the failure to hold the superintendent and administration accountable.  

Also, we are disappointed that first-time candidate Laura Clancey has failed to express outrage or even disappointment at the many failures of the current School Committee, Superintendent, and Administration.  We urge you to vote AGAINST her candidacy as well.

On a positive note, we would most especially urge you to vote FOR incumbent School Committee member Jack Foley who has served with integrity for two decades.  We support him most especially because of his consistent calls for accountability and transparency, and his willingness to criticize policies and their implementation, the WPS Administration, and his WSC colleagues.  

Most especially we would urge you to vote FOR challengers Dr. Cara Berg Powers, Jermoh Kamara, and Tracy O’Connell Novick.

Dr. Cara Berg Powers knows the Worcester schools both as an alumna and as a parent.  She has worked closely with urban youth for over a decade, she has made it her business over several years to thoroughly understand education policy, and she has in-depth knowledge and ideas about how to meet complex needs of a diverse student body.  Her viewpoint is to treat all children as if they are your own. She has knocked on thousands of doors all spring, summer, and early fall; and has listened to hundreds of parents and other concerned community members. She has specific plans to make sure these voices continue to be heard.   

Tracy O’Connell Novick combines an exhaustive knowledge of education policy and funding streams with a fierce dedication to equity for all students.  As a Field Director with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees Tracy is very knowledgeable about who is doing what and about what works and what doesn’t.  She knows what is possible and what kind of educational opportunities we can be expected to provide for our students. She is a prolific writer and a policy expert. We can count on her to use her deep understanding to hold the school department and its leadership accountable. 

Jermoh Kamara is the one candidate in the School Committee race who we did not know at all before and who has impressed us a lot.  Her own life story as a refugee, Worcester Public School success story, emerging education and health professional, and community leader is inspirational.  Her campaign has surprised many, including us, earning significant endorsements from organizations and officials and displaying real depth and sophistication.  We did not endorse her candidacy before the preliminary election but we do now with enthusiasm. Her election would add much to the School Committee in so many ways.      

There are some resources besides our recommendations that you can access to help you evaluate the School Committee candidates.  Worcester Education Collaborative has an online forum (scroll down after clicking the link) in which each candidate was invited to comment on several questions.  The Worcester Education Justice Alliance has prepared a report card with 27 questions reflecting the organization’s values with each respondent’s responses.  You can read through these if you wish and come to your own conclusions about the candidates.  

For City Council at large we are particularly enthused about and urge you to vote FOR the candidacies of Etel Haxhiaj and Khrystian King.  

Etel Haxhiaj is a first-time candidate for public office.  We have gotten to know her over the last several years as a leader in a variety of social justice settings.  Her passion for justice is both fierce and compassionate. From her personal experience as a refugee from Albania as a teenager, she recognizes the challenges that marginalized people face.  She is determined to create a city where everyone is treated with respect, where everyone is welcome, where everyone can thrive. Etel has worked in the state Attorney General’s office as a consumer advocate, served the City of Worcester as a volunteer on two different committees, assisted homeless families with the Central Mass Housing Alliance, and now works for Mothers Out Front, where she organizes mothers to fight for a liveable 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.” 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.)

Khrystian King is an incumbent member of the City Council, a longtime social worker with the Commonwealth’s Department of Children and Family Services, and a leader in his union.  Khrystian has particularly distinguished himself as a courageous leader on the Council around environmental issues including recycling, on immigrant and refugee issues, and on worker rights and protections including the fight for a $15 per hour minimum wage.  He has been a consistent voice and vote for justice on all fronts, and we believe he should be returned to the Council.  

We like Mayor Joe Petty.  He is a nice guy who stands with the right people and for the right things most of the time.  We have supported him in the past and at this juncture we are again recommending that you vote for him, both for City Council and for Mayor.  But we must honestly say that we do so with significant concern and reservations. We feel that Mayor Petty in this current term, in his role as chair of the School Committee, failed to provide leadership that was needed at critical moments.  His failure to do so made it possible for others to do real damage, both through their actions and by blocking data and transparency. We believe that with a new and better School Committee Mayor Petty will be on the right side of important questions.  In any case, we hope he will choose to step up and to lead more actively where it is so critically needed.

We also would specifically urge you to vote AGAINST at large City Council candidates Donna Colorio and Tony Economou. 

Donna Colorio claims to be an independent voice when, in fact, she is the elected chair of the Republican Party of Worcester, a Tea Party/Trumpian.  She 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. 

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.    

In summary, we urge you to vote FOR:

Etel Haxhiaj, Khrystian King, and Joe Petty for City Council

Joe Petty for Mayor

Cara Berg Powers, Jack Foley, Jermoh Kamara, and Tracy O’Connell Novick for School Committee 

and to vote AGAINST:

Donna Colorio and Tony Economou for City Council

Dianna Biancheria, Laura Clancey, Molly McCullough, and John Monfredo for School Committee

Feel free to share this with others who might also be interested.  Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, 2019 and polling places are open from 7 AM - 8 PM.  You can find out where you vote here.  You may not be allowed to read this message on your phone in the polling place but you can print this out in advance and have the right to bring it with you and to read it when you vote.  

We realize that these are complicated issues and everyone has their own thoughts, feelings, and perceptions about them.  We are very willing to discuss them further – feel free to contact us. 

Sincerely,

Margot Barnet and David Coyne