Why electing Joe Petty to the State Senate is a really bad idea

Usually we don’t write two posts for the same election cycle, but the recent Worcester Patch interview with Joe Petty demanded a response. 

 When asked about whether he would step down as mayor and the consequences of that, Donna Colorio stepping up into the mayor’s chair, he said this: “This is a democracy. People voted her in. In the [2021] mayor’s race, she came in second.” 

 Let’s parse this.  Worcester’s charter, in our opinion, has a major flaw in it.  In the event of a vacancy, the person who was not elected to the position, who has the next highest number of votes to the one or ones elected, assumes the vacant position.  This might make sense in the case of City Council or School Committee, with multiple seats all elected together.  (There are inherent problems with this arrangement, but that is another discussion).  However, in the case of an election for a single position, be it for Mayor or for a district seat, it is significantly undemocratic.  It means that the person, in this case Donna Colorio, who 75% of the people who voted in 2021 did not want to be mayor will assume the powers of that office.    

The office of mayor is not entirely ceremonial.  The mayor appoints members and chairs of City Council committees, and the mayor also holds a voting seat on the School Committee and serves as its chair.  75% of Worcester voters in 2021 did not want Donna Colorio in these roles.  Her assuming them would likely wipe out the modest positive gains we have seen in policy since the last election.  Joe Petty is betraying those voters, who voted for him, by allowing this to happen.  Colorio is not just “more conservative.”  She has participated in voter suppression, has supported outspoken opponents of sex education in our schools, and tried to keep Worcester from affirming our city as a safe place for transgender individuals, and has led the local MAGA-Republican Party.  Petty’s casual dismissal of what her ascendency could do is self-serving and breathtakingly irresponsible. 

 People voted her in as an at-large city councilor, yes.  Colorio's elections as City Councilor were enabled by massive spending on the part of groups outside Worcester, independent expenditures that far outstripped her campaign’s own spending in both cycles.  Her coming in last among the councilors elected is hardly a mandate.  Besides finishing in the top six to get elected to the City Council, there is no other threshold of approval of a city councilor that is required for that person become vice chair and in line for succession if they run for mayor and come in a distant second.

 We need to fix these absurd provisions in our charter.   But meanwhile, an elected official like Joe Petty has a choice about whether to let them create havoc.  We recommended that people vote for him in past campaigns because he is NOT like Donna Colorio.  This is profoundly disappointing. 

 Why in the world is Joe Petty running for State Senate?  The only reason he can come up with is to “bring resources to Worcester.”  What kind of resources does he think he will have more access to than someone else?  He has an affable enough guy, has performed reasonably well as mayor, and has opposed some, not all, of the worst proposals to come before the bodies he chairs.  But he has never been a profile in courage.  And during this campaign, his repeated blurring of the lines between his municipal roles and campaigning are concerning.  (His campaign should reimburse the city for all of those Keys to the City he has been handing out.  While this has recognized wonderful people for doing truly good things, he has never done this at this rate before, and it looks a lot like using this city resource to curry favor with these exemplary community members and their friends.)  What does this behavior say about how he would perform as a State Senator when faced with ethical choices?  What does he actually stand for?  Is he willing to fight for something he feels is right even if it is not politically expedient?  In a recent debate, on the issue of action to mitigate climate change, he gave a nod to the issue but waffled on actually taking any action.  This is exactly what we don’t need in the State House. 

First Worcester people, we don’t need to do this.  Voters in this newly drawn district can vote for Robyn Kennedy, who has none of the aforementioned conflicts, has a clear progressive platform, is prepared to fight for it, and has more experience in state government than Petty does.  Robyn’s election would be a strong signal to the establishment that business as usual is not good enough, that a new generation will bring bold leadership.  For continuing and building on Harriette Chandler’s progressive legacy, it’s a clear choice. 

 

 

 

 

Recommendations for the 2022 Massachusetts Democratic primary

Vote on or before September 6! 

For several years now we have written and shared with friends and allies our opinions about candidates running for office and about ballot issues.  We began compiling and sharing our recommendations after receiving requests from some of our friends who respect and appreciate our attention to things political and electoral.  It is a continual source of amazement to us that we get such requests, and we acknowledge the tremendous responsibility this confidence places on us. 

We emphasize that we offer our suggestions based on our values and our attention to what the various candidates stand for, recognizing that you may disagree partially or even completely.  We urge you to vote your own conscience.  If you so choose, please share our views with your friends and allies as well.  We welcome your sharing your own views with us. 

Some background on our values that lead to our recommendations:  We are unapologetically progressive, feminist, and anti-racist so we almost always vote for Democrats in partisan elections.  In Massachusetts, in almost all statewide races and in most districts in the Worcester area, Democrats are overwhelmingly favored to win in November, so who wins the Democratic Primary is often the final decision.  We have included links to websites of candidates in contested primaries.  We include several recommendations in statewide races; the local ones focus on the Worcester area. This year there are expanded opportunities to vote in the primary (see links below for resources).  

Statewide Races

While we are encouraging you to support specific candidates in the primary, we see all of the Democrats seeking office as far preferable to their Republican or unenrolled opponents. 

Governor:  Current Attorney General Maura Healey is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination.  Other candidates, including one whose name still appears on the ballot, have dropped out of the race.  Healey has been a very good Attorney General, a leader among state AGs nationwide, and has a substantial progressive track record.  We urge you to support her candidacy.

Lieutenant Governor:  We support Tami Gouveia.  Tami is a State Representative from Acton with a doctorate in public health.  She grew up in Lowell and has deep roots there.  In her 25 year career as a social worker and as an activist she has advocated for environmental and worker justice.  She is an unabashed progressive and has shown great courage and staunch independence while in the legislature, sometimes upsetting legislative leaders. 

Attorney General:  We support Quentin Palfrey.  Quentin has had a life of public service, including in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office leading the Health Care Division and in both the Obama-Biden and Biden-Harris administrations.  He has stood up to predatory insurance companies and led efforts to protect voting rights and to oppose voter suppression.  After studying questionnaires on issues that are important to us from all three AG candidates, we found that Quentin Palfrey’s responses and commitments were closest to our values.

Secretary of the Commonwealth (the official term for Secretary of State):  We strongly support Tanisha Sullivan.  This is a major priority for us, with Margot playing a significant volunteer role in her campaign. 

Tanisha is a first-time candidate but a very experienced leader.  She has served as the Chief Equity Officer for the Boston Public Schools and currently serves as the president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP.  As an attorney she has spent two decades helping entrepreneurs from marginalized communities to achieve success in business. 

Many of us don’t think much about the office of Secretary of State but it is really important – both in administering elections in a way that is fair and accessible (or not!) and as the point of entry for new businesses.  It is time for a change in Massachusetts.  While we don’t usually think of ourselves as a site of voter suppression, we have lagged behind many other states in increasing access to voting.  This shows in the disparities in voting rates between wealthy communities and communities with significant poverty.  Our state also has some of the greatest economic inequality in the nation. 

Tanisha Sullivan envisions serving as Secretary of State as being our "Chief Democracy Officer," intent on bringing accessibility, transparency, and equal opportunity in both voter access and business registration.  She has a track record of advocating for marginalized populations and challenging the status quo. 

State Auditor:  We support Chris Dempsey.  Chris served as Assistant Secretary of Transportation in the Patrick Murray administration.  As a private citizen, he led the victorious grassroots No Boston Olympics effort, which was successful despite being outspent 1,500 to 1 by some of the most powerful corporate interests in the state.  Chris’s opponent claims to embrace a progressive platform but has a troubling history of both statements and votes regarding policing and public assistance. 

State Treasurer:  Deb Goldberg is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination.  She has done a good job and deserves your support.

Worcester Area Local Races

US Congress:  Our longtime friend Jim McGovern is unopposed in the Democratic primary.  He genuinely cares for all of his constituents and his courageous leadership on issue after issue makes us proud.  He faces a Republic opponent in November. 

Governor’s Council:  Paul DePalo is unopposed in the primary.  He is a strong advocate for justice and has served well in this rather obscure office whose charge is approving judges and members of the Parole Board. 

State Senate:  The once-a-decade redistricting process has drawn new districts affecting all of Worcester.  Depending on where you live, you might find yourself registered to vote in new districts where the candidates on your ballot are not the ones you are expecting.  You can refer to this map to match your address with the Senate district where you will be represented. 

In the Worcester area, only the First Worcester district (D09 on the above map) is contested in the Democratic primary.  For this race, we strongly support Robyn Kennedy.  Robyn's work experience, both in state government where she held several high-ranking policy positions and more recently at Worcester’s YWCA, makes her a highly qualified policy expert.  She is also staunchly progressive and willing to be vocal and serve as a champion on controversial issues, especially those regarding racial justice.  (Over the years we have repeatedly urged our friends to support her opponent, Joe Petty, in his bids for Mayor when his opponents would clearly have taken the city in the wrong direction.)  Joe is a nice enough guy but a State Senate seat should not be a reward for inoffensive service.  At this critical time when we need transformational leadership, just showing up isn’t enough.  Joe doesn't really articulate a rationale for running; it seems like this is his least awkward way out of being tired of being Mayor.  We've never seen him go to the mat on something that was controversial and really mattered.  And we are very concerned that, if he were to win the seat and step down as mayor (which includes chairing the School Committee), he would be replaced by Donna Colorio who is the former leader of Worcester’s Republican City Committee and votes accordingly.

Incumbent Democrats Anne Gobi and Michael Moore are running without opposition in the Democratic primary for State Senate in Worcester and Hampshire (D06 on the map) and Second Worcester (D08 on the map) respectively.  While we wish Moore and Gobi would take more progressive positions and vote more consistently with the overwhelming majority of their Democratic colleagues, they both deserve re-election this year.

Similarly, the five Democratic incumbent State Representatives whose districts include part of Worcester (John Mahoney, Jim O’Day, Mary Keefe, Dan Donahue, and David LeBoeuf) do not have primary opponents.  Unlike Gobi and Moore, we are very pleased that the Worcester House delegation pretty consistently takes a progressive posture.   

All of the candidates who we are supporting in contested Democratic primaries have been endorsed by Progressive Massachusetts.

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.  

If you need information about mail-in voting, early voting, or where to vote in Worcester, you can find a wealth of information here.  If you reside anywhere else in Massachusetts, look here for your city or town's website, which will probably have the early voting times and locations for you.  

As we say in the campaign business, Many Happy Returns!