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.