WORCESTER – An aging industrial metropolis has undergone remarkable progress in recent years, but that transformation has not touched all people and all neighborhoods. This was the unmistakable message delivered by at-large city council candidates Guillermo Creamer Jr., Maydee Morales, Bill Coleman, Domenica F. Perrone and Johanna Hampton-Dance during a debate at Mechanics Hall Wednesday night.
Individually and collectively, Creamer, Morales, Coleman, Perrone and Hampton-Dance stressed that Mayor Joseph M. Petty and his fellow incumbents—Kate Toomey, Donna Colorio, Morris Bergman and Khrystian King—are not doing enough to address housing affordability, public health, equity and other festering issues.
Incumbent At-Large Councilor Thu Nguyen was not among the ten individuals fanned out behind a table in the auditorium on the second floor of Mechanics Hall, as a late-arriving audience watched the proceedings.
Mayor Petty, King, Colorio, Coleman and Creamer are also running for mayor, and will meet again on Wednesday, Oct, 25, at Mechanics Hall. The debate for contested district city council seats precedes that event on Wednesday, Oct. 18.
In their opening and closing statements and in their response to 13 questions posed by Jessica Walsh, Kim Salmon and Steven Schimmel, the at-Large challengers, took dead aim at what they perceive as failings on the part of the current administration. Each cast themselves as an agent of change.
No one articulated this better than Perrone, who described herself at the outset as “a renter” and “an Ecuadorian immigrant.” She is director for the Office of Community Engagement and Volunteering at Clark University. “I want to be able to afford a house in the city,” she said. “I want to see investment in public health solutions. Our city is changing and we need a council that reflects this.”
Responding to question 13, about what differentiates herself from others campaigning for at-Large seats, Perrone said: “[It’s] my lived and professional experiences, and I lead with my values. I work with community on the ground. I am a reflection of a wave occurring in Worcester right now.”
Hampton-Dance, Creamer, Morales and Coleman took a similar tact.
“I am a caregiver for my son,” remarked Hampton-Dance. “There has been a lack of equity in the city for a long time. There has been no movement toward change.”
Creamer responded: “Worcester deserves a chief advocate and I am that. I am the son of immigrants, a lead organizer for the Now Next community project. Worcester needs not just a choice but a vision.”
Morales reminded moderators and voters that she’s lived and worked in Worcester for more than 30 years, and “I am a doer for the people for whom the system does not work. I feel that City Council is often at odds.”
A personable and frequent office seeker who identified himself as “an unpaid city councilor,” Coleman quipped, “We have been seeing a Renaissance for a long time but we have to expand that.”
The interrogators deserve great credit for the depth and scope of their queries, which covered all of these topics: compromise; the citywide planning project; housing; homelessness; economic development; trash; evaluation of the city manager; Worcester Police Department accountability; the WRTA; property taxes; a mobility action plan; refugees; and differentiation.
The incumbents defended what they have accomplished during their time on the council.
Mayor Petty emphasized repeatedly his commitment to a “back-to-basics” approach in attempting to make Worcester “the cleanest and most welcoming gateway city in Massachusetts.”
Colorio, who is vice chair of the council, said she has voted for public safety “and police in the schools and for the lowest residential tax rate.”
Bergman said he prefers not to point out “what’s wrong but what’s right; we can always do better.” He said homeownership is a priority of his, adding: “Two-thirds of our residents are renters which is a complete reversal of what’s happening in Worcester County.”
Toomey said there is a need for more adult education and training and more attention to infrastructure, diversity and health.
As a longtime social worker and “girl dad,” King said he is devoted to “problem solving, transparency, accountability and growth.” The “same leadership has not closed the loops of disparity,” he said.
Repeatedly, the new candidates’ views stood in sharp contrast to those of the incumbents.
On whether there is “room for more compromise,” Coleman said “John F. Kennedy pointed out that politics is the art of compromise. We have to move forward together.”
Perrone added, “I helped start emergency homeless shelters. We came together and mobilized in a matter of days.” Hampton-Dance said: “I do not feel there is compromise. ‘Group think’ takes place every Tuesday.”
“No, we are not working together,” argued Creamer. “I was able to do that [while working] in Washington.” Morales added: “I do not see it as compromise, but collaboration. There is room for ideas around a table.”
Countering, Mayor Petty said: “I listen to both sides for the right solution.” Colorio echoed the sentiment with: “I listen to my colleagues and come up with the right answer.”
Bergman fingered the lack of respect on social media as an impediment to compromise, whereas Toomey said compromise involves “understanding, a two-way conversation. I have worked hard for compromise on the property tax vote,” as an example.
There were areas of agreement. On the WRTA remaining fare-free, for one, although Colorio said doing so should not be done at the expense of taxpayers. Similar sentiments were expressed on property taxes, although both Mayor Petty and Toomey stated that a single tax rate is not going to happen in Worcester. “It’s not possible,” Ms. Toomey said, “but we need to move toward it.”
The debate was sponsored by The Worcester Research Bureau, the Telegram & Gazette, the Worcester Education Collaborative and the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Mechanics Hall.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 28.
Rod Lee is a career journalist, a veteran of the media scene in Worcester and Central Massachusetts, and the author of seven books including the recently published “Gil Cristopher,” a novel about the difficulties associated with aging. He lives in Northbridge with his wife Marie. He can be contacted at rodlee.1963@gmail.com
