WORCESTER—In one of his first orders as a city councilor, District 4 Councilor Luis Ojeda is requesting the funds that would go toward his salary instead be used to establish community ambassador programs.
In 2022, Worcester City Councilors received a salary of $33,960, as per city payroll data, with the exception of Mayor Joseph Petty, who earned $39,815.
In an order submitted for the Jan. 16 council meeting, Ojeda requests that the funds for his salary be used to create a community ambassador program in each of the city’s five districts and that the city manager consider allocating additional funds for them.
According to the order, the program “would allow for additional services for district residents, including but not limited to trash pickup, community outreach with the districts’ homeless population as well as implementing de-escalation and communication strategies within each city area.”
Ojeda works as an assistant principal at University Park Campus School, earning a little more than $100,000 in 2022, according to city payroll data.
In the November municipal election, Ojeda edged out opponent Katia Norford for the seat, with 916 votes, or over 51 percent of the vote, to Norford’s 835 votes, or nearly 48 percent of the vote.
In November, Ojeda told the Worcester Guardian that as a councilor he wants to be more proactive than reactive. He is, for instance, critical of the city’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, pondering that it perhaps contributed to an escalation of violence in the city.
“I don’t think there was any place for people to be outside and enjoy the outdoors,” he said. “Not to say this was the only reason why this happened, but we witnessed a lot of violence.” Agencies and people could have worked together to provide youth with more engagement and opportunities, according to Ojeda.
The Worcester Guardian has reached out to Ojeda for comment.
Kiernan Dunlop is an award-winning journalist who has spent the past five years reporting in Worcester, New Bedford and Antigua and Barbuda. She’s been published in Bloomberg, USA Today, Canary Media, MassLive and the New Bedford Standard Times, among other outlets. She can be contacted at kdunlop@theworcesterguardian.org
