WORCESTER – The race for district council seats in Worcester is nearing the finish line and candidates have raised more than $165,000 this year to help get their names and faces in the spotlight for voters.
District 2 City Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson is leading the pack in fundraising with $50,000, according to data from the Office of Campaign & Political Finance. She has spent more than $36,000 of that on the race, according to OCPF.
Who donated to Mero-Carlson’s campaign?
During this year’s campaign, Mero-Carlson has received several $500 donations each from unions, including:
- MA & Northern NE Laborers
- IBEW Local 2325
- North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
- United Assoc. of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 4
- IBEW Local 96
- Int’l Union of Operating Engineers Local 4
- Ironworkers Union Local 7
- Painters and Allied Trades District Council 35
She had several individual contributors who donated $1,000, consisting largely from business owners, attorneys, and real estate developers.
Those individuals include:
- Chip Norton, president of Franklin Realty Advisors Inc.
- Patrick Lee, founder and owner of Trinity Financial
- Steven Christy, president of Lei Corp
- John Direnzo, owner of Direnzo Towing & Recovery
- Kathryn Krock, managing member of Krock Real Estate
- Richard Rafferty, attorney
- Robin Rhodes, president of Nitrofreeze Cryogenic Solutions
- John McGuire, attorney
- Stephen Rodolakis, attorney
- Patsy Santa Maria Jr., owner/operator of Pat’s Towing
- Jesus Suarez, CEO of Renaissance Medical Group
- Hassan Yatim, COO of Yatco Energy and CEO of the Massachusetts Pirates
Fellow council candidate George Russell contributed $20 to Mero-Carlson’s campaign and Kate Toomey contributed $120.
Who chipped in to support Robert Bilotta?
Mero-Carlson’s challenger Robert Bilotta has raised nearly $19,000 and spent $14,000, with nearly all of his donations coming from individual contributors.
Bilotta’s top contributor is Nathan Sabo, head of the Canal District Neighborhood Association and executive with Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm. Sabo donated $1,250 to Bilotta’s campaign this year.
$1,000 donations to Bilotta’s campaign include:
- Kehlen Flannery Rossi, who works in regulatory operations for Alkermes Inc.
- Julie Cohen, a psychologist
Meredith Fickert, who is in marketing for BJ’s, donated $860, and William Bilotta, who is listed as retired, donated $800.
Several of Bilotta’s contributors came from fellow candidates for city council. Domenica Perrone forked over $475 and Jenny Pacillo, Thu Nguyen, and Etel Haxhiaj each tossed in $100. School Committee member and candidate Susan Coghlin Mailman also contributed $350.
The OCPF does not have any data showing Bilotta received any contributions from unions.
Thousands come in for District 5 candidates
The District 5 race has also generated tens of thousands of dollars in fundraising. Challenger Jose Rivera has raised more than $24,000 and incumbent Etel Haxhiaj has raised just over $22,000 this year.
Rivera spent nearly all he took in—over $22,000 during the campaign. Haxhiaj has been more moderate in spending what she’s fundraised, spending just over $8,000 this race.
Rivera has received several donations from the business community, including $1,000 each from:
- Hassan Yatim, COO of Yatco Energy and CEO of the Massachusetts Pirates
- Cliff Rucker, real estate investor and owner of the Worcester Railers
- Keven McCarthy, VP of interior design for Trinity Property Management
$500 contributions also came in from:
- John Direnzo, owner of Direnzo Towing & Recovery
- Chip Norton, president of Franklin Realty Advisors Inc.
- Craig Blais, president of Worcester Business Development Corporation
- Christopher Cyr, owner of Proper Construction
- Alex Haddad, owner of Harris Auto Body
- Donna Salloom George and Edward Salloom Jr. ($500 each), owners of Salloom Realty
Fellow politicians contributed to Rivera’s campaign, including $50 from District 1 Council candidate David Peterson, $100 from Mero-Carlson, $100 from Sen. Michael Moore; and $150 from District D School Committee candidate Alex Guardiola.
Guardiola also serves as the vice president of government and affairs and public policy for the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. Chamber president Tim Murray also donated $200 to Rivera’s campaign.
The OCPF does not have any data showing Rivera received any contributions from unions.
Who contributed to Etel Haxhiaj’s campaign?
Haxhiaj has two $1,000 donors – Holmes Wilson, a software developer, and David Coyne, who is listed in OCPF documents as retired.
Her $500 donors include John Esler and realtor Brendan Melican.
Several unions also made $500 contributions to Haxhiaj’s campaign including:
- Carpenters Local 336
- MA & Northern Laborers
- North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
- SEIU Local 32BJ United ADF
- SEIU’s Massachusetts State Council
Haxhiaj also received several donations from fellow politicians, including $250 each from state Sen. Robyn Kennedy and Worcester School Committee member Tracy O’Connell Novick.
$100 donations for Haxhiaj came in from:
- Robert Bilotta
- State Rep. David LeBoeuf
- School Committee District E candidate Nelly Medina
- Councilor-at-large candidate Domenica Perrone
Also donated was $50 each from School Committee member Susan Coghlin Mailman and mayoral candidate Guillermo Creamer.
Comparatively, Haxhiaj still has a lot more she can spend on her campaign, with over $36,000 cash on hand thanks to contributions from previous elections, compared to Rivera’s less than $1,700.
Donations for District 1 candidates for councilor
In the contest for the open District 1 seat, Jenny Pacillo more than quadrupled the amount of fundraising compared to her competitor David Peterson, raising over $22,000 to his $5,000. Pacillo has spent around $13,500 on the race, whereas Peterson has spent nearly all of what he’s raised, with about $300 in cash on hand.
Pacillo’s top contributor is Wilson, who contributed $1,000 to her campaign. Her other top donors include: Doug Arbetter, a statistician for AstraZeneca, who contributed $600; Deborah May, who works for Fallon Health, contributed $550; Gayle Petty, a manager at Tufts Lab-Human Nutrition, who contributed $500; and Paul Giorgio, the president of Paigo Inc and owner of Pulse Magazine, who donated $500. Pacillo is the editor of Pulse Magazine.
Worcester School Committee members Coghlin Mailman and Molly McCullough showed their support for Pacillo with $25 and $50 contributions, respectively.
Sean Rose, who’s vacating the District 1 seat, also showed his support with a $100 contribution. Creamer also donated $205 and Haxhiaj donated $100.
Pacillo also received a few $500 donations from unions:
- SEIU Local 32BJ United ADF
- North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
- UBC & JA Local 336.
She also received $250 contributions from Millwrights Local Union 1121 and SEIU 509 COPE.
Her competitor, Peterson, has not received any union contributions, according to OCPF data.
Peterson’s top contributor is Elizabeth Proko, a car dealer at Mill Street Motors, who donated $1,000 to his campaign. His next top contributors are Alexis Martinez, a salesperson at Bob’s Discount Furniture, who contributed $300 and Eric Williams, a salesperson at Nutanix, who contributed $300.
Recognizable names among Peterson’s contributors include Worcester County Sherriff Lewis Evangelidis who contributed $100, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce President Tim Murray who contributed $200, school committee candidate and former Worcester Public Schools Superintendent Maureen Binienda who contributed $50 and Rivera who contributed $50.
Who’s donated to incumbent George Russell?
In the District 3 race, incumbent George Russell raised nearly $15,000 this year compared to nearly $570 raised by his challenger, Feanna Jattan-Singh. Russell has spent nearly $12,000 on the race and Jattan-Singh has spent a little less than $250.
Russell’s coffers are still full. Thanks to previous campaigns, he has over $66,000 in cash on hand.
His top donors this year are from Gallo Builders Inc, with Robert Gallo contributing $1,000 and Janice Gallo contributing $500. Michael Madulka, the owner of Madulka’s Ice Cream, is also a top contributor at $1,000.
Russell’s $500 contributors include:
- John Direnzo, owner of Direnzo Towing & Recovery
- Phillip Massad, owner of Massad Movers
- Kevin Parvin, owner of Parvin Construction
- Rodney Perro, owner of Perro Flowers
Several unions also made $500 donations to Russell, including:
- IBEW Local 96
- IBEW Local 2325
- Int’l Union of Operating Engineers Local 4
- MA & Northern NE Laborers
- North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and United Association of Plumbers & Piperfitters Local 4
Russell also received a $100 contribution from Senator Moore.
In their competition for the open District 4 seat, Luis Albizu Ojeda raised nearly $5,400 and Katia Gisela Norford raised nearly $2,600, according to OCPF data. Norford has spent over $2,100 on the race, while Albizu Ojeda has spent close to $3,200.
Ojeda’s top contributors are Jeanne and Richard Rafferty of Eden & Rafferty law firm who each contributed $1,000. His next highest contributors are Coyne, who contributed $400, and Juan Gomez, the president and CEO of Centro, who contributed $350.
A recognizable name among Albizu Ojeda’s contributors is State Rep. Mary Keefe, who contributed $100.
Norford received nearly $400 from ActBlue Massachusetts and $50 from councilor-at-large candidate Perrone. Neither candidate has received contributions from unions.
Worcester residents have until Oct. 28 to register to vote in the municipal election, the same day early in-person voting starts.
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
