WORCESTER — Jenny Pacillo is one of just two fresh faces who won seats on the 11-member Worcester City Council in Tuesday’s municipal election.
Pacillo, 42, handily won the District 1 seat, with 3,807 votes or over 61 percent of the vote, compared to her competitor Dave Peterson, who received 2,428 votes or nearly 39 percent of the vote.
The seat was left vacant with incumbent District 1 Councilor Sean Rose choosing not to run for re-election.
“I’m so grateful for all the help and support and I’m really excited to get to work,” Pacillo told the Worcester Guardian on Wednesday while sitting in her living room playing with her two-year-old daughter.
She credits her win to her campaign team starting to meet weekly in January and knocking on doors nearly every day since April.
“For me, I just focused on myself and what I had to offer and what I’ve learned,” Pacillo said, “and I think that the hard work and support of so many awesome people pushed me over the top.”
She told her parents first when she knew she’d won. She describes her parents as blue collar workers who are not particularly political, though they always vote, with a dad who works in construction and a mom who works at Fallon Health.
“It was just really great to include my family and the kids and everyone was so excited for me,” Pacillo said.
When asked if she was part of a progressive leaning block of candidates who suffered some major losses in this election, Pacillo said she didn’t want to label herself as anything other than a “mom who truly cares about the community and wants to make this a place where everyone can thrive.”
Pacillo is a mother of three with master’s degrees in teaching and public administration who has been active in the League of Women Voters and the citizen advisory committee and also works part-time as the editor of Pulse Magazine.
“When I knocked on doors, my ten-second door speech would be ‘I’m a stay at home mom in Burncoat, I just got my MPA and I think regular people should have a bigger voice,’” Pacillo said. “I’m nobody special, I was a waitress ’til COVID hit and I lost my job and to be in this position and have this opportunity…I’m just so incredibly grateful.”
When asked how she felt about the overall results of the election, which mainly held the status quo on the council, Pacillo said she’s looking forward to working with people who have been doing this for a long time and is excited to learn from them and have guidance.
“I’m also excited to be a new voice with different ideas,” Pacillo said.
One of the main issues she heard on the campaign trail was people not feeling heard or thinking government is inaccessible to them.
She said she wants to change that and plans to be available, accessible and happy to explain things to people, as Rose would when she called him.
“His help and advice was so valuable to me and that’s something I’m more than happy to share with anyone I can,” Pacillo said.
Being a stay-at-home mom makes her more available, she said, since from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. during the week she is home with her 2-year-old, so she is able to take phone calls and take her daughter to go meet people as well.
Pacillo said she’s excited to share her thoughts on issues already on the debate table for the council, such as that of accessory dwelling units. The council is considering amending its zoning ordinances to allow homeowners to construct accessory dwelling units, colloquially known as in-law apartments, by right in all zoning districts except the manufacturing and airport districts in the fall under certain dimensions.
“My stance is people absolutely need them, and if you have the space, I think it’s going to help with housing… housing affordability,” Pacillo said.
She explained a friend wanted to build a tiny home in her back yard in the Burncoat area for her mother-in-law, who provided her with childcare, but couldn’t because of current zoning laws.
“It would free up a house, it would get her mom out of a mortgage and it would help with childcare,” Pacillo said. “I just don’t see a problem with that. I think it would really benefit everyone.”
Asked what she’d like to put in the council first, Pacillo said she hasn’t gotten that far yet. Still reeling from the win, she’s just excited, grateful and thankful for the support she’s received.
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
