WORCESTER—When Jermoh Kamara arrived in Worcester from Liberia at age 11, she carried with her the lessons of her parents, who worked long hours as direct care providers for seniors and people with disabilities. Their sacrifices, she said, instilled a lasting commitment to service.
That sense of service has shaped her career as a public health practitioner, higher education instructor, and community advocate.
It also drove her to serve on the Worcester School Committee from 2022 to 2024, where she was vice chair of Finance and Operations, sat on multiple committees, and worked on initiatives from raising educator salaries to supporting a five-year wellness plan in schools.
“Now, as a candidate for Worcester City Council At-Large, I am ready to bring my experience and track record of hard work to the city,” Kamara told the Worcester Guardian. “My focus is on making our streets safer, investing in the economy to create good jobs, lowering residential taxes, and holding developers accountable while creating affordable housing.”
Kamara, who holds a master’s in public health, has taught at WPI, Anna Maria College, and Clark University. She is also the founder of the HVK Children’s Foundation, which works in Worcester and Liberia to improve education and health outcomes for children. She said her global and local experience has given her a unique perspective on equity, public health, and education.
She’s got a four-part platform plainly laid out on her website, and one she sticks to on the campaign trail. It prioritizes housing, education and business, cost of living, and public safety. On housing, she calls for stopping tax breaks for out-of-town developers while funding first-time homebuyer and rent stabilization programs. She also wants to expand property tax work-off programs for seniors and make it easier for families to create accessory dwelling units.
In regard to education and business, Kamara said she would push to expand vocational education and secure resources for local businesses by reducing red tape and helping them access grants and tax advantages.
She also wants utility companies to be held accountable for rate increases and service quality, while creating cleaner, greener community spaces. On public safety and transportation, she supports expanded WRTA routes and keeping the service fare-free, adding pedestrian safety measures, and improving neighborhood lighting.
Worcester’s housing affordability crisis, she said, is the city’s most urgent challenge. To address it, Kamara proposes an affordable housing fund that would combine public and private investments to fund new housing, preserve historic triple-deckers, and incentivize so-called “missing middle” developments like duplexes and townhouses.
Kamara also addresses the issue of accessibility in city government, pledging to hold office hours in neighborhoods, expand multilingual communication, and create “know your council” workshops to help residents better understand how local government works.
Her vision of success, she said, is not only measured in policies passed but in whether residents feel included. “Metrics like reduced housing costs, increased grant opportunities for local entrepreneurs, and improved bus reliability are tangible ways to track progress,” she said. “But the most important measure will be the feedback from the people of Worcester — if they feel more included, supported, and hopeful, then we’re succeeding.”
Looking ahead, Kamara said she wants Worcester in 2030 to be a city known for affordability, opportunity, and fairness. “I want to look back and say our campaign helped build a Worcester that is fairer, more inclusive, and full of opportunity for every resident,” she said.
This article is part of the Worcester Guardian’s 2025 election coverage. As part of our ongoing series, we are publishing individual candidate profiles and stories related to key issues facing the city ahead of the Nov. 4 municipal election. We have reached out—or are in the process of reaching out—to every candidate running for Worcester City Council and School Committee. If you are a certified candidate and would like to ensure you are included, please contact us at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org.
