WORCESTER—Jessica Pepple isn’t running for Worcester City Council because she has all the answers, she said. She’s running because she wants to ask the right questions.
“I don’t know everything,” Pepple told The Worcester Guardian. “But I know how we can get everything.”
At 38, Pepple is one of 12 candidates vying for an at-large seat this fall, bringing an educator’s perspective and a background steeped in equity and inclusion work to the race.
As chief diversity and culture officer at RFK Community Alliance, she’s spent her career helping organizations build spaces where people feel seen and heard.
Her campaign message — “A Worcester that works for everyone” — focuses on affordable housing, education and public safety with a through-line of accountability in city government. She describes her approach as collaborative and community-driven, shaped by years in classrooms and boardrooms. “When you invest in kids, you invest in the future,” she said, adding that she hopes to help make Worcester Public Schools “the best in Massachusetts.”
If elected, one of Pepple’s first steps would be to launch a citywide “listening tour,” aimed at hearing directly from residents in every neighborhood — from the West Side to Main South — before proposing policy. “We can’t close inequities without knowing where they start,” she said.
Pepple said she’s motivated by what she’s seen as widening gaps in opportunity, particularly after federal budget cuts have squeezed funding for community programs. She wants to identify where those gaps have emerged and find local ways to fill them.
Her doctoral research — supporting the lone black educator by cultivating allies and co-conspirators” — underscores her focus on connection and coalition-building. That same impulse shapes her campaign. “How can I be the bridge?” she said. “That’s the question I keep asking myself.”
Public safety, Pepple said, depends as much on communication as it does on enforcement. “Everyone should feel safe calling the police,” she said, noting that trust between residents and city departments is key to stronger, safer neighborhoods.
Asked about Worcester’s recent tensions around federal immigration enforcement, Pepple said she would advocate for the city to become “a leader in protecting immigrant rights” by ensuring that local resources are not used for federal immigration actions. She said she supports transparency and accountability in policing, including public reporting, community oversight of body camera implementation, and investment in community-led safety initiatives.
“Public safety is built on trust,” she said, “and I will work to ensure that trust is earned and maintained through open communication, accountability and community partnership.”
Pepple describes Worcester as “a city full of potential” — diverse, resilient, and growing — but believes leadership must ensure that growth benefits all residents, not just some. “Equity isn’t just a word,” she said. “It’s a practice.”
Her hope, she said, is to bring that practice to City Hall. “I want to make sure every resident has a seat at the table,” Pepple said. “That’s how we build a Worcester that truly works for all of us.”
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 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.
