There are 112,326 registered voters in Worcester with 24,585 casting ballots on or before Tuesday.
In comparison, turnout was nearly 17 percent in 2021 and 2019, 15 percent in 2017 and 21 percent in 2015.
Voter turnout was 38 percent last November, with now-Governor Maura Healey topping that ballot.
Petty extends streak as longest serving mayor
Mayor Joseph Petty extended his streak as longest serving mayor in modern Worcester history, winning his seventh bid for the city’s top elected office.
Petty received 10,687 votes, followed by Khrystian King with 5,877, Donna Colorio with 2,912, Bill Coleman with 1,009 and Guillermo Creamer Jr. with 950.
By coming in second, King becomes the vice mayor and acts as vice chair on the council floor, a role Donna Colorio used to hold.
Binienda top vote-getter in school committee race
The school committee voted last year not to renew the contract of Superintendent Maureen Binienda. On Tuesday, Binienda joined the school Committee as the top vote-getter.
Binienda, who served as superintendent from 2016-2022, finished ahead of incumbent at-large committee members Sue Coghlin Mailman, Tracy O’Connell Novick and Laura Clancey.
Binienda earned the seat with 11,040 votes (nearly 34 percent) and Coghlin Mailman claimed the second seat with 8,539 votes (around 26 percent).
O’Connell Novick and Clancey lost their seats with 7,459 votes or nearly 23 percent of the vote and 5,564 votes or 17 percent of the vote, respectively.
Lawsuit results in school committee shakeup
In February 2021, the Worcester branch of the NAACP and Worcester Interfaith, along with eight residents of color, filed a lawsuit against the district claiming that the Worcester School Committee’s practice of having six at-large seats was discriminatory because minority neighborhoods did not get fair representation.
The group won their suit and Worcester split the school committee into six district seats and two at-large seats.
This resulted Tuesday in five new faces on the board: Binienda, Vanessa Zuleyma Alvarez, Dianna Biancheria, Alejandro Guardiola and Kathleen Roy.
At-large councilors re-elected in vote for status quo
Worcester voters maintained the status quo, electing incumbent at-large city councilors Petty, King, Kate Toomey, Morris Bergman, Donna Colorio and Thu Nguyen.
Candy Mero-Carlson (District 2), George Russell (District 3) and Etel Hexhiaj (District 5) kept their district seats.
Joining them on the council will be newcomers Jenny Pacillo in District 1 and Luis Albizu Ojeda in District 4.
Pacillo, editor of Pulse Magazine, defeated Dave Peterson, general manager of the Worcester Bravehearts, 3,807 votes to 2,428. Ojeda narrowly beat out Katia Gisela Norford, 916 votes to 865.
