WORCESTER—Tuesday marked the last Worcester City Council meeting of 2023 and the last meeting for District 1 Councilor Sean Rose and District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera.
Prior to the campaign season, both Rose and Rivera announced they wouldn’t be seeking re-election.
The majority of Tuesday’s meeting was spent honoring the work of the two councilors, who were given plaques and gifts from the city that included wooden chairs with the city’s seal.
Rivera was first elected to council in 2011, noting Tuesday that she was the first Latina Afro Boricua elected to Worcester City Council and the only person of color on the council at the time.
“In 2021, I became the longest-serving District 4 City Councilor and the longest-serving woman of color,” Rivera said. “We as a community did that—not just me alone.”
Rose served three terms as District 1 Councilor, becoming the first Black man to represent the district.
“District 1 has an incredibly active constituency with many caring people who are all paying attention,” Rose said. “You all elected the first black District 1 city councilor and the first black chair of economic development and you wrapped your arms around a transplant from the South Shore. Your confidence in me is not lost on my family and me.”
All but a few of the speakers during the public comment portion of the meeting spoke about the departing councilors, including members of their families.
School Committee Member Molly McCullough recalled phoning Rose when she learned former District 1 Councilor Tony Economou wasn’t running for reelection and encouraging him to run.
McCullough said there were some uphill battles to keep Rose in office, but said she couldn’t be prouder of the work he’s done as a city councilor, “and also the work that we’ve done together as a school committee member and city councilor and things that we’ve gotten done for the schools and the city.”
Alex Corrales, CEO of Worcester Housing Authority, noted that Rivera had more WHA properties in her district than any other councilor.
“When we’ve had evacuations or other emergencies you’ve always been a phone call away, you’ve always responded to the residents,” Corrales said. “What I think they’re going to miss the most is that you value them…you’ve shown that to them. You made them feel that they matter.”
Rose and Rivera’s fellow councilors noted the contributions they both made to the city.
District 3 Councilor George Russell said Worcester “is definitely in a better place because of these two councilors,” noting Rivera’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic as chair of the council’s committee on Public Health and Human Services and Rose’s push to get police body cameras.
Councilor At-Large Khrystian King said both Rose and Rivera faced a lot of challenges as elected officials of color.
“I want to publicly state that Sean and Sarai took a lead behind the scenes with our electeds and our elected leadership that I’ve never publicly [stated]…so I want to express my gratitude for that,” King said.
Rivera said one of the things she set out to do was make Worcester city government more inclusive.
“I took on the challenge to make sure we had a city hall and a city council that reflected our community and we’ve done that,” Rivera said, noting that she wanted to create a path for others to walk the pathway that she paved.
As chair of the Economic Development Committee, Rose said he worked to get inclusionary zoning, specialized stretch code, and accessory dwelling units by right passed and worked with the city on a billion dollars worth of public and private investments in Worcester.
“That’s going on my resume,” Rose joked.
In January, Pulse Magazine editor Jenny Pacillo will take over Rose’s role and school administrator Luis Ojeda will take over Rivera’s seat.
Kiernan Dunlop is an award-winning journalist who has spent the past five years reporting in Worcester, New Bedford, and Antigua and Barbuda. Her work has 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
