WORCESTER — Worcester voters head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 4, to decide who’s going to help guide the city for the next two years, including a closely watched mayoral rematch and several contested council and school committee seats. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. across all wards and precincts.
This year’s races determine Worcester’s next mayor, six at-large city councilors, five district councilors, and several school committee members, including a couple of contested district seats. City officials and advocates hope to see higher voter turnout after years of stagnant participation — just under 20% of registered voters cast ballots in the last municipal election in 2023. And that is typical for Worcester.
While optimists may see a slight bubbling up in terms of interest in voting this time around, officials aren’t necessarily convinced it’ll increase this time around. “As of now, we are anticipating around 20% turnout,” Deputy Clerk Clare Robbins told the Worcester Guardian on Tuesday afternoon.
Election officials have added early voting options, additional ballot drop boxes, and expanded outreach this year, though it remains to be seen whether those efforts are helping bring new voters to the polls.
City Clerk Niko Vangjeli, in a recent interview with the Worcester Guardian, said the city used to see 40-50% turnout for municipal elections — far above the 17-20% the city expects this year.
“I don’t know what transpired,” he said. “I don’t know what happened in the ‘90s in these elections [that brought the voting numbers down].”
Stay tuned for live updates throughout the day, including turnout numbers, on-the-ground reports from polling locations, and candidate reactions as Worcester decides its next slate of leaders.
Election day updates:
9:40 p.m. Results are in!
Below are the unofficial results from the Worcester Election Commission. The top six finishers in the at-large race win council seats, and the mayor is chosen from among those six based on the highest mayoral vote count.
(*Incumbent)
Mayor
Joseph M. Petty* — 13,747 (54.68%)
Khrystian E. King — 8,465 (33.67%)
Owura-Kwaku Sarkodieh — 1,743 (6.93%)
Edson Montero — 1,188 (4.72%)
City councilor-at-large
Joseph M. Petty* — 12,420 (11.65%)
Khrystian E. King* — 11,808 (11.08%)
Kate Toomey* — 10,353 (9.71%)
Gary Rosen — 10,033 (9.41%)
Satya B. Mitra — 9,457 (8.87%)
Morris A. Bergman* — 9,353 (8.77%)
Jermoh Kamara — 9,309 [8.73%)
Donna M. Colorio* — 9,247 (8.67%)
Cayden Davis — 8,352 (7.83%)
Jessica R. Pepple — 6,378 (5.98%)
Owura-Kwaku Sarkodieh — 6,188 (5.80%)
Edson Montero — 3,707 (3.48%)
District councilors
District 1:
Tony J. Economou — 4,064 (56.93%)
Keith J. Linhares — 3,074 (43.07%)
District 2:
Robert A. Bilotta — 2,016 (55.31%)
Candy F. Mero-Carlson* — 1,629 (44.69%)
District 3:
John P. Fresolo — 2,200 (53.74%)
Robert F. Pezzella — 1,894 (44.69%)
District 4:
Luis A. Ojeda* — 1,566 (73.62%)
Ted Kostas — 561 (26.38%)
District 5:
Jose A. Rivera — 3,954 (52.52%)
Etel Haxhiaj* — 3,575 (47.48%)
School committee
At-large:
Maureen F. Binienda* — 13,663 (38.76%)
Susan M. Mailman* — 12,996 (36.87%)
Adwoa A. Sakyi-Lamptey — 8,588 (24.37%)
District A:
Molly O. McCullough* — 4,518 (100%)
District B:
Vanessa Z. Alvarez — 1,832 (100%)
District C:
Dianna Biancheria* — 2,753 (69.01%)
Feanna S. Jattan-Singh — 1,236 (30.99%)
District D:
Alejandro Guardiola, Jr.* — 1,193 (100%)
District E:
Kathleen L. Roy* — 1,921 (51.25%)
Nelly Medina — 1,827 (48.75%)
District F:
Jermaine L. Johnson* — 4,616 (100%)
Results are unofficial until certified by the Worcester Election Commission.
7:30 p.m. — Burncoat High School steady through the day
At Burncoat High School (Ward 2, Precinct 2; Ward 3, Precinct 6), Warden Ruthanne Meloncon said many voters came in groups, including families voting together.
“We had groups of 4, 5 or 6 from 6 this morning until about 10:30, then it slowed down. At 3 o’clock, it perked right up again,” she said, joking that the only minor issue has been filling out the ballots themselves. “It’s been good. The only thing that’s been an issue is filling out the bubbles. Some check it off, but the machine isn’t going to accept that. Other than that, it’s been smooth sailing.”
Outside Burncoat, voters discussed what’s driving them to the polls. Joanne Rose said the mayoral race stood out to her, along with how the City Council functions.
“They work together, but it’s very different perspectives on what is the criteria for an important thing to change,” she said, adding that homelessness remains a top concern. “I think you have to take care of more people that are working, so we can address those kind of things. You have to have the revenue. It’s a tricky balance.”
David Lomosi voiced support for at-large City Council candidate Jermoh Kamara.
“The next city councilor at large, and hopefully she becomes mayor someday… and then governor,” he said. “She’s about family values and education, because she served on the school committee. It’s about the education system — she wants to uplift it and improve it, especially for the underserved minorities in the community. She wants to make sure we have better education, better schools, better systems, as well as books and supplies in the schools.”
Nearby, Kathy Laperle was holding signs for incumbent Councilor Morris Bergman.
“He’s very much about affordable housing. He’s just about people. He goes out for everybody or anything,” she said.
6 p.m. – Steady flow at YMCA and strong turnout on Salisbury Street
At the YMCA polling location on Main Street (Ward 10, Precinct 6), Warden John Keough said turnout had been “steady” all day, with about 100 ballots cast by 5 p.m.
“It’s been steady, there have been no lulls,” Keough said.
He added that some confusion lingered around the city’s new district boundaries, since the YMCA sits between Main and Murray streets. Still, he said the city’s new voter tracking system has helped reduce mix-ups.
“This system has changed dramatically, and it’s so much simpler,” Keough said. “When we scan a voter’s ID, it tells us their location right away. We only had one person all day we couldn’t find in the system.”
Across town at Congregation Beth Israel (Ward 1, Precinct 1), Warden Colin Novick reported one of the busiest sites so far, with more than 550 voters by 5:30 p.m.
“Constant flow all day long,” Novick said. “For a municipal election, that’s better than I would expect—and that’s not even counting the 8,000 votes that came in Saturday across the city.”
Novick said nearly everyone showing up Tuesday has voted in Worcester before. “We’ve done almost no paperwork for new voters today,” he said. “So, everyone who’s voting are active, regular voters. It’s been oddly uneventful.”
5 p.m. – Moderate turnout reported at several polling locations
At Worcester Technical High School, Warden Mike Capuano described turnout as “better than the primary, but slow.”
“People are showing up, but it’s a moderate response,” Capuano said around 4 p.m. “It’ll pick up for an hour and a half or so, but then it will slow down.”
At the Worcester Senior Center — which hosts voters from Ward 6, Precincts 1 and 2, as well as Ward 8, Precinct 1 — about 79 voters had cast ballots as of 4:30 p.m.
“This is very low-key, but we’ve still got a lot of time,” said poll clerk Dean Alexandrou.
Warden Ralph Berthiaume said the turnout was “typical” for a municipal election and noted that the ballot design had caused some confusion.
“It’s a crazy ballot this year,” Berthiaume said. “You can vote for one here, then up to six from here, then two from here. It’s very confusing.”
3:15 p.m. — Light but steady voter flow reported at Worcester polling locations
At the Ward 9, Precincts 1 and 2 polling place at 551 Pleasant St., an election warden Diane Fratoni said voter turnout had been “steady” throughout the afternoon.
“It’s steady. Not crowds of people, and no lines forming,” she said. “It’s definitely busier than September’s primary, and in terms of other years’ municipal elections, it’s pretty similar.”
Outside the building, Mary Meersman and Wayne Griffin held campaign signs alongside school committee candidate Maureen Binienda. Despite the chill, the trio said spirits were good.
“I’ve been out here since 6 a.m.,” Meersman said, adding she takes breaks in her car to warm up.
At the Worcester Public Library, WPD officer Angel Rivera said 63 voters had checked in as of 3 p.m. “We have something like 116,000 eligible voters in Worcester, so I hope to see a lot more come out,” he said.
7 a.m. — Polls open across Worcester
According to Robbins, 8,000 voters in the city cast ballots early, either by mail-in, drop-boxes or early voting opportunities at the Worcester Library.
Candidates at a glance
Mayor Joe Petty is seeking re-election against Councilor vice chair Khrystian King, community activist Owura-Kwaku Sarkodieh and Edson Montero (technically, though he is not actively running for mayor).
Twelve candidates are running for the six at-large City Council seats: incumbents Petty, King, Kate Toomey, Morris Bergman, Donna Colorio and challengers Cayden Davis, Satya Mitra, Jermoh Kamara, Owura-Kwaku Sarkodieh, Edson Montero, Jessica Pepple and Gary Rosen.
Each of the city’s five district council seats is contested. In District 1, incumbent Tony Economou faces Keith Linhares. In District 2, Candy Mero-Carlson seeks re-election against Robert Bilotta. District 3 pits John Fresolo against Robert Pezzella. In District 4, incumbent Luis Ojeda is challenged by Ted Kostas.
In District 5, incumbent Etel Haxhiaj faces Jose Rivera. The race between Haxhiaj and Rivera has drawn particular attention, seen by many as one of the city’s most closely watched contests.
For school committee, three candidates are running at-large for two seats: incumbents Sue Mailman and Maureen Binienda, along with newcomer Adwoa Saky-Lamptey.
Each of the six district seats is also on the ballot. Incumbents Molly McCullough (District A), Dianna Biancheria (District C), Alejandro Guardiola Jr. (District D), Kathleen Roy (District E), and Jermaine Johnson (District F) are seeking re-election. In District B, Vanessa Alvarez is running unopposed. District C is contested between Biancheria and Feanna Jattan-Singh, and District E features a race between Roy and challenger Nelly Medina.
Note: this story will be updated throughout the day with turnout figures, voter reactions, campaign commentary and live election results as polls close. Refresh this page for updates and follow the Worcester Guardian on social media for breaking election-night coverage.
