GBH News hosts the event at 6 p.m. on Oct. 16 at the outlet’s Federal Street studio. Residents can tune into the video livestream to watch Mayor Joseph Petty defend his seat against candidates Donna Colorio, Khrystian King, Guillermo Creamer Jr. and Bill Coleman
WORCESTER – Mayoral candidates are facing off on Monday in the first debate this election season catered specifically to the city’s highest elected office.
GBH News is hosting the debate at 6 p.m. on Oct. 16 at the outlet’s 27 Federal St. studio with GBH News Worcester reporter Sam Turken moderating.
Residents can tune in to a video livestream of the event available on the GBH News website and the GBH News Youtube Channel.
“Worcester is a vibrant city, and we are excited to shine a light on its mayoral race as part of our commitment to local news in the region,” Pam Johnson, general manager of news at GBH, said in a press statement. “This debate will explore the issues that matter most to Worcester voters so they can make informed decisions at the ballot box this November.”
The candidates include incumbent Mayor Joseph Petty, Councilors-At-Large Donna Colorio and Khrystian King and activists Guillermo Creamer Jr. and Bill Coleman.
Petty is the city’s longest serving mayor, becoming the first person to win five terms as mayor in New England’s second largest city in 2019.
Colorio is in her second term as a councilor-at-large after serving on the Worcester School Committee for two terms. She has faced off against Petty in the two previous mayoral races, earning nearly 25% of the vote in 2021 and nearly 23% in 2019.
Petty earned over 60% of the vote in 2021 and nearly 61% in 2019.
Coleman, the host of “This is Worcester” on WCCA-TV, also faced off against Petty in the 2019 and 2021, earning around 9% of the vote in both elections.
King was elected to the city council in 2016 and has worked as a social worker for decades.
Creamer serves on the city’s Human Rights Commission and was the community organizer for Worcester Now/Next, the official name for the citywide planning process. He ran for a councilor-at-large position in 2021, coming in eighth place, and two spots away from making it onto the council.
All the mayoral candidates are also councilor-at-large candidates, according to Worcester’s charter. Councilor-at-large candidates have to opt out of running for mayor or they are automatically included as a mayoral candidate.
Ten of the 11 councilor-at-large candidates recently faced off in a debate sponsored by The Worcester Research Bureau, the Telegram & Gazette, the Worcester Education Collaborative and the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Mechanics Hall.
Challengers accused the incumbents of not doing enough to make sure the so-called “Worcester renaissance” was beneficial to all residents, questioning what they’d done to address housing affordability, public health and equity.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 28.
Kiernan Dunlop is an award-winning journalist who has spent the past five years reporting in Worcester, New Bedford and Antigua and Barbuda. She’s 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
