WORCESTER—Worcester is a place people want to be. It’s a sentiment that echoed through the speeches delivered at the city’s inaugural ceremonies on Tuesday.
Mayor Joseph Petty, marking a historic seventh term in office, took the oath alongside the newly sworn-in members of the 2024-2025 city council and school committee.
Margaret Guzman, the first Hispanic judge to sit on the federal U.S District Court for Massachusetts and a Worcester native, officiated the oaths of office. The event underscored Worcester’s allure as a city where people aspire to be, emphasizing the city’s significance and promise.
“We have the people who have helped build this city, bring it back from a point of stagnation, all doing it because they love the city,” Guzman said. “It is why Worcester is a jewel. People want to come here maybe for the WooSox, but they stay for Tatnuck and Grafton Hill.”
Councilor At-Large Khrystian King, as the second-place finisher in the race for mayor, was sworn in as vice chair of the council. District 1 Councilor Jenny Pacillo and District 4 Councilor Luis Ojeda were sworn in for their first terms.
They were sworn in alongside returning councilors Morris Bergman, Donna Colorio, Etel Haxhiaj, Candy Mero-Carlson, Thu Nguyen, George Russell, and Kate Toomey.
The school committee elected the vice chair amongst themselves Tuesday night. Jermaine Johnson held onto the position, earning six of his colleagues’ votes compared to three earned by newcomer Maureen Binienda.
While Johnson is still on the school committee, he now represents District F. He was elected as an at-large member in 2021 when the committee consisted of six at-large members and the mayor. A lawsuit brought against the city claiming discrimination led to the restructuring of the committee to one with six district seats and two at-large members.
Former Worcester Schools Superintendent Binienda was the top vote-getter for the at-large school committee seats and was sworn in alongside several new faces, including Vanessa Zuleyma Alvarez, Dianna Biancheria, Alex Guardiola, and Kathi Roy, for the 2024-2025 school committee. Returning school committee members Sue Coghlin Mailman and Molly McCullough were also sworn in.
Tuesday’s program included performances from South High School’s Harmonies Acapella Group, Stacy Domingo, Angelo Gray, and newly named Youth Poet Laureate Serenity Jackson.
Jackson read her poem “Welcome to Worcester.” The 14-year-old colorfully described her experience in the city where every street sign has a heart.
“Growing up in Worcester paves a path for experience, so I echo the words of kindness, tolerance and perseverance,” Jackson read.
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey was in attendance and introduced Petty before his inaugural address, crediting him with shepherding a new era of progress in the city.
Markey listed Petty’s accomplishments, including rebuilding, renovating, or substantially rehabbing every public high school in the city; a nearly 88% graduation rate from those high schools, the highest graduation rate of any district of similar size; the construction of thousands of housing units; and working with federal, state, and local officials to get $108 million for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to build the capacity for East-West Rail.
“Worcester has seen the highest rate of growth in its history, largely due to the overwhelmingly welcoming nature of your immigrant and refugee communities,” Markey said. “Mayor Petty has led the way in embracing new blood in Worcester, helping to create a city where diversity is celebrated.”
Markey then commended Worcester for welcoming Afghan refugees after the U.S. withdrew troops from Afghanistan in 2020.
Petty highlighted some of the same accomplishments in his inaugural address, such as the creation of 3,205 units of affordable housing units during his tenure as mayor and the improvements to the high schools. He also listed the hiring of Superintendent Rachel Monárrez and City Manager Eric Batista.
During the campaign, he said he told voters he was going back to basics and focusing on the things that impact residents’ lives most – streets, sidewalks, and trash. One of his top priorities for the coming term will be to continue with his efforts to use bond money to fix city streets, according to Petty.
He said he’s asked the city manager to make Worcester the cleanest gateway city and pointed to the efforts of Worcester Now | Next, the city’s long-term planning process, to address housing, environmental, and public transit needs.
“We are doing all these things to make our city better,” Petty said. “We also want to keep fighting for diverse voices at the table.”
The city’s longest-serving mayor said he’s mindful of the need to have open and equitable cooperation and dialogue.
“We will continue to make Worcester the most inclusive and welcoming city in America,” Petty said. “We must challenge ourselves as residents, as a city, to become the cleanest, safest, most welcoming thriving city we can be, for all.”
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
