Voters in Worcester narrowed the field of candidates running for City Councilor-at-Large and District E School Committee on Tuesday night.
Of the 14 candidates running for councilor-at-large, the top 12 advanced to the Nov. 4 election, with Mayor Joseph Petty, a 7-term incumbent, earning the most votes, according to unofficial tallies.
In District E, meanwhile, incumbent Kathleen Roy will face off against challenger Nelly Medina in November.
Of the 114,837 total registered voters, only 11,489 ballots were cast for the preliminary election, according to the City Clerk’s Office.
The city saw 10% voter turnout for the preliminary election, according to the City Clerk’s Office.
The results of the election are as follows.
Councilor at large
Mayor Joseph Petty earned the most votes, with a total of 5,994, unofficial tallies showed.
Petty is running for both councilor-at-large and an eighth, two-year term as mayor.
“Tonight, I’m gratified by the continued support of Worcester’s voters,” Petty said in a statement. “It reaffirms my belief that the people of this city want steady leadership committed to delivering real results that positively impact their lives. I look forward to bringing this campaign onto November.”
Any city councilor-at-large candidate who earns the most votes in the general election becomes mayor, according to the city’s Elections Office.
Because of this stipulation, all at-large candidates technically run for mayor. But they do have the option to opt out of the mayoral race and just run for city councilor-at-large, according to the city charter.
In second place was incumbent Councilor-at-Large Kathleen Toomey, the chair of the panel’s Standing Public Safety Committee. Toomey earned 5,144 votes, according to unofficial tallies.
Councilor-at-Large Morris Bergman came in fourth with 4,685 votes and Gary Rosen, a former city councilor and school committee member, came in fourth with 4,646 votes
Council Vice Chairman and Councilor-at-Large Khrystian King came in fifth place with 4,590 votes
Like Petty, King is running for mayor as well. The two previously faced off in the 2023 mayoral race, where Petty was victorious.
King told MassLive that his campaign is ready for November and that people in the city want to see better representation from their government.
“There’s something happening here in the city of Worcester,” King said. “People want more out of their city government. That’s what my campaign’s focused on.”
Jermoh Kamara, the president of the Massachusetts Organization of African Descendants, came in sixth place with 4,052 votes, while incumbent Councilor-at-Large and chair of the Traffic and Parking Committee Donna Colorio came in seventh with 3,882 votes, according to unofficial tallies.
In the general election, only the top six vote-getters will win councilor-at-large seats.
Satya Mitra, the founder of The Guru Tax and Financial Services, finished in eighth place with 3,406 votes.
Cayden Davis finished ninth with 3,200 votes, Owura-Kwaku Sarkodieh ranked tenth with 2,729 votes, Jessica Pepple notched 11th place with 2,342 and Edson Montero came in 12th place with 1,625 votes, according to unofficial tallies.
Charles Luster and Bernard Iandoli finished 13th and 14th respectively, meaning they will not advance to the general election on Nov. 4.
Luster earned 1,396 votes and Iandoli earned 1,340 votes, according to unofficial tallies.
The founder and executive director of 2Gether We Eat, a youth hydroponic farming education program, Luster said that running for councilor-at-large was a “great experience” and that he had no hard feelings towards the other candidates.
“I’m glad it’s over. I’ll never do it again,” Luster said with a laugh.
District E School Committee
Incumbent District E School Committee member Kathleen Roy earned the most votes in her election, receiving a total of 753 votes, according to unofficial tallies.
Coming in second was challenger Nelly Medina, who will face Roy in the general election.
Medina earned 597 votes in the district.
Noelia Chafoya was eliminated on Tuesday night, coming in third with 432 votes.
A total of 1,914 votes were cast in District E, according to the City Clerk’s Office.
The general election
All 12 candidates for councilor-at-large and for the District E school committee seat will advance to the general election on Nov. 4.
The general election will feature races for City Councilor in Worcester’s five districts.
District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson will face off against challenger Robert A. Bilotta.
District 4 Councilor Luis A. Ojeda will run against Theodore A. Kostas and District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj will face off against Jose A. Rivera.
District 1 Councilor Jenny Pacillo and District 3 Councilor George Russell opted not to run for reelection this year.
Keith J. Linhares and Tony J. Economou are running to replace Pacillo in District 1.
John P. Fresolo and Robert F. Pazzella are running for the District 3 seat.
School Committee incumbents in Districts A, B, D and F are running unopposed this year, including Vanessa Z. Alvarez for District B, Alejandro Guardiola for District D and Jermaine L. Johnson for District F.
District A incumbent Molly O. McCullough was supposed to face off against challenger Ashley R. Spring. But the city’s board of elections ruled them ineligible to be on the ballot because they do not meet the city’s residency requirement.
Spring, who uses they/them pronouns, was also present on Eureka Street when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested a Brazilian mother of three on May 8.
Spring sprayed water on a Worcester officer during the ICE arrest and faces multiple charges.
The list of candidates for school committee-at-large and District C is small enough not to require a preliminary election.
The two incumbent School Committee Members-at-Large, Maureen F. Binienda and Susan M. Mailman, have both qualified for the November ballot along with challenger Adwoa A. Sakyi-Lamptey. The two candidates who receive the first and second most votes in the election will be awarded the at-large seats.
District C incumbent Dianna Biancheria will run against Feanna S. Jattan-Singh.
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