Worcester mayoral candidates debate police, housing, council division

With 19 days until the election, the three candidates running for Mayor of Worcester outlined their vision for the city on Thursday.

Current mayor Joseph Petty, Council Vice Chair and Councilor-at-Large Khrystian King and real estate agent Owura-Kwaku Sarkodieh participated in a one-hour debate hosted by GBH’s Worcester reporter, Sam Turken.

The debate was a quiet one, not featuring any shouting or name-calling. As one candidate spoke, the two others listened quietly, daring not to interrupt one another.

At one point, Petty apologized to Turken when he went over time, to which Turken allowed him to finish his sentence.

Petty, who is seeking an eighth term, defended his record as mayor by touting the construction of new housing and schools during his tenure, along with investments towards public safety and parks.

“I’ve been a leader for the last 14 years and I treated everybody fairly,” Petty said in his opening statement.

King, who was elected to City Council in 2015, said the mayor of Worcester needs to make City Hall a place for everyone and not those who are well-connected.

Drawing upon his work as a career social worker and as a city councilor, King spoke about how he worked with residents and police to pass new protections in the wake of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest on Eureka Street in May. King would, at times, challenge Petty’s leadership in the debate, notably on how he ran City Hall meetings.

“As a career social worker, I work daily with families who are challenged, having difficult conversations,” King said. “We don’t get to walk away from difficult conversations.”

Sarkodieh, who has never been elected to public office, said that Worcester was built on “care, compassion, community” and declared the time was now for Worcester to have new leadership.

“I believe we need a new leader and that time is now,” Sarkodieh said.

The police and an oversight board

The debate began with the candidates being questioned about supporting a police civilian oversight board.

Oct. 14, the Worcester Regional Research Bureau released a report calling for the formation of such a board.

The report’s findings follow a scathing U.S. Department of Justice report on the Worcester Police Department released in December 2024.

The Justice Department’s report singled out Worcester officers for their use of excessive force, its disproportionate effects on Black and Hispanic people and said they performed unwanted sexual acts with people in undercover operations.

When asked if he would support a civilian oversight board, Petty told Turken he would read the WRRB’s study before making a decision. He noted, however, his concern that a civilian oversight job might undermine Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier.

Petty said that Saucier is building a civilian board. But he did not go into further details of what the board will do.

“He’s doing a great job,” Petty said of Saucier. “We also have the DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) officer who also does investigations on bias and sexual assaults.”

King and Sarkodieh, on the other hand, both expressed support for such a board. Both candidates said they would support subpoena powers for the board, with Sarkodieh calling for independent investigations into police use of force.

“I am also for open transparency on all arrests,” Sarkodieh said.

King has repeatedly called for a civilian oversight board before the release of the WRRB’s study. He said the board was not a threat to police but a tool to improve public trust.

“There’s significant concerns in the DOJ report that must be responded to make us a better, safer city,” King said.

Housing and homelessness

The candidates also spoke about the lack of available housing in Worcester.

Worcester will need to build more than 12,000 units of new housing over the next eight years to meet increasing demand, according to the city’s housing production plan.

A market demand analysis from RKG Associates found that there is a shortage of housing for residents with high and low incomes. The analysis found that there is not enough housing stock to meet the growing demand among residents.

King said he was open to the idea of rent control to help manage high rent. He also touted his vote on a lower residential tax rate.

“People are suffering. Looking for leadership from the city government,” King said. “Their utilities are rising, so they are looking for leadership on that front.”

Sarkodieh also said he was open to rent control and said he would require developers to build mixed-income homes as mayor. Sarkodieh also called for the repurposing of vacant apartments for the construction of affordable housing.

Petty, meanwhile, touted a proposal from him and District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson that would give landlords a tax break if they kept rents low.

He acknowledged the need for more housing, noting that “we have 1,500 (units) on line in the works.”

The conversation then turned to the topic of homelessness, with Turken telling the candidates that the homeless population in Worcester has risen for the fourth year in a row.

When asked about the issue of homelessness, Petty pointed to more housing as a solution. He also proposed a meeting between him and the leaders of other Central Massachusetts towns to address homelessness, saying that the homeless population in the city is not made up of residents who permanently live there.

“They come in from the Central Mass. area or other parts of the state or other parts of the country,” Petty said. “We should make this a state issue, along with making it a county issue that we can work together.”

Sarkodieh said that rent control could help solve the issue of homelessness in the city, as well as provide more mental health services.

“I’m for temporary housing with mandatory treatment,” he said.

King also called for more social services to help the homeless and called for a “fair share” of funding from the state to tackle the issue.

He also called for public bathrooms to provide “dignity” for the homeless population.

“This is a human rights issue and we are in a crisis,” King said.

City council division

One of the final topics during the debate was about division among the city councilors. The mayor of Worcester is responsible for overseeing the council and running city council meetings.

The councilors have argued with each other throughout the year, with Councilor-at-Large Thu Nguyen even accusing Mero-Carlson of calling them what they perceived as a slur against them.

Animosity has also spilled into the public, with councilors receiving threats of violence this year, according to Turken.

Sarkodieh, who has never been on the council, said he would try to listen to those who agree and disagree with him. He said it is “healthy” for a city council to disagree with each other, but said the next mayor should be someone who unifies the council.

“As the mayor, I promise to reach across the aisle,” he said. “I think the next mayor can lead in that direction and hopefully, unify the city council.”

King said he does not stand for threats against the city council, noting that he was the subject of a bomb threat and Petty had been verbally attacked in the past.

He went on, however, to criticize Petty’s leadership in how he ran the council, citing the incident between Nguyen and Mero-Carlson. Nguyen, who is not running for re-election, chose not to attend any more council meetings this year.

“We had a city councilor who didn’t return,” King said. “It’s a reflection of leadership in addition to other issues at play.”

Petty, however, said that things have changed for the positive in the past few months. He said it’s difficult when the council is divided on an issue, but sometimes that happens to be the case.

“It’s about communication,” Petty said. “It’s about bringing people together.”