Ray Mariano: City Council campaigns for Districts 2, 4

Districts 1 and 5, which include portions of the West Side of the city, seem to be gathering all of the attention. That’s unfortunate because both Districts 2 and 4 have interesting races and their outcomes could have a major impact on the balance of power on the City Council.

Luis Ojeda, District 4

Luis Ojeda said he’d get back to me to schedule an interview. He never did. I don’t take that personally, he did the same thing to the Worcester Patch.

Fortunately, I did get to listen to Ojeda’s answers to questions at a debate at St. Peter’s Church during the preliminary election. The bad news is that he said almost nothing. He had no real answer relative to affordable housing and when asked about his priority issues for the district, he said that he wants people to tell him what they think the district needs.

Ojeda, who is an assistant principal at University Park, has a major conflict of interest relative to Clark University. Unlike all of his opponents in the preliminary who harshly criticized Clark University’s proposal to level a large block along Main Street and replace it with a seven-story building primarily for student housing, Ojeda supports the project and pointed out that Clark does a great deal with the school system, especially University Park.

As a public school employee, Ojeda also has a conflict of interest in all matters relating to the school system since his daytime boss is the superintendent of schools. I wanted to get his take on these apparent conflicts, but like I said, he never called me back.

Katia Norford, District 4

A native of the Dominican Republic, Katia Norford came to Worcester about 21 years ago and has built a life in Worcester. A successful small-business owner, she has been involved in just about every neighborhood organization you can think of, including the Main South Business Association, the Main South CDC, the Main South Beacon Brightly Association, the local PTO and her church.

Norford is a strong critic of the Clark University project, citing the impact on the local businesses that would be displaced, the impact on traffic and how the project will change the character of the neighborhood.

Among her priorities, if elected, she includes handicapped accessibility, street lighting to help prevent crime and quality-of-life issues. Norford is also focused on the need to help small neighborhood businesses survive and would like to explore tax incentives to help.

Relative to the police department, she wants to see more transparency, collaboration with the community and enhanced training. She supports the creation of a civilian review board.

Norford thinks the city has spent too much time giving tax breaks to large developers and not enough time and money helping local homeowners struggling to keep their homes.

My choice for District 4

This one isn’t close. Ojeda’s unwillingness to answer questions from the media, his obvious conflicts of interest and his empty answers to questions at the St. Peter’s debate makes him a poor choice.

By contrast Norford had thoughtful answers to questions asked. As a small-business owner, she understands how important they are to the vitality of the city. She’s not afraid to stand up to Clark University or anyone else fighting to preserve the character of the neighborhood. While she still has much to learn, I believe that she will grow into the position.

Candy Mero-Carlson, District 2

First elected in 2015, Candy Mero-Carlson is an accomplished city councilor. Since she took office, and as a member and now chair of the council committee that oversees city parks, Worcester has invested over $100 million in its parks. She has also worked to increase departmental staffing, resulting in improved maintenance.

Mero-Carlson was an active supporter of the proposal that brought the Red Sox to Worcester and created Polar Park. She, among others, wanted the park to look like Worcester and pushed to have the park “Worcester-oriented.” She points out that the ballpark project attracted hundreds of new apartments and helped revitalize the Canal District.

Mero-Carlson has been actively involved in a wide range of district projects, including at Holmes Field, tackling the jet-ski problem nagging Sears Island and Indian Lake, the construction of more affordable and accessible apartments along Franklin Street and the potential reuse and development of the DPW complex along Shrewsbury and Albany streets.

As a member of the council’s Public Works Committee, she has helped cut the backlog of private streets waiting to become public by more than half.

Mero-Carlson worked closely with the city administration to get control of problems emanating from the former Quality Inn along Oriol Drive that threatened the residents of north Lincoln Street.

Robert Bilotta, District 2

While this is his first run for elective office, Rob Bilotta has experience serving in City Hall previously as a member of the city’s Access Advisory Commission and currently as a member of the Human Rights Commission.

Bilotta was part of the Worcester Together Affordable Housing Coalition that pushed for inclusionary zoning. Had he been on the council, he would have pushed for a stronger ordinance that required more affordable housing. He says that while he appreciates the city’s new growth, he thinks there should be a better balance when measured against the other needs of the district.

Among his priorities, if elected, he lists providing more affordable housing options, including helping families in jeopardy of losing their homes. He would push for traffic studies and focus on pedestrian infrastructure and would advocate for business-improvement districts along corridors like Lincoln Street to assist local small businesses.

Relative to the police, Bilotta says that he has great respect for the work that they do and that the department is doing a better job of community outreach. He does not support a civilian review board.

Bilotta believes that the city manager is doing a good job and points out that he is working to improve transparency within the police department.

Along with representing all other communities, Bilotta wants to represent the concerns of the disabled community.

My choice for District 2

This is one of those times when you might wish that you had two votes. As the challenger, Bilotta is well-informed, is articulate and brings an important perspective as an advocate for the disabled community. But Mero-Carlson is an accomplished veteran who has been in the middle of a number of important initiatives that have benefited the city and her district. She’s also been a tireless advocate for thorny neighborhood issues as evidenced by her work with residents along north Lincoln Street.

Mero-Carlson has earned reelection.

NOTE: In an effort for full disclosure, more than 20 years ago, Mero-Carlson’s husband was a member of the Worcester Housing Authority board when I began my service as executive director.

More Ray Mariano: In the ring for District 5 City Council seat

More Ray Mariano: District 1 City Council race, school cellphone policy

Email Raymond V. Mariano at rmariano.telegram@gmail.com. He served four terms as mayor of Worcester and previously served on the City Council and School Committee. He grew up in Great Brook Valley and holds degrees from Worcester State College and Clark University. He was most recently executive director of the Worcester Housing Authority. His column appears weekly in the Sunday Telegram. His endorsements do not necessarily reflect the position of the Telegram & Gazette.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Ray Mariano on Worcester City Council campaigns for Districts 2, 4