Worcester: What you need to know about the Nov. 7 municipal election
WORCESTER - A five-way race for mayor and the first School Committee district-seat election headline the ballot for the Nov. 7 municipal election.
Voters will also choose at-large and district councilors, and at-large School Committee members.
Some of the races on the November ballot were finalized in the Sept. 5 preliminary election.
Important dates
Oct. 28: Last day to register to vote in the municipal election.
Oct. 28: First day of in-person early voting.
Nov. 7: Municipal election. Polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Candidate debates
A series of debates will give voters a chance to learn about the candidates. Each will be at Mechanics Hall, on successive Wednesdays starting Sept. 27. They get underway at 7 p.m.
The public is welcome to attend.
The schedule:
Sept. 27: At-large School Committee
Oct. 4: District seats, School Committee
Oct. 11: At-large City Council
Oct. 18: District seats, City Council
Oct. 25: Mayor
The debates are sponsored by the Telegram & Gazette, the Worcester Regional Research Bureau, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Worcester Education Collaborative and Mechanics Hall.
Who's running for mayor?
Incumbent Joseph M. Petty, in his sixth term, is being challenged by City Councilors Khrystian E. King and Donna M. Colorio, as well as Bill Coleman and Guillermo Creamer Jr.
Under Worcester's charter, candidates for mayor also run for at-large city councilor seats. Not all at-large candidates opted to seek the mayor's seat. To be elected mayor, a candidate must place first in the mayor’s race and also finish among the top six in the at-large City Council race.
New format for School Committee
The School Committee election is different this year, with the panel no longer filled by only at-large seats. There will be two at-large seats and six district seats, to be labeled A through F. The mayor also serves on the committee.
The change followed a lawsuit that the all at-large method was discriminatory.
The map was drawn with two “majority-minority” districts — Districts B and D — meaning that more than 50% of the voting-age population of those districts are Black, Hispanic and Latino combined, as well as making sure each district contains approximately the same number of residents.
The matchups:
District A: Incumbent Molly McCullough, unopposed
District B: Vanessa Zuleyma Alvarez, unopposed
District C: Incumbent Jermoh V. Kamara vs. Dianna Biancheria
District D: Alejandro Guardiola
Distirct E: Nelly Medina vs. Kathleen L. Roy
District F: Incumbent Jermaine Lamont Johnson
At-large School Committee: Incumbent Susan M. Mailman, incumbent Laura B. Clancey, incumbent Tracy O'Connell Novick and Maureen F. Binienda. Two elected.
Worcester: Find your School Committee district
City Council contests
There are 11 candidates for the six at-large seats on the City Council. One of the those seats will be filled by the elected mayor.
On the ballot:
At-large City Council: Incumbent Kate Toomey, incumbent Donna Colorio, incumbent Thu Nguyen, incumbent Joseph M. Petty, incumbent Morris A. Bergman, incumbent Khrystian King, Guillermo Creamer Jr., Maydee Morales, Bill Coleman, Domenica F. Perrone and Johanna Hampton-Dance. Six elected.
District 1: Jenny Pacillo vs. David C. Peterson
District 2: Incumbent Candy F. Mero-Carlson vs. Robert A. Bilotta
District 3: Incumbent George J. Russell vs. Feanna Jattan-Sing
District 4: Katia Gisela Norford vs. Luis Albizu Ojeda
District 5: Incumbent Etel Haxhiaj vs. Jose Antonio Rivera
Voting on Nov. 5: Find your polling site
Early voting
The week prior to the Nov. 7 municipal election, registered voters will be able to cast a ballot in person. A polling site will be set up at the main Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Square.
The schedule:
Saturday, Oct. 28: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 29: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 30: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 31: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 1: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 2: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 3: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Worcester: Absentee and vote-by-mail details
Don't forget the state Senate seat
The state Senate seat from the Worcester and Hampshire District, empty since it was given up by Anne Gobi, will be on the Nov. 7 ballot for residents of the legislative district.
There are three candidates: State Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik, D-Gardner, state Rep. Peter Durant, R-Spencer, and Bruce Chester of Gardner, a Republican.
Durant and Chester will square off in a primary election Oct. 10.
The Worcester and Hampshire district was redrawn in the latest round of redistricting. It now stretches across much of the state's middle, from Gardner in the north to Brookfield in the south, and from the westernmost part of Worcester out to Ware.
Two other potential candidates — Rebeka Etique, who was to run as a Republican, and Janel Holmes, running as a Libertarian — failed to meet the requirements necessary to appear on the ballot.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester: What you need to know about the Nov. 7 municipal election
