Worcester Mailer-Mania: Colorio, MA Nurses Expound On Senate Race

WORCESTER, MA — The mailboxes of voters in the 1st Worcester state Senate district have been on fire recently.

Two recent pieces of campaign mail sent to would-be voters in the race between Joe Petty and Robyn Kennedy on Tuesday drew clarifications and criticism from At-Large Councilor Donna Colorio and the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

The mailer-mania began late last week when many voters received a postcard highlighting that Colorio would become mayor if Petty wins the primary and criticizing her political career. Colorio is the only registered Republican on the city council — although councilors are nonpartisan — and supported a school committee candidate in 2021 who made disparaging remarks about gay people.

In a Facebook post Monday night, Colorio called the mailer "very biased."

"It’s sad that I find myself dragged into the middle of a Democrat primary by a well-funded PAC," the post said. "I am labeled as an extremist by this PAC because I support the police, fire, teachers, students and working men and women of this great city. My votes reflect this support and I am proud of the votes and ideas I have put forth and taken for the city."

The mailer also drew attention to a vote in June on a resolution from At-Large Councilor Thu Nguyen supporting members of the LGBTQ+ community. Colorio delayed an initial vote on the item, and walked out of council chambers when the vote happened. The mailer also reminded voters that Colorio led an unsuccessful 2016 bid to remove common core standards in Massachusetts schools via ballot initiative.

Worcester Working Families Independent Expenditure PAC, founded in November 2020 by Worcester residents Doug Arbetter and Cara Berg Powers, sent the Colorio mailer. The PAC's two biggest donors are John and Jeanne Esler, and the PAC has in the past spent money to oppose Colorio and other conservative-leaning city councilors, including Moe Bergman, Kate Toomey and Candy Mero-Carlson.

In her Facebook post, Colorio claimed the Kennedy campaign is "closely aligned" with the Worcester Working Families PAC, but campaigns are not allowed to coordinate with PACs that support them. Colorio received support in the 2019 and 2021 city elections from the Massachusetts Majority Independent Expenditure PAC, which has been funded by major business leaders in Massachusetts, including Herb Chambers, car dealer Daniel Quirk and Wayfair Chairman Steven Conine.

A recent Petty campaign mail piece also drew a bit of smoke on Tuesday.

A Petty campaign mailer that arrived last week featured an endorsement from UMass Memorial nurse Ellen Smith. The mailer featured other prominent endorsements, including from a Worcester firefighters union, and from a nursing home employee.

"Nurses across the senate district know they have a friend in Joe Petty. He has stood with us and delivered," Smith said in the mailer.

Petty did back Massachusetts Nurses Association-represented nurses at Worcester's St. Vincent Hospital during their nearly year-long strike in 2021. But the MNA Tuesday said that it had endorsed neither Kennedy nor Petty in the senate race.

"A recent mailer from the Petty campaign may have misled voters on the official position of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which is to remain neutral in the upcoming primary election for the First Worcester Senate seat," the union said.

The MNA's statement prompted another PAC involved in the race — the Massachusetts Women for Progress PAC, also chaired by Berg Powers and funded in part by Essler — to scold the Petty campaign for implying endorsements during the summer campaign season.

"These implied endorsements have been a feature of this campaign, both on mailers and in frequent social media posts, where community members who feel compelled or even excited to take a picture with the mayor at a community event are unwittingly used as campaign props," a news release said. "This abuse of position especially puts nonprofit leaders and business leaders in our community — people who go out of their way to have a good working relationship with elected officials while steering clear of politics — in a difficult position."

Several weeks ago, the PAC criticized Petty for using a photo from a 2019 Central Mass Housing Alliance walk for the homeless, featuring the mayor standing in front of a crowd that appears to be cheering him on.

Petty has been explicitly endorsed by figures including State Treasurer Deb Goldberg, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, state Rep. James O'Day and the Carpenters Local 336 union. Kennedy, a former leader at the YWCA of Central Massachusetts, has been endorsed by former governor Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts Teacher's Association and former Worcester mayor Tim Murray, among others.

Ballots are being cast now for both candidates ahead of the Sept. 6 primary due to early and mail-in voting. The winner on Tuesday will almost certainly be the next 1st Worcester District state senator. The only other challenger in the race is independent candidate Lisa Mair of Berlin, who has raised just under $5,000 since launching her campaign in May.

More 1st Worcester senate primary coverage:

• Worcester 2022 Senate Race: Robyn Kennedy On Gender, Policy, Coffee
• Worcester 2022 Senate Race: Joe Petty On Gender, Mayoral Succession