Why Candy Mero-Carlson Wants 4th Worcester Council Term

WORCESTER, MA — Voters in perhaps Worcester's most diverse City Council district will have a choice in 2021 between a three-term incumbent and a political newcomer.

Candy Mero-Carlson won the District 2 seat in 2015 following more than a decade of representation under Philip Palmieri. She coasted to reelection in 2017 and 2019 with no challenger, but will face off on Nov. 2 against Johanna Hampton-Dance, whose campaign has focused on the rising cost of housing in Worcester.

District 2 encompasses downtown Worcester and the Canal District and has perhaps seen the biggest developments of any part of Worcester in recent years: Polar Park, new hotels, and several major residential developments on the table, plus the WuXi Biologics along Belmont Street at the former state hospital site.

The two candidates also have a different take on policing in Worcester. Both say they support police, but Hampton-Dance acknowledges there is racism inside the department and that "non-violent de-escalation and removal of weapons from our police force are necessities to protect our residents from the lethal harm of racism." Mero-Carlson has voted against removing police from Worcester schools and voted for the new ShotSpotter Connect tool that purportedly helps police predict where crime will occur.

Worcester Patch asked both Mero-Carlson and Hampton-Dance to answer a candidate questionnaire ahead of the Nov. 2 election. Here's what Mero-Carlson said:

Why did you decide to run in 2021?

I am running for re-election. I am proud to say that In the 6 years that I’ve been on the City Council I’ve worked to bring residents and city government together to get results for District 2. Working together, we have cleared the backlog of streets in the district that were waiting to be repaved and we have made record investments in our parks and playgrounds. As Chairwoman of the City Council’s Economic Development Committee, I have brought the same approach as I have brought to the district. Bringing people together to work towards our shared goals, I am proud of the work that the Economic Development Committee has done to bring new development to Worcester and transform our City’s economic future.

Why did I decide to seek re-election? The simple answer is that District 2 and the City overall are moving in the right direction, but I truly believe that our best days lie ahead and I look forward to helping us move in that direction.

Worcester has seen a lot of new development in recent years, a lot of it in the district. But what parts of the district outside the downtown and lakeside areas do you think need to be redeveloped?

As your question notes and my previous answer in question one alludes to, I am proud to serve as the first female Chairwoman of the Economic Development Committee. Much of the progress the Committee has worked on is indeed in this district. Our efforts in the Canal District – obviously starting with Polar Park – to Shrewsbury Street to the Biotech Park to a renovated Lincoln Plaza have made a difference for both our tax base and quality of life for our residents. We need to, and will, build on that growth with smart development that balances job growth with neighborhood preservation. Lincoln Street is one such example of a need for development that is balanced by quality of life parameters.

D2 also contains some of the city's main roads, including Belmont, Shrewsbury and Plantation. What are some of your transportation priorities in the district?

Two very different types of roads listed in your question:

On primarily residential roads, my priority is to work with residents on the quality of their streets and sidewalks while working to ensure speed enforcement to ensure residents’ safety.

For primarily business zones, especially those that rely on a retail component, my priority is to work with businesses on the quality of their streets and sidewalks while also working to ensure adequate parking and traffic safety.

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Worcester has seen a renewed debate about police spending since summer 2020. What's your view of the police department budget, and do you think some of its resources should be redirected to social services?

Ensuring safe neighborhoods and resident quality of life is one of the reasons I first ran in 2015. I have been proud to lead an effort on the city council to bring on 257 new police officers and firefighters to keep our City’s neighborhoods safe. Each month, as a City Councilor from District 2, I have an opportunity to meet with residents from 11 neighborhood crime watches to hear their assessment of what we do well as a City to keep our neighborhoods safe and what we can do better. It is that approach that I take to our public safety budget as well as other City Departments. There are things we currently do very well and things we can always improve upon. Taking that approach, I carefully review the City Administration’s police and fire budgets…offer thoughts on areas I think we can do better…and consistently have been supportive of those budgets.

As a City Councilor, what do you think your role is in stopping or slowing the climate crisis?

I am working with the City Administration as we implement The Green Worcester Sustainability and Resilience Strategic Plan that I was pleased to vote in favor of this past April 27, 2021.

If you win in November, what will be your priority (or priorities) coming into office in 2022?

Worcester — including District 2 — is moving in the right direction. If the voters of District 2 send me back to the Council, I will continue to focus on getting results for our neighborhoods. My priority will be residents’ quality of life by working with them and city government to continue our efforts with improved streets, sidewalks, parks and playgrounds while ensuring safe neighborhoods. I will also focus on smart economic development that focuses on job creation while balancing development with quality of life for our residents.

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