Cipro, Haxhiaj On Top In Worcester City Council Primaries

WORCESTER, MA — The unofficial results of Worcester's 2021 preliminary election are in, showing who's leading in the District 1 and District 5 City Council contests.

In District 1, incumbent Councilor Sean Rose came in second to Worcester police union leader Richard Cipro. Those two will advance to the November general election with third place challenger David Shea Jr. picking up just 3.5 percent of the vote.

The wide open District 5 Council also had two clear front-runners. Etel Haxhiaj was in the lead with nearly 55 percent of the vote, and former state trooper Gregory Stratman picked up nearly 26 percent of the slightly more than 2,200 votes cast in the race.

The third and fourth place finishers in District 5 were Steve Quist with 13.2 percent and Yenni Desroches with 5.9 percent.

"We’ve met with voters across the district to engage everyone in our vision for a healthier, greener and safer community," Haxhiaj said just before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. "We look forward to entering the final stage of our campaign for victory in the general election on November 2nd. This is a crucial time in our city, when we have the opportunity to grow our prosperity for all neighborhoods and assure that the recovery is real for everyone. The Council has a huge job and I am ready for the work ahead."

Haxhiaj said she would be back on the campaign trail Wednesday morning with a standout rally on Newton Square.

Turnout was just under 5,000 in the race across both precincts, and eight ballots were blank, according to the clerk.

Here are the unofficial vote totals reported by the Worcester City Clerk Tuesday night:

District 1

• Sean Rose — 1,227 votes, 45.2%
• Richard Cipro — 1,384 votes, 51%
• David Shea Jr. — 95 votes, 3.5%

District 5

• Etel Haxhiaj — 1,215 votes, 54.7%
• Yenni Desroches — 133 votes, 5.9%
• Steve Quist — 295 votes, 13.2%
• Gregory Stratman — 569 votes, 25.6%

With Worcester's preliminary over, the focus will turn to the November general election, which will feature a larger number of City Council and School Committee races. Here's a sample of what the November ballot will look like if Tuesday's preliminary results hold:

City Council At-Large

• (i) Kate Toomey
• (i) Donna Colorio
• (i) Khrystian King
• (i) Joseph Petty
• Thu Nguyen
• (i) Morris Bergman
• (i) Matthew Wally
• Deborah Hall
• Guillermo Creamer
• Bill Coleman
• Peter Stefan

City Council District 1

• Richard Cipro
• (i) Sean Rose

City Council District 2

• (i) Candy Mero Carlson
• Johanna Hampton-Dance

City Council District 3

• (i) George Russell

City Council District 4

• (i) Sarai Rivera

City Council District 5

• Etel Haxhiaj
• Gregory Stratman

Worcester School Committee

• Sue Mailman
• Jermoh Kamara
• (i) Molly O'McCullogh
• Jermaine Johnson
• Shanel Soucy
• (i) Tracy O'Connell Novick
• (i) Laura Clancey
• (i) Dianna Biancheria

Sign up for email alerts here or like us on Facebook for the latest on local elections.