Worcester Votes 2021: Primary Election Guide

WORCESTER, MA — Many Worcester voters will go to the polls Tuesday to narrow the field of candidates running for City Council seats in District 1 and District 5. Worcester Patch has put together a preliminary election guide covering everything from candidate profiles to information about where and when to vote.

Who's running

In the District 1 City Council race, incumbent Councilor Sean Rose is facing a challenge from David Shea Jr. and Worcester police Sgt. Richard Cipro. Rose is the only incumbent competing in the 2021 preliminary, although District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson will face off against challenger Johanna Hampton-Dance in the November general election.

The District 5 race is wide open with four candidates. Incumbent Matthew Wally is aiming for an At-Large Council seat in 2021. He'll face off against 10 other candidates, including incumbents Khrystian King, Mayor Joseph Petty, Donna Colorio, Kate Toomey and Morris Bergman.

After the primary, the District 1 and 5 races will be whittled down to two candidates each.

Candidate profiles

Beginning in July, Patch asked each of the seven candidates running in the District 1 and District 5 to answer candidate questionnaires. You can read each profile below in order of how the candidates will appear on the ballot. Some candidates did not respond.

District 1

• Richard Cipro
• David Shea Jr. — Did not respond
• (i) Sean Rose

District 5

• Yenni Desroches
• Stephen Quist
• Gregory Stratman — Did not respond
• Etel Haxhiaj

Campaign cash

Preliminary elections aren't typically as cash-intensive as general elections, but looking at fundraising figures can give you an idea about how much support candidates have. Here's a look at how much cash each candidate had available as of Aug. 31, according to state records.

District 1

• Richard Cipro — $20,044.03
• David Shea Jr. — $2,086.97
• (i) Sean Rose — $11,545.14

District 5

• Yenni Desroches — $1,486.18
• Stephen Quist — $834.32
• Gregory Stratman — $732.35
• Etel Haxhiaj — $24,601.19

Voting

Voting will be confined to just residents in Districts 1 and 5 (see a map of Worcester City Council districts here). If you want to head to the polls on Sept. 14, you can find your polling place on the Worcester City Clerk website.

Voters who applied for an absentee ballot before last week's deadline can drop them off in several locations across the city, including at polling places, two drop boxes outside City Hall and at 10 fire stations across the city. See all the locations here.

On Monday, Secretary of State William Galvin warned absentee voters that it's now too late to mail in ballots. During a pre-election news conference in Boston Monday, Galvin said ballots might take between three and five days when sent via mail. Galvin advised voters who requested an absentee ballot but did get one yet to try and vote in person on Tuesday.

Election results

Worcester 2021 preliminary election results will be available beginning Tuesday night after polls close. Worcester Patch will post them as soon as they are available. Sign up for email alerts here or like us on Facebook for the latest on local elections.