Worcester 2022 Senate Race: Joe Petty On Gender, Mayoral Succession

WORCESTER, MA — One of the most consequential state Senate races in Massachusetts is playing out in Worcester this year.

Former YWCA leader Robyn Kennedy and Worcester Mayor Joe Petty will face off in the Sept. 6 Democratic primary for the chance to replace retiring state Sen. Harriette Chandler — a local progessive icon, and the first woman to represent the First Worcester District in the Senate.

Kennedy, who resigned as a vice president at the YWCA of Central Massachusetts during the campaign, was the first candidate to officially enter the race in early March following Chandler's reitrement announcement in January, followed a week later by Petty.

The race has heated up in recent months. Kennedy has pulled endorsements from former lietenant governor — and Worcester mayor — Tim Murray and former governor Deval Patrick. U.S. Sen. Ed Markey has endorsed Petty, and both candidates have pulled support from prominent local musicians. Kennedy held an event with "The Voice" contestant and Grafton native Ricky Duran, and Petty has an event on Sunday — the first day of early voting — with rapper and Worcester native Joyner Lucas.

In Worcester, Petty faces a unique electoral prospect. He says a win will mean a solid voice for Worcester and other local towns in the district. A win would also trigger a shuffling of local elected officials: At-Large Councilor Donna Colorio would take over as mayor since she got the second-most votes in the 2021 election; and former District 5 councilor Matt Wally would be given the first chance at taking over Colorio's seat. Colorio would also take over as chair of the school committee as part of her mayoral duties.

Worcester Patch interviewed both Petty and Kennedy to talk about their campaigns, reasons for running and issues surrounding the race. Here's what Petty told us about his campaign and what he would do in the state Senate. [Read Kennedy's interview here.]

Can you tell me about your process for deciding to run for this seat?

So about [the end of 2021] I heard [Chandler] may not be running. I waited because she wasn't going to run two years before that, either. You never know until it's really done. Once she announced it, and I was thinking about it and had talked to a few people, I thought it was a good time to run after doing COVID-19 for the last two years.

I feel I could work hard and really take off on what she already started. I've had the experience and I get a lot of results here in the city of Worcester by working together with people

Worcester has really gone in the right direction in the last 10 years. It's a changed city. I'm glad I was with the leader of that, working with other people, of course. And I just thought going to the statehouse this time would be the right thing to do to bring back some resources to Worcester.

One major job of state lawmakers is bringing funds home from the state. What are some local projects in Worcester and other towns in the district you would like to see get state funding?

Definitely mental health. We don't even understand the impact yet of COVID-19. And I know the state just passed a law for a mental health emergency room wait period. They put some money into that, and also for wellness checks [read about that bill here]. Mental health to me is almost the same as physical health. I don't care if you're a child or an adult, we know COVID-19 has an impact on a number of people. From a policy level, I’d like to see growing and addressing of mental health issues.

And housing is an issue. We were just talking about when did Worcester become unaffordable? It's getting to that point where I worry my kids won't be able to buy a house. And in the towns, it's not much different than Worcester. So housing is important to me, along with education. I’d also like to see the Massachusetts School Building Authority … I think they need help and more money.

The environment is always an issue. Worcester is headed in the right direction. By 2050 we have our Green Worcester Plan. We’re chipping away at that. We got the largest solar array in Massachusetts here. We did our LED lighting.

Issues I hear about in the towns are almost the same: traffic, public safety is always important. In each town, I would meet with the administrators on a regular basis and elected officials to determine what they want. I wouldn't want to tell them what I want.

We just saw Boston Mayor Michelle Wu start the application process to be part of the pilot program banning fossil fuels in new developments. But Worcester hasn’t decided to do that yet.

It's a good goal to have. I'd look at it probably after the [Worcester City Council] Economic Development Committee has a hearing on it and see both sides. Even if we voted it tomorrow, I don't think National Grid has the capabilities of even doing it. I don't know what their infrastructure is like. This is by talking to people. I haven’t had a hearing to discuss it on the record or anything like that, but my understanding is there are a lot of obstacles in the way of getting it done right away. That doesn't mean we're not going to try to chip away at it.

I did want to ask about the issue of gender in the race. Harriette Chandler was the first woman to hold this state Senate seat. Your primary opponent is a woman, so what are your thoughts on that?

Gender is very important. Harriette has done a great job. There's no question about that. I decided to run in this race because I'm results driven and I’m going to bring back some of the resources that we need in the First Worcester District. I'm ready and prepared, and I’ve got a good track record.

Do you feel like maybe women in politics are losing out if, frankly, a man wins this seat?

I think gender is very important, and I think I can represent the issues that address women's concerns. And I've done it already with the ROE Act [Chandler’s signature abortion access legislation]. I was one of the few mayors that supported Chandler and the ROE Act. So I understand I represent everybody as an elected official and I would just continue to do that.

What do you think are the main differences between you and Robyn Kennedy?

I have a record, results-driven, and experience knowing people, decision-makers, whether it be at the federal, state or local level. So I'm ready to hit the ground running.

Are there any policy differences or areas where you disagree with something she stands for?

We're pretty closely aligned in some respects. I’ve known Robyn for years, and she's known me, we're friends really in some respects. I'm doing my own race, and I’m proud.

[Worcester] was ranked the third-safest place to live in America by U.S. News and World Report. It didn't just happen by accident. Back in 2014, we had some violence in the city of Worcester, and we put together a youth violence prevention task force. We invested with the police department to make sure everyone was working together. We had tons of different agencies working with these individuals and not just the kid, but the family. It's made a difference, you know. So making sure the police were equipped and well-trained and understand the issues. Now we're doing the counselors who will go out into the field and train with police.

[UMass Memorial’s Community Healthlink is in the midst of building a co-response program to send mental health counselors into the field with Worcester police.]

Are you saying public safety is one area that you disagree with Robyn or differ somehow?

It's never come up with Robin. I haven't heard her talk about it, so I can't say yeah. We never defunded the police.

I don't think anyone has.

A lot of cities did. I think they did? Boston did, right?

It’s something that people like Marjorie Taylor Greene say to scare people, but I don't think it's actually happened. Even in Minneapolis, they didn't.

[At this point, Petty, campaign manager Kate Norton and a reporter discussed Boston’s police budget. Boston did cut police overtime, but an ACLU analysis the amount could still increase beyond what was budgeted.]

If you win this seat, have you decided if you would step down as mayor, or would the Senate want you to step down?

I don't know the answer about the Senate rules. But my intention is not to hold two positions. Now say for example, if [acting City Manager Eric Batista] is like three weeks away from being appointed city manager, and if I had to stick around for a short period of time, I would, but my intention is not.

So if you win and you’re inaugurated in January, you wouldn't say like, ‘I'm gone the same day that I'm inaugurated to the Senate, I'm leaving City Hall.’ It could be a little longer or maybe shorter?

It could be shorter too, yeah. I'd probably stay right up to the point where I had to leave.

If you leave, At-Large City Councilor Donna Colorio becomes mayor. She’s seen as more conservative than some other councilors. How do you feel about someone with a different political view from yours coming in and taking over?

This is a democracy. People voted her in. In the [2021] mayor’s race, she came in second. She's recognized as an elected official. It's one year and the [2023] election will start probably in January, I would think.

When Tim Murray was the mayor and ran for lieutenant governor, we all got behind him knowing that he'd be leaving and give Worcester more opportunities. We weren’t worried about who was taking his place. It worked out pretty good, and time goes by fast, and the city's pretty strong.

Are you saying the votes people cast for her in 2021 are kind of a vote of confidence in her as mayor?

[Colorio came in second in the 2021 mayor’s race with 4,153 votes to Petty’s 10,100.]

People voted her in. I guess people have to find out. She’d have to put her name on the ballot and find out come November [2023]. I’m just saying that if you look at other elected officials who’ve moved on, I wouldn’t be the first person.

What in your view is the role of mayor in Worcester?

It's a bully pulpit, there's no question about that. It's setting a legislative agenda. Like at the inauguration, I lay out an agenda of what I want to get done and pretty much focus on that in each term. It's about working together. It's about going out in the community, which I do greatly. And I think it makes an impact, especially during the last several years when you had some of the tensions in the communities of color. I’d go out in the community, I met with people, and I went out of my way, so if an incident did happen they would know me personally. I wasn't just showing up when something happened. If I walked through the community today, most of the people would probably know me cause I showed up to their event.

[During the interview at Birchtree Bread Co., a man with two children walked up to greet Petty]

Even if it's just for a year, do you think Colorio would set a legislative agenda that would be too extreme or too out of step?

Remember too, you need six votes. You need six votes to get anything done.

For example, if council wanted to debate removing the Christopher Columbus statue, could Colorio just say, ‘No, we're not even going to have that debate.’ Is that a concern for you at all?

Under the rules of the council, you couldn't stop a debate. So someone can put something on that calendar, it's either up or down.

So as mayor, if someone wants to put something on that council agenda, the mayor can't say no?

I can file it, but that’s the only thing I can do. The only power you have is if it's against the rules of the council, which is very few things. So on the council, we request a motion to file. And then I need five other people [to vote with me]. Otherwise, it fails.

You've knocked on a lot of doors during the campaign. What was one moment that stands out to you?

Favorite moment? I meet a lot of good people. I think it was in West Boylston, this lady opens the door, she looks at me, goes, ‘I'm voting for you! I'll never forget what you did.’ She says, ‘I had a daycare center and I watched you every day. When you, Ed [former city manager Ed Augustus Jr.] and [Dr. Michael] Hirsh got up and spoke, you guided me through [the pandemic]. It made me feel good at the end of the day.

What's the single most important endorsement you've received during this race and why?

I like the [U.S. Sen. Ed Markey] endorsement; I thought that was a nice endorsement. The people are doing, you wouldn't even know them, but they're doing the little videos for me. And they're doing those because they're speaking from their heart, and it’s because I've been out in their communities.

The first one up on our site, she was associated with the Unitarian church. We had 749 people come from Afghanistan. We had a family of 12 that was ready to go into an apartment and the landlord got scared and said, ‘You know, we can't, but not because we’re against people from Afghanistan.’ They thought there was going to be too many. So they called me and I get an answer. I found out what the law was, and they were actually eligible to put that family into that house.

Within the First Worcester district, what's your go-to spot for a cup of coffee?

You want me to lose votes? I go to In House on Shrewsbury Street, Fuel America on Grove Street and Route 12 Cafe has good coffee. And I have coffee almost every day at the Miss Worcester diner.