Guillermo Creamer Jr. Enters Worcester 2021 City Council Race

WORCESTER, MA — Human Rights Commission member Guillermo Creamer Jr. formally entered the 2021 Worcester City Council race on Tuesday, and says he is running to shake up a Council that may feel invisible to many city residents.

Creamer, 26, joins a field of more than two dozen potential City Council candidates. As an At-Large candidate, he'll be up against incumbents Donna Colorio, Mayor Joseph Petty, Khrystian King, Kate Toomey and Morris Bergman. District 5 Councilor Matthew Wally is also running for an At-Large seat in 2021 due to Gary Rosen's retirement.

Creamer is also one of several LGBTQ candidates running in 2021. Southeast Asian Coalition projects director Thu Nguyen is running for an At-Large seat as the first nonbinary candidate. Deb Hall, an openly gay woman and YMCA domestic violence services director, is also running in 2021.

In his campaign announcement, Creamer highlighted his Worcester roots as a graduate of Elm Park Community School, Nativity School of Worcester and Bancroft School. But he said his family struggled when he was young, packing up and moving whenever the rent got too high.

Gentrification in Worcester is one of his main concerns as a candidate. He said developments like Polar Park are great for the city, but fears longtime residents may get left behind.

"We're doing this great job in welcoming people from outside the city moving into Worcester, at the same time we're forgetting about the residents," he said.

Creamer moved away to attend college in Washington, D.C., where he founded a nonprofit, Pay Our Interns, aimed at ending unpaid internships in government. He returned to Worcester just before the pandemic ramped up and began working at a Boston-area nonprofit.

Now back home, Creamer said he's ready to have "uncomfortable conversations to reach solutions" as a Councilor.

"We're missing a new perspective in the City Council," Creamer said in a recent interview with Patch. "We're at a pivotal moment where we're going to enter a post-pandemic era. If our leadership remains the same, then things stay cyclical."

Related 2021 Worcester Election Coverage:

• Thu Nguyen Running As First Nonbinary Worcester Council Candidate
• Worcester 2021 Election: 31 Candidates Pull Papers To Run
• Newcomer Challenging Worcester Councilor Mero-Carlson In 2021
• Deb Hall Launches Bid For Worcester City Council
• Worcester Councilor Wally To Run For At-Large Seat In 2021
• Worcester 2021 Election: 2 File To Run For City Council