Worcester 2021 Election: 24 Candidates Qualifying So Far

WORCESTER, MA — An important milestone in the 2021 Worcester city election is coming up on with candidates under a Tuesday deadline to submit signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

As of Thursday, two dozen candidates had already submitted enough signatures to get on the ballot, including all but two incumbents and a slew of challengers.

Although many candidates have been campaigning for months, some surprising new contenders have emerged recently.

Two police officers have gathered enough signatures, including state police Sgt. Gregory Stratman and Worcester police union leader Richard Cipro — known for clashing with city officials, and co-administering a Facebook page that often features right-wing memes.

Worcester mortician Peter A. Stefan has gathered enough signatures to run for an at-large City Council seat. He recently made a write-in bid for the Governor's Council, and is known for helping bury poor and marginalized people. He also attracted attention in 2013 for offering to bury Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

Former District 5 Councilor Wayne Griffin is also collecting signatures for that same seat, along with longtime political activist Stephen Quist. The District 5 spot is open in 2021 with Councilor Matthew Wally seeking an at-large seat.

To qualify for the ballot, City Council and School Committee at-large candidates need to collect a minimum of 300 valid signatures from Worcester residents. District Council candidates only have to collect 100 signatures.

But, the City Clerk recommends each candidate get at least 20 percent above those minimums in case any signatures get challenged or thrown out during the certification process.

Here's a look at the candidates who had returned enough signatures as of May 6 to get on the ballot, pending certification.

City Council At-Large

• (i) Donna Colorio, 440 signatures
• (i) Joseph Petty, 395 signatures
• (i) Morris A. Bergman, 308 signatures
• Thu Nguyen, 310 signatures
• (i) Kate Toomey, 446 signatures
• Deborah Hall, 336 signatures
• (i) Matthew Wally, 361 signatures
• Guillermo Creamer, 325 signatures
• Bill Coleman, 317 signatures
• Peter A. Stefan, 315 signatures

Not yet qualified

• (i) Khrystian King, 208 signatures
• Jonathan Rodriguez, 37 signatures
• Kevin P. Kelly, none reported
• Roger Frost, none reported
• Sony Asmath, none reported
• Rafael Rosso, none reported
• Diallo Frys, none reported
• Shirley Konneh, none reported

City Council District 1

• (i) Sean Rose, 129 signatures
• Richard Cipro, 137 signatures

Not yet qualified

• David Shea Jr., none reported
• Samantha A. Martin, none reported

City Council District 2

• Johanna Hampton-Dance, 113 signatures
• (i) Candy Mero Carlson, 134 signatures

Not yet qualified

• Sony Asmath, none reported
• Rafael Rosso, none reported

City Council District 3

• (i) George Russell, 198 signatures

City Council District 4

• (i) Sarai Rivera, 102 signatures

Not yet qualified

• Ethan Lutz, none reported

City Council District 5

• Etel Haxhiaj, 209 signatures
• Yenni Desroches, 178 signatures
• Gregory Stratman, 111 signatures

Not yet qualified

• Wayne A. Griffin, none reported
• Porcha-Marie J. Williams, none reported
• Stephen Quist, none reported
• Roger Frost, none reported

Worcester School Committee (all at-large)

• (i) Tracy O'Connell Novick, 336 signatures
• (i) Molly O McCullogh, 351 signatures
• Jermoh Kamara, 344 signatures
• (i) Dianna Biancheria, 301 signatures
• Sue Mailman, 419 signatures

Not yet qualified

• (i) Laura Clancy, 260 signatures
• Richard Chesnis, none reported
• Shanel Soucy, 256 signatures
• German Fuentes, 101 signatures
• Jermaine Johnson, 299 signatures