Councilor Thu Nguyen Will Not Return To City Council Indefinitely

WORCESTER, MA - Councilor-at-Large Thu Nguyen will not be returning to the Worcester city council for an indefinite period time.

According to statement released on their Facebook page Wednesday morning, Nguyen said they will not be a member of performative politics and claied the council refuses to hold themselves accountable to an outburst of transphobia and discrimination.

"I will not be returning indefinitely to the council floor," Nguyen said.

It's the next chapter in a long, sprawling saga that began with Nguyen, the first openly-nonbinary person to be elected to council in Massachusetts, announcing they would take a hiatus.

Accompanying that statement were a series of allegations of LGBTQ+ discrimination by Mayor Joseph Petty and several other members of the council.

Nguyen returned to council last Tuesdayand was in attendance when Worcester officially adorned itself a "sanctuary" city for the LGBTQ+ community.

In their statement issued Wednesday morning, Nguyen said they would only consider resigning if Petty and fellow councilor Candy Mero-Carlson do so.

In their initial hiatus announcement Nguyen accused Mero-Carlson of referring to them as "it" multiple times. Fellow Worcester Councilor Khrystian King said they spoke with city staffers who confirmed Nguyen was referred to in that way.

According to the Telegram & Gazette, at last week's meeting councilors also considered a petition calling for an investigation into transphobia and discrimination allegations toward members. It was scrapped, and Nguyen left the meeting early and encouraged those in attendance to follow them.

"May we continue to be each other's hope and not stop until we are all free," Nguyen said. "This is not a surrender but a political reimagination, and I will see y'all on the ground."