Politics & Government
Dave Peterson Searching For Home Run In Worcester District 1 Council Race
Dave Peterson, the beating heart of the Worcester Bravehearts, is one of three candidates running for the open District 1 seat in 2023.
WORCESTER, MA — Worcester City Council meetings have been called a "chaotic mess" due to raucous public speakers and debates over issues ranging from nuclear bombs to Byzantine rules of procedure.
But no city council meeting will ever hold a candle to a Worcester Bravehearts game, especially on "camp day."
The July 27 morning game against the Nashua Silver Nights was a madhouse packed with kids from Paxton, Belmont, Dedham, Sudbury and beyond. As the Fitton Field sound system careened between Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5" and "Frolic," the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" theme, small children and their chaperones flowed like starlings around the stadium, grabbing for hot dogs and soda and queuing for photos with Bravehearts players in neon green uniforms. In one moment, a fly ball into the concession area miraculously missed a Holy Cross police officer and a group of kids.
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In the center of it was Bravehearts General Manager Dave Peterson, who patrolled the stadium talking to campers and putting out fires. It's an extremely busy job for the ex-WXLO promotions manager, but one he appears to really like (even if he now has to compete with a certain Boston Red Sox affiliate in town).
This is part of a series profiling the 14 candidates who will compete in the Sept. 5 Worcester city council preliminary elections. Patch has reached out to every candidate in each preliminary race seeking interviews.
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And now Peterson is looking to add more to his plate. He's one of three candidates vying for the open Worcester City Council District 1 seat with councilor Sean Rose bowing out. This is the first year an incumbent will be absent from the race since 2017 — the year that one of Peterson's political mentors, Tony Economou, decided not to run for reelection to the District 1 seat he held for three terms.
Peterson said he decided to run this year after seeing Rose bow out, but also because of his involvement in local business. At a North Worcester Small Business Association meeting in February with City Manager Eric Batista, Peterson said he asked about the city's commercial tax rate. Economou approached Peterson after the interaction and encouraged him to run. Peterson's neighbor is ex-school committee member John Monfredo, who's also lent advice to Peterson's 2023 run.
"I've never done politics before," he said. "With the guidance of Tony and John, they have both really had me focusing on who I need to talk to and how I need to do this, and how I can win."
Peterson, 43, says he's focused on small business issues and increasing the city's commercial base. He's on the board of the tourism agency Discover Central Mass, and describes the Bravehearts as a small, local business trying to survive like any other. He doesn't criticize Polar Park and the Worcester Red Sox, but says he's keenly aware of how important it is that the city make sure the funding mechanism for the stadium doesn't harm taxpayers.
Like opponents in the District 1 race, Peterson wants to be deeply involved in the Worcester Business Development Corp.'s plans to revitalize a section of Greendale that includes a portion of the Saint-Gobain factory. Having more businesses in town helps boost city programs down the line, he said.
"That spills over to affordable housing, road repairs and how the city can staff beaches and how we build new schools," he said of the commercial tax base.
He says the job of a city councilor is to be the voice of voters inside City Hall. He describes his political outlook as "fiscal conservative, social moderate."
"The role of the city council is to stick up for the residents and bring up concerns that forces the city manager to act," he said.
Peterson grew up in Medway and described himself as the opposite of a sports guy, playing on his school's golf team, but more interested in competing in the Science Olympiad. He attended Syracuse University, majoring in broadcast journalism, leading him to a promotions job at WXLO, where he says he learned to campaign. Working for the Bravehearts (and under the previous name, the Tornadoes), he's done everything from leading little league parades to dressing up as the team mascot.
That's the type of energy he says he'll bring to the council: appealing to residents one memorable interaction at a time.
"I've been campaigning in this city for 20 years," he said. "I'm always rooting for Worcester."
More in this 2023 election series:
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