Guillermo Creamer Is In 2023 Worcester Mayoral Race To 'Win It'

WORCESTER, MA — Guillermo Creamer has something that no other candidate running in Worcester's 2023 elections has: the backing of both the progressive and business communities.

Just a few days before Election Day, with attack ads flying online and in mailboxes across the city, Creamer is unique for carrying endorsements from Progress Worcester PAC backed by the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Boston developer Winn Companies, among others; he’s also endorsed by Worcester Working Families, a PAC funded prominently by philanthropist Patty Eppinger that exclusively supports progressive candidates.

“I'd like to think my values are progressive, but to me, progress means working with everyone,” he says.

Creamer is one of four candidates running in the 2023 mayoral race, a dual contest where candidates must also win an at-large council seat. Both PACs are endorsing Creamer for a council seat, not for mayor. Progress Worcester is backing six-term Mayor Joseph Petty, and Worcester Working Families has only endorsed mayoral candidate Khyrstian King for at-large.

Creamer, 29, might already be familiar to voters. He ran for an at-large council seat in 2021, finishing ninth in a 10-candidate race for six seats. His run for mayor in 2023 is meant to expand on the 5,300 votes he earned two years ago and is the latest turn in Creamer's accelerated entry into the local political scene after moving back to his hometown in 2020.

Creamer left Worcester after graduating from the Bancroft School to attend American University in Washington, DC. He never finished at American due to the high tuition cost, and found himself interning in political offices — including for U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford — and not getting paid for it. The no-pay experience inspired him and fellow DC-area intern Carlos Mark Vera to form the nonprofit Pay Your Interns. The group’s work has resulted in interns working in Congress, the White House, and the U.S. Department of State actually getting paid. The group now works on behalf of unpaid interns nationwide, Creamer said. He recently took over for Vera as interim executive director and also works as a consultant for a local family, a role he can’t talk publicly about.

After the 2021 election, Creamer remained engaged in local politics. He was part of the political realignment that followed former senator Harriette Chandler’s retirement announcement in 2022. Many thought state Rep. David LeBoeuf would run for Chandler's seat, leaving an opportunity for Creamer to make a run for LeBoeuf’s seat — although LeBoeuf never ended up entering the race.

Creamer also joined the Worcester Human Rights Commission and served as its chair. He was also in charge of community outreach for the city’s Now | Next master planning process. As a human rights commissioner, he took part in key discussions about the police body camera program, and even legalizing psychedelics.

Creamer knew he wanted to run for Worcester council again in 2023, he said, but didn't want to run against Etel Haxhiaj in District 5, where he lives.

“I wanted to push a vision of something new, and we hadn't had a true mayoral race in a really long time,” he said.

He recalls having about a 90-minute conversation with Petty about a mayoral run before making the decision earlier this year.

“I remember at the end of the conversation he said, 'Are you sure you want to do this?' I said I feel really strongly about this, and I care deeply about this city,” he recalls. “I consider [Petty] a friend.”

Creamer, who would be Worcester's first openly gay mayor, announced his run on April 19 in a 3-minute internet video complete with drone shots of the city and an origin story — a campaign announcement as slick and inspirational as you might see from a candidate running for governor or congress. He said his early entry into the race (Petty was first to announce in December) "forced the hand" of city councilors who might’ve waited until the fall to announce a mayoral run. King launched his campaign in June, and At-Large Councilor Donna Colorio waited until the deadline on Sept. 12.

Running for mayor in Worcester has in the past been used as a strategy for candidates who want to pick up votes in the at-large race. Mayoral candidates appear on the ballot twice under the mayoral section and the at-large section. Colorio won her seat in 2019 running for both mayor and at-large, and Creamer won't complain if he picks up a seat but loses the mayoral race.

“One of the things I've made pretty clear is if I’m not your mayoral choice, I do think I've earned your city council vote,” he said.

Creamer’s launch video touches on some key social issues in Worcester, including education, housing, and the development boom centered around Polar Park. His family came to Massachusetts first living in Cambridge and East Boston before settling in Worcester, where Creamer says he grew up in a series of triple-deckers as an English language learner.

"We've heard the city is going through a renaissance but for who?" he says in the video.

He does note some of his biggest donors this year were James Umphrey, co-owner of the Northborough commercial real estate firm Kelleher and Sadowsky, and his son James "Jay" Umphrey, a Kelleher and Sadowsky broker and former Bancroft classmate. The Umphreys have been Petty donors over the years and gave to 2023 council candidates Candy Mero-Carlson and Jose Rivera. During a conversation earlier this year, Creamer said Humphrey admired Creamer’s willingness to sit down and listen. Creamer says he got the Progress Worcester business PAC endorsement probably because he supports lower taxes for small businesses.

Creamer is also a proponent of opening the city charter for review. Worcester is one of only three cities in Massachusetts with a strong city manager system. Residents in cities like Framingham and Marlborough have strong mayors and city councils elected directly by voters. In Worcester, voters elect councilors and a weak mayor who, in theory, keep the city manager in check. But in Worcester, the unelected city manager ultimately decides what gets done.

“I want to be the last weak mayor Worcester elects,” Creamer’s campaign website says.

Creamer frequently uses the word “progressive” to describe himself and his policy leanings. He’s also been asked whether his run hurts the other progressive in the race: King.

It’s possible Creamer will appeal to would-be King voters, giving Petty an advantage. The other two candidates, At-Large Councilor Donna Colorio and Bill Coleman, have tougher paths to victory. Colorio is one of the more conservative members of the council and a member of the city Republican party in a strongly Democratic city. Coleman hasn't drawn more than about 1,500 votes in his mayoral runs over the last few decades. Petty has earned more than 10,000 votes in each of his last three mayoral elections. King got about 7,800 votes in 2021, about 1,000 votes behind Petty in that year's at-large race.

"The reality is, I had very proudly made this decision several months before Councilor King did," he said when asked about potentially splitting the progressive vote.

He calls that idea "Trumpian" that he should’ve left the race in solidarity with the other progressive on the ballot.

“I am a firm believer that anyone who wants to try something should be able to try,” he said. “I plan on running this race to win.”

This part of a series of Worcester 2023 mayoral candidate profiles. Neither Colorio nor Coleman responded to interview requests. Read King's profile here, and Petty's profile here.