In Run For Worcester District 1, Larry Shelter Wants To Fix Potholes, Maybe Uncover Canals

WORCESTER, MA —A regular Wednesday morning for Larry Shetler means meeting at the Route 12 Café with two friends, Steve Ferguson and Fred Kosiewski, for some breakfast and conversations about what's going on in Worcester.

Those conversations have spurred Shetler, 71, to run for the open District 1 Worcester City Council seat this year. Shetler is pretty frank about why he's running: he and his friends (and many others in Worcester) are seniors who still have plenty to contribute to civic life.

"We're not going to go out quietly into the night," he said.

Shetler, a resident at the Colony Retirement Homes, is one of three candidates running in 2023 for the District 1 seat being vacated by three-term Councilor Sean Rose. Shetler will face Jenny Pacillo and Dave Peterson — who are both in their 40s — in the Sept. 5 preliminary, which will narrow the field to two candidates.

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.

Shetler brings some unique municipal experience to the race. He’s originally from an Appalachian steel town about halfway between Pittsburgh and West Virginia, where he excelled as a student. He went to work in the 1970s as the economic development officer in Providence under Buddy Cianci — a notorious politician, but one who focused on revitalizing his city. Shetler, as an urban planner, worked on major projects like the Providence Place Mall and WaterFire, which takes place along the city’s downtown rivers.

Shetler and his friends agree: Worcester feels small compared to Providence (or even Hartford), even though it's the second-largest city in New England. They don't feel there's anyone with a unifying idea of what Worcester should be. Shetler points to the Saint-Gobain site in Greendale that the Worcester Business Development Corp. will focus on next. Everyone's excited, but Shetler hasn't even heard anything about who will pay to clean up the likely contaminated industrial site before anything can be built there.

Asked what big urban renewal projects he would do in Worcester if he had a magic wand, Shetler says he would build a direct way to access the airport and uncover the Blackstone canals, something that cities like San Antonio and Indianapolis have done to attract visitors.

But Shetler isn't necessarily aiming for anything so major if he gets elected. He's pragmatic about the power of individual city councilors in Worcester working in the Plan E government that puts most of the municipal power in the hands of the city manager. He said he would look for smaller wins, like fixing potholes and being fiscally responsible.

"If I get elected, probably nothing all by myself," he says of what he would do. "You kind of have to have a group of people, a coalition."

District 1 will soon be home to a permanent supportive housing development inside the former Quality Inn hotel. It's one of two projects in the district around homelessness that have upset some residents. Shetler was among them, joining the opposition to a six-room shelter in a Greendale church for families at a meeting in May.

He said he's not opposed to shelters but is uncertain about what they might cost local residents — an issue he says hits seniors especially. Shetler fears shelters might reduce home values or cause an increase in home insurance rates. He also says he's unsure if it's a good idea to have families in crisis living so close to each other.

Shetler moved to Worcester about six years ago to retire and be closer to family in Massachusetts. He met Ferguson and Kosiewski when they worked at a Patrick Mazda dealership. They are also members at the White Eagle (don't miss the second-annual Polish Fest coming up on Aug. 26, they advise) and members of a local Vietnam veterans group.

Wrapping up breakfast, Shetler reiterates three points about his run for city council: he's still very engaged, wants to fix the small stuff for local residents, but wants Worcester as a whole to be a better place to live.

"I will try hard to get a coalition together to get more than my personal interests resolved," he said. "There are some basics you can do [as a district councilor], but you got to have 10 people who have bright ideas."

More in this 2023 election series:

• Edson Montero Seeks Worcester District 5 Council Seat In 2023
• Ted Kostas Among 5 Candidates Seeking Worcester District 4 Seat
• Maureen Schwab Eyes Worcester District 4 Council Seat In 2023
• Jenny Pacillo Seeks Open District 1 Worcester Council Seat In 2023
• Dave Peterson Seeks Chance At Worcester District 1 Council Seat
• Rob Bilotta Runs For Worcester District 2 Council As Fresh Face
• Worcester D5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj Back For Second Term In 2023