Worcester 2023 Election: Who Pulled Papers To Run On First Day

WORCESTER, MA — Twenty-five people who will potentially run in Worcester's 2023 election visited the Election Commission window at City Hall Tuesday to pull nomination papers, according to the clerk.

The filing period will stay open until May 30, which means many more candidates will likely file to run in the coming weeks Each potential candidate also has to collect enough valid signatures — between 100 and 300, depending on the office — to get on the ballot, subject to certification by the clerk.

Here are some takeaways from the first day of the filing period:

Biancheria back: former school committee member Dianna Biancheria will likely run for a new district committee seat. She lost her seat in the 2021 election, and was one of two candidates to fail to earn enough votes to make it into the top six.

District 3 challenge: Incumbent councilor George Russell could face his first challenger since the 2017 election. Feanna Jattan-Singh pulled papers to run Monday. Outside City Hall, Russell is known for his real estate office — Jattan-Singh is also a real estate agent.

Crowded District 4: With Sarai Rivera retiring, the city council District 4 race has attracted four potential candidates. If all four qualify, the September preliminary election will whittle down the number to two.

District 1 race: Jenny Pacillo was the only declared candidate in the open District 1 race — until Tuesday. Potential candidate Joseph Rubino also pulled papers.

New school committee names: Apart from Biancheria, John Patrick Reed pulled papers to run for the new District E school committee seat. Gabe Rodriguez, who works at the gang rehabilitation and re-entry program Legendary Legacies, announced in February that he'll run for District E, but didn't pull papers Tuesday.

Here are the potential candidates who pulled papers on Tuesday. An (i) means the candidate is an incumbent:

City Council At-Large

• Bill Coleman
• Donna Colorio (i)
• Johanna Hampton-Dance
• Khrystian King (i)
• Maydee Morales
• Domenica Perrone
• Joseph Petty Jr. (i)
• Jose Rivera
• Kate Toomey (i)

District 1 City Council

• Jenny Pacillo
• Joseph Rubino

District 2 City Council

• Candy Mero-Carlson (i)

District 3 City Council

• Feanna Jattan-Singh
• George Russell (i)

District 4 Council

• Theodore Kostas
• Maria Montano
• Katia Norford
• Maureen Schwab

At-Large School Committee

• Tracy O'Connell Novick (i)
• Laura Clancey (i)
• Susan Mailman (i)

School Committee District A

• Molly McCullough (i)

School Committee District C

• Dianna Biancheria

School Committee District E

• John Patrick Reed

School Committee District F

• Jermaine Johnson (i)