But wait! Gary Rosen (the highest overall vote-getter), Kate Toomey (third place), and Grace Ross (sixth place) are all now considering jumping in to the mayoral fray.
Now I like Irish, Perotto, Rosen, and Toomey. I even respect Grace Ross. However, having three or more candidates in the mayor’s race is going to practically ensure that Lukes, a Democrat-in-name-only who doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being a consensus-builder in City Hall, wins in November. Lukes has a solid base of conservative votes locked up and appeals to anti-incumbent voters, even though she’s an incumbent as well.
I hope that the moderate and liberal candidates in the race keep that in mind. Support should coalesce around one forward-looking non-Lukes candidate, whether it’s Rushton (by virtue of winning the most votes for an already-declared, non-Lukes candidate for mayor) or someone else.
Worcester is on the way up, thanks to the hard work of coalitions built by Tim Murray, Jim McGovern, and other like-minded individuals in the city- some of whom are running for the council. Being Mayor of Worcester doesn’t have “strong mayor” authority, but as chair of both the council and the school committee, the mayor has a great deal of public visibility and practical influence over the city’s affairs. Worcester needs a new consensus-builder who will continue to move the city forward, not a mayor whose claim to fame is opposing projects and initiatives, regardless of merit, in the name of “the taxpayer.”
Indeed, convincing the other candidates to stay out of the mayoral race could very well be the first test of just such a consensus-builder. Time will tell.
I posted this on the wrong thread previously…why Grace Ross could be a benefit to getting the best candidate for Worcester elected…and that isn’t Grace Ross…
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Grace Ross was a resident in Somerville until she moved to Worcester 2 years ago.
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Grace clearly enjoyed the limelight during her foray in the Governor’s race. All that attention without the pressure of actually having to win the race is pretty special.
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Unfortunately, the public notoriety can expose both the best and worst qualities in a person as the desire to be in the spotlight can become addictive.
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Remember the night WBZ commentator Paul Sullivan called her out for making statements and refusing to come on the air to back them up? He kept up a non-stop heckle on air until she actually called in to end it. And come to find, he was correct about her. Long on rhetoric, short on solutions that are workable.
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I attended a public hearing held at the Worcester YWCA on women’s issues. Grace showed up. She did not sit in audience. She parked herself on a chair next to the dais, facing the audience as if she were the guest authority or something…and proceeded to pontificate on every subject brought up by any woman who came there to testify.
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Grace Ross can be seen everywhere trying to get in the photo-op….Last Spring, when the Unsung Heroines from across the state were honored at the State House, there was Grace Ross lurking in the Gardiner Auditorium lobby. She strategically placed herself in a doorway so the Governor would have to pass and see her as he departed…When he said hi to her, she stopped him and complained that the group sponsoring the woman’s event had not acknowledged her presence…the Governor was cornered and politiely asked his aide to go back and get a message to the Chair of the event asking that Grace be introduced to the crowd…the Governor left and grace hustled herself into the Gardiner and actually took a seat WITH THE WOMEN BEING HONORED THAT DAY and waited to be introduced…in about 5 minutes, the Chair introduced Grace and she stood and took (an undeserved, personally requested) bow.
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Unfortunately, I think Ms. Ross is bringing new meaning to the term “full of grace”…I hope she runs for Mayor in Worcester even though she has only had an apartment there for 2 years…she may actually provide a service to the community by splitting the female vote and sparing us the conservative Konnie Lukes.