by Grace Ross

Worcester is a city rich in so many ways! Worcester was home to the case that prompted Massachusetts to outlaw slavery before any other state. Worcester hosted the first women’s rights convention. Our forebears refused to enforce immoral fugitive slave laws.

As an immigrant City, we have layers and layers of wonderful cultures and peoples. Worcester’s days are filled with numerous activities, festivals and opportunities for exploration (if only we all knew about them before hand instead of reading about them in the paper the day after). And we are honored by the ongoing presence of the First peoples as well.

We have always been a regional economic center and remain the second largest city in New England. We have a long successful history of locally owned, locally grown businesses of all sizes – locally businesses that still provide more new jobs, that pay a little better and reinvest their profits here in our city. Compared with the economic suffering – not just budget struggles – of other large cities in New England, we are doing fairly well.

With a City rich in so many ways – why should we settle?

We have huge hunger rates (although we vastly under use food stamps which provide $1.83 in economic activity for each food stamp dollar used). We have crumbling schools, cuts in staffing and increasing class-sizes because we do not work together to insist state and federal school money cuts are reversed. Recent decades of local tax incentives focused primarily on huge projects by outside economic interests and more and more regressive state and federal tax policy mean you and I, regular people, are left carrying the tax burden, even as resources for our municipalities dry up. The present wave of immigrants face unprecedented barriers to citizenship, leaving us with workers whose lack of equal rights can be used to undermine wages and jobs.

It is amazing that we continue to do so well – can we afford to settle?

Why should we settle for less than an open government, where we have the means to impact decisions? We should expect the City Council to communicate with us about economic opportunities to cut back on hunger, pay for Medicare, save on property taxes, protest themselves against predatory lenders? And with property owners and landlords about decreasing lead paint, building by universal design standards that serve people of any physical ability, about energy conservation measures and savings on water and sewer bills? And with small businesses about economic savings through marketing local-first purchasing behavior, bulk buying of energy, accessing healthcare coverage options, improving our quality of life?

Why should we settle for Councilors unwilling to use their bully pulpit to increase the visibility of a million activities in the City? Or for less than a complete commitment to creative solutions for our schools? They can focus our economic resources on local businesses, local jobs and affordable housing. They can save money by quickly implementing energy conservation, alternative energy and environmental changes and save all of us money, and our health and the environment. They can bring the people of our city together and lead legislative lobbying for fairer taxation and more money for our schools and our city. They can create a master plan to make economic decisions through which we, the residents, have had our say. City Councilors can prioritize economic survival of all of us through a thriving local economy with decent jobs with benefits and protections.

I have spent my life as a community organizer – doing all of these types of activities. That track record is my commitment. I have happily worked with people from all walks of life and been part of policy development and changes at all levels of government.

I encourage you to learn my past – my fundamental commitment to real grassroots democracy and equal civil rights for all.

I have fought for human rights locally and in solidarity with many peoples across the world. I was first active in the divestiture movement which South Africans organized to complete their many decades struggle to end apartheid. With Mel King, I spearheaded introducing economic human rights as an organizing focus across the US and provided documentation to the United Nations. I been honored to work in support of numerous cultural and religious minorities over the years and helped diversify the leadership of numerous organizations – creating systems to incorporate different religious traditions and cultural practices. I have devoted my time and financial resources to support the rights of our wonderful subcultures and am committed to continuing that.

I really believe that only as we continue to reach for best of all we can be, and learn to listen and respectfully mediate our differences, can we come to know how to resolve conflicts non-violently, here in our home city and across the world.

For anyone in Worcester who is concerned about my history and my positions (which have in some cases been grossly misrepresented), let us dialogue, listen and learn! A better future rests in our collective hands