2009 Worcester, Massachusetts mayoral election
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The 2009 Worcester, Massachusetts mayoral election was held on November 3, 2009. It saw the election of Joseph C. O'Brien, who unseated incumbent mayor Konstantina B. Lukes.
As of 2019[update], this is the only time an incumbent mayor has lost reelection in a Worcester mayoral election since they started popularly electing mayors in 1987.[2]
Election system[edit]
In order to be elected mayor in Worcester, a person must place first in the mayor's race and also finish among the top six in the at-large city council election, being also elected a councilor at large. An individual cannot be elected mayor without additionally winning at at-large city council seat.[2]
Candidates[edit]
- Konstantina Lukes,[3] incumbent mayor since 2007, Worcester City Council at-large member since 1990
- Joseph C. O'Brien,[3] former School Committee member[4]
- Kate Toomey,[3], Worcester City Council at-large member since 2006[4][5][6]
- Emanuel Tsitsilianos[3][7]
Campaign[edit]
The election race was slow to start.[8]
Lukes, as she did in the previous election, saw two strong challengers, the two this time being O'Brien and Toomey.[7]
O'Brien's candidacy was supported by lieutenant governor and former Worcester mayor Tim Murray.[7][4] O'Brien was also supported by congressman Jim McGovern, for whom he once served as district director.[7] Many other local democrats threw their support behind O'Brien.[7]
Toomey was endorsed by the Worcester County Sheriff and once of the city's two state senators.[7]
The election focused more on the leadership and personality of Lukes than it did on particular issues.[7]
O'Brien and Toomey criticized Lukes for being to inactive a mayor, and argued that she was ineffective at advocating for the city at the state and federal level.[7] Lukes refuted accusations that she was too inactive, arguing that the role of mayor was not intended to be a full-time position.[7]
Lukes argued that she had independence from what she claimed was a Murray-McGovern run political machine.[7]
Lukes argued that O'Brien was simply seeking to use the office of mayor as a platform to seek higher office, and argued that she herself was free from such ambitions.[7]
O'Brien pledged to commit attention to inner-city neighborhoods, and called attention to the fact that he resided in the less-affluent Main South area of the city.[7]
O'Brien aimed to run a movement-style campaign, seeking small online donations and utilizing the internet to organize campaign events.[7]
Lukes raised $33,895 for her campaign.[7] Lukes collected mainly small donations, and solicited her donations primarily by mail.[7] Financially, Lukes ran a low-cost campaign, even using her private law-office to house her campaign headquarters.[7]
O'Brien raised $43,300 for his campaign.[7] O'Brien was additionally supported by the grassgroots group Neighbor to Neighbor, which funded $6,000 in mailers for his campaign.[7]
Toomey raised $33,633 for her campaign.[7]
Tsitsilianos did not raise any money for his campaign, and received little attention.[7] However, he did participate in the mayoral debates.[7]
Results[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Joseph C. O'Brien | 10,214 | 50.58% | |
| Nonpartisan | Konstantina B. Lukes (incumbent) | 5,663 | 28.04% | |
| Nonpartisan | Kate Toomey | 3,722 | 18.43% | |
| Nonpartisan | E. Tsitsilianos | 595 | 2.95% | |
| Total votes | 20,197 | |||
O'Brien also finished first in the at-large city council election.[3] Toomey finished second, Lukes finished fifth, Tsitsilianos finished eleventh.[3]
O'Brien was the only non-incumbent individual elected to a citywide office in Worcester that year.[9]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Election Results | City of Worcester, MA". Worcester, Massachusetts. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kotsopoulos, Nick (21 September 2019). "Politics and the City: And they're off and running for Worcester mayor". telegram.com. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS STATEMENT OF VOTES CAST MUNICIPAL ELECTION WORCESTER MASSACHUSETTS" (PDF). Worcester, Massachusetts. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Monahan, John J.; Staff, Gazette (19 August 2009). "Murray backs O'Brien for mayor; Lukes calls race a replay of 2007". telegram.com.
- ↑ "Kate Toomey". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ↑ "Cover Story: 07-27-06". Worcester Magazine. 27 July 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 Boatright, Robert. "Campaign Finance in Municipal Elections: The 2009 Worcester City Council Candidates" (PDF). Clark University. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ↑ Kotsopoulos, Nick. "telegram.com". www.telegram.com.
- ↑ "Worcester Municipal Elections: 2009". Clark University. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
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