WORCESTER — With Election Day on Tuesday, Worcester political candidates made sure to increase their spending during their last full month in the campaign, according to reports from the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
Mayoral candidates led the way in spending in October, but several City Council candidates upped their expenditures.
The reports are based on filings available as of Friday afternoon. Candidates have already spent most of the year raising money for their races.
The city has said it expects a higher turnout this year. As of Friday, about 5,300 ballots have been submitted, both in-person early voting and early vote by mail, according to the city clerk’s office. About 4,300 have been by mail and almost 1,000 from in-person early voting. More than 8,000 ballots have been mailed to Worcester voters.
In the race for mayor, incumbent Joseph M. Petty faces challenges from Councilors Khrystian E. King and Donna M. Colorio as well as from Guillermo Creamer Jr. and William S. Coleman.
Petty led the way by raising about $30,303 and spending about $51,874. He had about $12,881 at the end of October.
King raised about $5,296 and spent about $21,782. He had about $9,965 at the end of the month.
Colorio raised about $7,894 and spent about $24,758. She had about $13,182 at the end of the month.
Creamer’s filling report he raised about $1,938 and spent about $1,863. However, Creamer said he actually raised $6,000 in October and the checks arrived Thursday, after the Office of Campaign and Political Finance report was due.
Coleman’s committee does not raise or spend money.
All mayoral candidates are part of the at-large City Council field, which is rounded out by six additional candidates: incumbents Thu Nguyen, Morris Bergman and Kathleen Toomey as well as Domenica Perrone, Maydeé Morales and Johanna-Hampton Dance.
Nguyen raised about $7,787 in October and spent about $9,199. They had about $5,226 at the end of the month.
Bergman did not report any money raised in October and spent about $13,415. He had about $16,527 at the end of the month.
Toomey raised about $2,271 and spent about $1,954. She had about $12,948 at the end of the month.
Perrone raised about $6,391 and spent about $16,785. She had about $5,663 at the end of the month.
Morales raised about $1,417 and spent about $10,242. She had about $2,848 at the end of the month.
Hampton-Dance raised about $511 and spent about $970. She had about $312 at the end of the month.
As for the district races:
In District 1, Jenny Pacillo raised about $2,947 in October and spent about $3,115. She had about $8,382 at the end of the month. David C. Peterson raised about $3,417 and spent about $1,119. He had about $2,596 at the end of the month.
In District 2, Candy F. Mero-Carlson raised about $1,200 and spent about $11,926. She had about $38,760 at the end of the month. Robert A. Bilotta raised about $3,760 and spent about $4,358. He had about $4,445 at the end of the month.
In District 3, incumbent George J. Russell raised about $3,400 and spent about $12,081. He had about $57,896 at the end of the month. Feanna Jattan-Singh raised about $716 and spent about $998. She had about $38 at the end of the month.
In District 4, Luis Albizu Ojeda raised about $2,415 and spent about $1,377. He had about $3,214 at the end of the month. Katia Gisela Norford raised about $437 and spent about $87. She had about $811 at the end of the month.
In District 5, incumbent Etel Haxhiaj raised about $4,039 and spent about $5,513. She had about $35,256 at the end of the month. José Antonio Rivera raised about $7,866 and spent about $6,029. He had about $3,495 at the end of the month.
School Committee fundraising numbers released
School Committee candidates also posted their fundraising on the city’s website.
Previously, all School Committee candidates were elected to at-large seats, but following a lawsuit by a coalition of groups alleging that system was discriminatory, a new election map and districts were created.
Now there are only two at-large seats and six individual district seats labeled A through F. Not all seats have contested races.
The at-large candidates include incumbents Laura Clancey, Sue Mailman and Tracy O’Connell Novick, as well as former Superintendent Maureen F. Binienda.
Incumbent Jermoh Kamara and former committee member Dianna Biancheria are running in District C, and newcomers Nelly Medina and Kathleen Roy are running in District E.
Current committee member Molly McCullough is the only candidate running in District A, Vanessa Alvarez is the only candidate running in District B, Alejandro Guardiola is the only candidate running in District D and current committee member Jermaine Johnson is the only candidate running in District F.
For the competitive races, the following financial information was reported:
In the at-large race, O’Connell Novick raised about $5,346 and spent about $6,619 from the beginning of the year to Oct. 29. She had about $3,902 left at the end of the period.
Mailman raised about $17,925 and spent about $20,631 from the beginning of the year to Oct. 25. She had about $8,068 left at the end of the period.
Clancey raised about $3,740 and spent about $2,359 from the beginning of the year to Oct. 27. She had about $2,583 left at the end of the period.
Binienda raised about $19,620 and spent about $14,274 from the beginning of the year to Oct. 20. She had about $5,346 left at the end of the period.
In the District C race, Kamara raised about $11,886 and spent about $7,973 from the beginning of the year to Oct. 30. She had about $4,164 left at the end of the period. Biancheria raised about $8,091 and spent about $4,144 from the beginning of the year to Oct. 21. She had about $4,676 left at the end of the period.
In District E, Medina raised about $2,700 and spent over $1,800 from Aug. 29 to Oct. 30. She started the period with about $412 and had about $677 left at the end of the period. Roy raised about $1,604 and spent about $1,301 from the beginning of the year to Oct. 20. She had about $3,063 left at the end of the period.
Political action committees
Two local independent expenditure political action committees also reported spending for October.
The progressive Worcester Working Families IEPAC is recorded as raising about $16,883 and having spent about $12,438 this year, according to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
Worcester Working Families has spent in support of Haxhiaj, King, Nguyen, Bilotta, Creamer, Pacillo, Morales, Perrone and Hampton-Dance for City Council; and to oppose Bergman, Mero-Carlson, Petty, Colorio, Toomey and Rivera.
The PAC also supports Medina, Kamara, Mailman and O’Connell Novick for School Committee and opposes Roy.
The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce-aligned Progress Worcester IEPAC has raised $57,475 and spent $27,266 so far this year. It has spent in support of Petty, Peterson, Rivera and Mero-Carlson. It also officially supports Bergman, Toomey and Creamer.
