re: Not Running For Re-Election

Dear Friends,

I am writing to inform you that after much deliberation, I have decided to not seek re-election to the City Council or to run for School Committee. It has been an honor and privilege to have had the opportunity to serve the wonderful people of this great city as a member of the School Committee, City Council and as Mayor. I want to publically thank the remarkable individuals who have supported me in my electoral efforts and all the people who have allowed me to play a role in our shared civic life.

In this past decade, working with all of you, we have been able to make our city a better place to live and work. Together we have been able to make great strides in improving educational outcomes and making a better learning environment for our children by investing millions of dollars in facilities and technology. We have improved our neighborhoods by investing in new streets and sidewalks, rebuilding our parks and by planting thousands of new trees. Despite difficult economic times, we have been able to hire new police officers and firefighters to improve public safety. We have also helped to rebuild our downtown and create new jobs at fair wages for our citizens. This has only been possible because our government officials, business leaders, union officials and the civic leaders have all worked together and I thank them for their efforts.

I want to also say thank you to all the public employees who make this city work. I have always been amazed at the dedication and commitment of the thousands of public employees who keep our city safe, educate our children, maintain our public infrastructure and provide services. These public employees deserve our gratitude and thanks for the service they provide to all of us.

I want to say a special word of thanks to all the elected officials here in Worcester whom I have had the opportunity to work with. Worcester is fortunate to have such a dedicated and thoughtful group of elected leaders who work hard every day to make our City, Commonwealth and Country a better place. I want to thank all of them for what they have done to help me and for the hard work and sacrifices they have made to serve in public life.

I look forward to continuing to work hard over my final seven months on the City Council to help advance our efforts to improve our schools, strengthen neighborhoods and create good jobs for the people of this city. Worcester is a city with bright future because of the diverse and talented people who live here and I look forward to taking on a new role to help continue to move our community forward.

 

Thank you...

 

Joe