Reflections on Worcester's election

You can find Worcester School Committee election news here and here. 

cross-posted from my personal Facebook page


Something that I've gotten better at over the past few years is learning that when you don't know the answer, sometimes you should shut up and let other people talk first.

And another is that there are things that you can do off of School Committee that you can't do on it, and some of them are more profound than letting your face show what you're thinking during meetings.

Congressman Jim McGovern reminded the candidates on Saturday--those who showed at a primarily Spanish-speaking Main South church, yes, but it was meant for all of us--that we were running to represent all of Worcester.
And MASC always reminds members that we are the group of elected officials whose most important constituency is largely unable to vote for us.
That is no less true of the Committee Worcester elected last night than if Worcester had made other choices.
We ran to represent all of Worcester.
We will, come January, have a constituency that is all of Worcester's children.
And that is true whether we all recognize it or not.

It hurts like hell to lose. I have reason to know it. I do think that one of the virtues of the city calendar is we get this breathing space between the election and the swearing in to mourn what could have been before moving to what will be.
Let me add to those who have already said it, though, how glad I am that you ran, how very proud I was to cast votes for you yesterday, and how grateful for the race we ran together.

This election made us have conversations that have never never been had during any city election I remember. That is still true. That is partly due to who ran, but it also is due to the community forcing all those running, incumbents and otherwise, to have those discussions.

Please don't stop.

Last night shows only what we already knew, what Frederick Douglass said: "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."

We must keep demanding.
Thank you to all who worked and voted for me: please know that I intend to keep demanding.

Because it's also still true: We deserve better.