City Council At Large Candidate Moe Bergman To Host Rally Tonight

Thursday, June 20, 2013

GoLocalWorcester News Team

City Council candidate Morris "Moe" Bergman will be hosting a kick-off rally as part of his bid for the City Council At Large seat tonight, June 20th, at the Itam Club in Worcester. The event, taking place from 6:30-9:30pm, will mark the formal launch of his campaign.

The suggested donation is $20, but in lieu of a donation, attendees may bring a non-perishable can item for the Worcester County Food Bank.

Read Bergman's candidacy announcement below:

Morris A. (“Moe”) Bergman announces that he is a candidate for City Council At-Large.

Mr. Bergman says that he is running because “our city’s tax base is shrinking and unless we reverse the current trend this issue will continue to be an obstacle in the proper funding of public school education for our children, economic opportunities for our families and a danger to the quality of life for us all”.

“Only by reversing this trend and growing our tax base can we be assured that our city will have the tax revenues it needs”, he says. By doing so, he believes that, “we can properly fund our schools and reach appropriate levels of police, fire and municipal personnel and maintain a high quality of life without placing further tax burdens on already cash strapped property owners”.

Mr. Bergman says that “it is time to recognize the reality that children who grow up in Worcester and go onto college often do not choose to return to Worcester to raise their families”. He feels that this has a negative impact on Worcester’s property values and tax base and that having a strong public school system can help change that.

Believing that public safety has to continue to be a top priority, and that “everyone in every neighborhood of Worcester should be free of the fear of crime”, Mr. Bergman feels that city government has an obligation to its residents to "step up" with ideas to help make this happen. Employing innovative ideas such as expanding existing nuisance eviction laws to help residents, police and property owners remove individuals committing gun and other serious crimes in neighborhoods is an idea that he believes can get Worcester closer to this goal.

Drawing on his background and experiences Mr. Bergman says that he would work hard to help grow our tax base and improve the quality of life for all of Worcester’s residents.

Additionally, Mr. Bergman advocates for:

Assisting our small business owners by relaxing zoning requirements relating to parking in business/commercial areas, as well as making progressive changes/improvements to their parking/metering needs.
Reducing budget expenses by promoting efficiencies within the administration of city departments.
Negotiating “PILOT” payments from the city’s largest non-profits by using the City of Boston PILOT Task Force Model.
Supporting the “Worcester Tree Initiative” and helping our city to recognize that trees are an invaluable asset to the landscape of our city.
Instilling pride in our city by better publicizing, commemorating and maintaining Worcester’s history, including its historic sites and park lands.

A lifelong resident of Worcester, Mr. Bergman is married to Dr. Wendy Bergman and they have three children attending public schools.

Mr. Bergman is a practicing lawyer, a former prosecutor for the Office of the District Attorney-Middle District-Worcester and a past two term member of the City of Worcester Zoning Board of Appeals. He currently volunteers as a docent for Preservation Worcester.