Lukes Rips Worcester’s ‘Political Machine’ in Rejection of Mayoral Bid
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Even though Lukes stepped away from the mayor's race, she made clear her opinion of Mayor Joe Petty's tenure. In an emailed statement, Lukes said, "I have never in all my years in public office seen Worcester plagued by so much discontent, gang, school and gun violence, coupled with an opioid epidemic and racial stress. Random construction projects and tax incentive deals for big developers cannot substitute for a safe city."
Lukes blamed the low voter-turnout at the preliminary election on what she describes as Petty's "campaign strategy of silence, denial and caution.."
This strategy, said Lukes ,"is a safe way to fool voters into accepting the turbulent events as routine and inevitable. And so voters can conclude that there is no need to vote, since nothing can be changed and it is useless to fight a blind City Hall."
In a statement that echoed the attitude of Petty's challenger City Councilor Michael Gaffney, Lukes said that candidates are not facing "the real issues because it's safer to depend on the city's poltical machine to get out the vote of those candidates who are loyal to the machine."
Lukes added, "The inbreeding of the political entities in Worcester including our Congressman's office, the Chamber of Commerce, numerous non-profits and community groups, some of whom depend on the receipt of public monies are like a cancer infecting the political and financial health of the city."
Tuesday was the last day for candidates to withdraw their name for consideration for mayor. As of Tuesday, only Petty, Gaffney and William Coleman had announced their candidacy for mayor. The municipal election will be held on Tuesday, November 3.
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