This publication is intended to provide candidates and residents in Worcester with questions for consideration. We offer the following to provoke discussion, debate, and potentially decision as the voters of Worcester select their leaders for the 2024-2025 political cycle.

The Worcester Regional Research Bureau is pleased to release Bureau Brief - Worcester's 2023 Election, a Primer.

The City of Worcester's 'Boards and Commissions' play a key role in local governance by allowing residents to participate in their community and provide essential ideas and opinions on a number of topics.

As part of Jane Week in the Woo, The Research Bureau presents an update & dialogue on the Worcester's Master Plan with city leaders.

Due to a coalition of local organizations and a vote by the City Council, Worcester voters this November will have the chance to adopt a 1.5 percent property tax surcharge for the purposes of funding community preservation projects.

Currently, the City of Worcester’s municipal Charter calls for the School Committee to be composed of “the mayor, who shall chair the committee and six members elected at-large.” 

Worcester voters and the elections they decide are enigmatic. Lacking the intense media coverage of state and national races or the consultants and analysts that characterize larger contests, the municipal electoral process is shrouded in relative mystery.

This publication is intended to provide candidates and residents in Worcester, Massachusetts with questions for consideration on key topics impacting the community and government.

Ranked choice voting, or RCV, is a system that allows voters to indicate a preference not just for their first choice for an office, but for their second and third choices, and so on. Much like runoff elections, the system ensures that no one wins without more than 50 percent of the final vote.

In preparation for the upcoming elections for Mayor, City Council, and School Committee, The Research Bureau has prepared a set of questions for the candidates. The questions cover a broad range of issues and are meant to challenge the candidates and the public to think about key issues facing the City today and in the coming years.