Joseph Petty
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
| Joseph Petty | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts | |
| Assumed office 2012 |
|
| Preceded by | Joseph C. O'Brien |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Gayle Perrone Petty |
Joseph "Joe" Petty is the current mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts.[1]
Early life and education
Raised in Worcester, Petty graduated from Holy Name Central Catholic High School. He attended Nichols College and earned a law degree from New England School of Law.[1]
Professional career
Petty was first elected to the Worcester City Council in 1997. After serving six two-year terms on the council, he mounted a campaign for mayor in 2011 when incumbent Joseph C. O'Brien decided not to seek reelection due to family concerns.[2][3] He defeated former mayor Konstantina Lukes, perennial candidate Bill Coleman, and Carmen Carmona by earning 48% of votes cast.[4] During the preceding campaign, Petty received the endorsement of Congressman Jim McGovern.[5]
As mayor, Petty has overseen the partial demolition and redevelopment of Worcester Common Outlets, an abandoned downtown mall. This effort involves recreating a direct roadway between Union Station and Worcester City Hall and Common that was lost when the mall was built in the 1960s.[6]
In May 2012, Petty brokered a tax reform compromise among city councilors. Some councilors favored a sharp decrease in the city's commercial tax rate, while others wished to maintain the lowest possible residential tax rate. Petty proposed a comprise that decreased the commercial tax rate by $5.57 and raised the residential tax rate ¢92 per $1000 of assessed value. This tax reform, which passed on a 6-5 vote, was the subject of controversy, for it came in the wake of a revelation that annual property revaluations would lead to significantly higher commercial tax bills.[7] While the city's assessors contended that the increased tax bills were due to reforms, such as considering a building's exact vacancy rate when calculating its assessment, other figures accused past administrations of improperly overriding assessments to provide lower tax bills.[8]
Personal life
Petty is married to Gayle Perrone Petty. They have three children, the middle child also named Joe Petty.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts January 2, 2011 - present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
|
<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>
5
|
 |
|
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
 |
This article about a Massachusetts politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Use mdy dates from May 2013
- Pages using columns-list with unknown parameters
- Year of birth missing (living people)
- Living people
- Mayors of Worcester, Massachusetts
- Worcester, Massachusetts city council members
- Nichols College alumni
- New England School of Law alumni
- Massachusetts Democrats
- Massachusetts politician stubs
