Lukes will not seek re-election to City Council

WORCESTER — Konstantina B. Lukes, the longest-serving member on the City Council, will be dropping the curtain at the end of this year on an overall political career that has spanned four decades.

Mrs. Lukes, 77, who is in her 30th year as an at-large member on the City Council, said Wednesday she will not be running for re-election to a 16th term this fall.

She took out nomination papers in early March to make another bid but said she has since reconsidered.

In deciding not to seek re-election, she cited "priorities and family life" as the main reasons.

"It's something I've been going back-and-forth on for a while," Mrs. Lukes said in an interview. "It was a tough decision, but I am so relieved now that I've made my mind up. Believe me, it's a tremendous load taken off my mind."

Mrs. Lukes' decision will certainly have ramifications in this year's municipal election.

All six at-large City Council incumbents have taken out nomination papers to seek re-election, but now that Mrs. Lukes has dropped out an "open" at-large seat will be up for grabs, thus guaranteeing that the next City Council will have at least one new person elected to it.

The deadline for candidates running for City Council and School Committee to file their nomination papers with the Election Commission office is May 14. That is when the fields for those races will be set and a determination will be made as to whether any of the contests will require a preliminary election in September.

Mrs. Lukes' 15 terms on the City Council is believed to be one of the longest, if not the longest, tenures of any member who has served on that body.

Throughout her political career, which includes tenures on the School Committee, City Council and as mayor, Mrs. Lukes has been somewhat of a lightning rod at City Hall.

There are those people who like how she has never been shy about challenging the powers-that-be at City Hall, while others contend she has been an obstructionist playing to Worcester's naysayer crowd. Few people, however, are indifferent about her, with most people having very strong opinions about her one way or another.

Probably best known for being a tenacious fiscal watchdog, Mrs. Lukes has always made a long-range tax reduction program, through reductions in municipal spending and borrowing, a high priority. She also has consistently promoted public safety through a strengthened community policing program and healthy neighborhoods.

Mrs. Lukes has had the reputation of being somewhat of a maverick on the council because she often took a stand on issues that was not in lockstep with her colleagues. She also often sparred with city managers, school superintendents and even with some of her colleagues on some of the bigger and more important issues that have faced Worcester over the past 40 years.

All of which often left Mrs. Lukes on the short end of 10-1 City Council votes. But it is something for which she is unapologetic and almost considers as a badge of honor.

Mrs. Lukes said the "contrarian" label that has been bestowed upon her by many people is one she is "sick of hearing" and something she feels was given because she is a woman.

She said she has always considered herself an independent voice on the City Council and not "one of the gang." She said when men who have served on the council have demonstrated a similar independence they are praised, while she is called a contrarian.

Mrs. Lukes came to Worcester via Waterbury, Connecticut. A lawyer and former director of the Central Massachusetts Civil Liberties Union, she first entered public life in the late 1970s when then City Manager Francis J. McGrath appointed her as chairwoman of the first City Manager's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women.

In fact, she played an instrumental role in getting Mr. McGrath to establish that advisory committee.

Mrs. Lukes was then elected to the School Committee in 1979 and served four two-year terms on it from 1980-87. When the city charter was changed in the mid-1980s and district representation was introduced to the City Council, she ran for the District 5 seat but was defeated by Raymond F. McGrath.

Two years later, Mrs. Lukes ran for an at-large council seat and was victorious. She took office in January 1990 and has been on the council ever since then.

During that time, she also served three years as mayor, from 2007-2010. In Worcester's form of government, the mayor also serves as a city councilor at-large.

In January 2007, Mrs. Lukes succeeded Timothy P. Murray after he stepped down as mayor following his election as lieutenant governor in 2006. She became mayor by virtue of her second-place finish in what was a five-person mayoral race in the 2005 municipal election.

In 2007, Mrs. Lukes then became the first woman to be popularly elected as Worcester's mayor. She topped a four-person field, edging out Frederick C. Rushton by just 116 votes in a contest that featured a recount. She sought re-election to another two-year term as mayor in 2009 but lost to Joseph C. O'Brien.

Sara J. Robertson was the first woman to serve as mayor (1982-83). But at that time the mayor was elected by the City Council and not the voters.

During her tenure as mayor, Mrs. Lukes noticeably toned down her political rhetoric and image of being a persistent vocal critic of the city government. She became an advocate for the business community and a supporter of then City Manager Michael V. O’Brien. She has also been fairly supportive of the city’s current chief executive, City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr.

Mrs. Lukes also became a big advocate for small businesses, for bringing more transparency to the School Committee budget process and helping make Worcester a "greener" city with her mayoral agenda.

As mayor and chair of the School Committee, Mrs. Lukes also played a key role in the hiring of Melinda J. Boone as superintendent of schools.

Not only was Ms. Boone the first African-American to hold Worcester's top school post, but she was the first woman to hold it on a permanent basis, and it was the first time in 45 years that the School Committee went outside the area to hire someone for the job.

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