A Worcester city councilor says she has been targeted over her politics after her home was recently vandalized.Councilor Etel Haxhiaj, who is seeking a second term representing District 5, shared on social media that someone threw a baseball at her house in an attempt to break her living room window.Haxhiaj said that when she went outside after the baseball was thrown, she found the campaign signs that were in her yard had been torn out of the ground.”This political targeting is ugly. The harassment I’ve been facing for over four years now is a reminder of what some of us are facing for our values, ideas and work,” Haxhiaj wrote on social media.Worcester Mayor Joe Petty took to social media to condemn the vandalism of Haxhiaj’s home. One of the signs torn out of the city councilor’s yard was in support of Khrystian King, who is one of four candidates running against Petty for mayor in November’s election.”As the Mayor of Worcester, I want to make it unequivocally clear that violence against any individual, including current city councilors running for office, has no place in our democratic process,” Petty wrote. “Our city has a rich tradition of civil discourse, debate, and respect for differing opinions. It is essential that we uphold these values as we engage in political campaigns and elections.”Haxhiaj, a single mother of two boys, says she arrived in Worcester in 2001 as a young adult after she and her parents fled Albania’s political upheaval.In the Sept. 5 municipal preliminary election, Haxhiaj was the top candidate for the District 5 city councilor seat by finishing with 54.51% of the vote. The incumbent will face Jose Rivera (38.81%) in November’s general election.
A Worcester city councilor says she has been targeted over her politics after her home was recently vandalized.
Councilor Etel Haxhiaj, who is seeking a second term representing District 5, shared on social media that someone threw a baseball at her house in an attempt to break her living room window.
Haxhiaj said that when she went outside after the baseball was thrown, she found the campaign signs that were in her yard had been torn out of the ground.
“This political targeting is ugly. The harassment I’ve been facing for over four years now is a reminder of what some of us are facing for our values, ideas and work,” Haxhiaj wrote on social media.
Worcester Mayor Joe Petty took to social media to condemn the vandalism of Haxhiaj’s home. One of the signs torn out of the city councilor’s yard was in support of Khrystian King, who is one of four candidates running against Petty for mayor in November’s election.
“As the Mayor of Worcester, I want to make it unequivocally clear that violence against any individual, including current city councilors running for office, has no place in our democratic process,” Petty wrote. “Our city has a rich tradition of civil discourse, debate, and respect for differing opinions. It is essential that we uphold these values as we engage in political campaigns and elections.”
Haxhiaj, a single mother of two boys, says she arrived in Worcester in 2001 as a young adult after she and her parents fled Albania’s political upheaval.
In the Sept. 5 municipal preliminary election, Haxhiaj was the top candidate for the District 5 city councilor seat by finishing with 54.51% of the vote. The incumbent will face Jose Rivera (38.81%) in November’s general election.
