Corey Robinson, a skilled laborer for the town of Tyngsborough, has a good shot at winning a seat on the Lowell City Council. The Local 888 chapter vice president received more votes in Lowell’s District 2 than both his opponents combined in the preliminary election.
At this point, Robinson said, “it seems like the campaign’s momentum is building.” Robinson’s team has sent out multiple mailings in the district and even put up a billboard showing the diverse support he has pulled in.
The city is switching from only having at-large councilors to having, in addition, eight district seats. “There’s a great opportunity for new leadership and change in Lowell,” he said. “Now the working class will get a chance to have a voice at the table.”
Local 888 has endorsed Robinson and at-large Lowell Councilor John Drinkwater, who works as a workforce development specialist with the state AFL-CIO.
Before moving over to Tyngsborough, Robinson was with the Lowell Department of Public Works for 15 years. “I got my feet wet serving as a steward for AFSCME Local 1705” he said, commenting on his union activity.
“I fell in love with being an advocate for my co-workers,” he added. Particularly satisfying for him: Fighting successfully to make sure a longtime worker at the city’s senior center got the step raises she had been unfairly denied, going back years.
Robinson went on to become president of Local 1705, which is part of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. “Now I am looking to advocate for my neighbors in Centralville — and for all the city’s residents,” he said.
Along with that, Robinson said, he plans to continue to advocate for workers. He said that nepotism in Lowell allows workers with more seniority and higher qualifications to get passed over for promotions by the well-connected.
As for hands-on community experience, Robinson identified Lowell’s growing problem with discarded syringes — and then worked with the city to “create a policy to protect both residents and employees.” In addition, he worked with residents to create a program to aid in the maintenance of city-owned schools.
The candidate said that his passion for public service was originally sparked by a summer job with Lowell’s Summer Youth Employment Program at age 14. “I realized that I loved serving my community by working to improve its neighborhoods.”
Robinson added that “growing up bi-racial with both African-American and Irish heritage in this great orchestra of cultures, I learned early on that people from different backgrounds faced issues based on a multitude of factors”
He now faces the runner-up in the preliminary vote, former School Committee member Robert Gignac, in the general election. Among other groups, Robinson has been endorsed by Solidarity Lowell and the progressive Mass Alliance, which has named him a 2021 Rising Star. For more info, go to www.coreyforlowell.com/.
For more info on Drinkwater’s council race, see www.drinkwaterforlowell.com/.