Community activist and artist Mary Keefe stepped up to represent her community with her 2012 campaign for the 15th Worcester House. Her campaign stated, “I will raise your taxes, especially for the rich because we need higher taxes to fix all the serious issues in Massachusetts,” which was a direct challenge to Democratic conservatism. By running on our progressive community’s values and gaining the support of Mass Alliance, Keefe would go on to beat several incumbent city council and school committee members who had long since lost touch with their constituents.