...Ms. Ross, who previously has said her positions on international issues such as Darfur are not relevant to the council race, said international issues such as the Iraq war should be more important to the council, and that the Sudan divestment proposal is surprising from a councilor who she said has rarely spoken up about such issues.

She criticized the council’s inaction on a resolution from June calling on it to support withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. She maintained the city has lost millions of dollars in federal funding because of the war, so the war is more directly relevant than other foreign issues.

“The Worcester City Council has said they will not deal with international issues,” Ms. Ross said. “The City Council has not allowed them to be relevant, and Perotto has been part of that. If they were really worried about the rest of the world, they should allow (the Iraq resolution) before the council.”...

...Ms. Ross has experience bringing international issues to local prominence.

The former Green Rainbow standard-bearer, who moved here from Somerville in January 2006, was part of a 2004 campaign to get the Somerville pension fund to rid itself of investments in companies that do business with Israel.

The party, on whose administrative committee she has served since at least 2004, endorsed a nonbinding referendum on Israel divestment in a legislative district that includes half of Somerville. The measure sponsored by the Somerville Divestment Project failed at the polls, and the city council eventually voted against divestment. Ms. Ross declined to comment on the Israel divestment issue.

The Green Rainbow position on Israel calls for ending all U.S. military and economic aid to the Jewish state and supports withdrawing institutional investments from Israel state bonds and corporations that do business with Israel; and boycotts of Israeli academics and academic institutions...