City of Surprises

A City Full of Surprises 

There were a few surprises at the Worcester City Council meeting on January 13, 2015.  It was not a surprised that the City Council voted through Councillor Lukes' resolution to support the cops unconditionally and at the same time bash the Black Lives Matter protesters. It was something of a surprise that two Councillors voted against it. This might have been a Profile in Courage moment in their political lives and it might be the end of their political careers. I think that Councillor Rivera is fairly safe and will get reelected. She is a district Councillor in a district that likely supports better police accountability. The same cannot be said for at large Councillor Rushton. It would be a surprise if he is reelected.

Before the City Council meeting it was reported that the Mayor sought some compromise either from Councillor Lukes or from the so called minority communities or both.   Councillor Lukes was at one time a reasonable person and would have compromised, but her personality has changed within the last few years. She refused to change a single word of her mean spirited resolution. This was not surprise.

In a meeting with the so called minority communities Councillor Rivera came up with wording that softened Councillor Lukes’ resolution and a decision was made to make the new wording a friendly amendment. This was surprising as Councillor actually went out on a limb for previously marginalized communities.

A group of protesters and residents spoke against Councillor Lukes’ resolution. This was not a surprise given the numerous protests that have continued since the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson. Councillor Luke’s reactions to the Black Lives Matter protestors were a surprise.  She became very emotional and said that the cops could not help her to drive out trouble makers who live near her property in the Canal District. She never made it clear the connection between her resolution and the police being able to harass her neighbors into leaving their domicile. Councillor Lukes sounded distraught and tearful when Mayor Petty came to her rescue by telling the audience that she deserved respect.

It was not surprising that Councillor Gaffney, some people say he is in the Tea Party, gave a “I am not a racist “ apology for voting with Councillor Lukes. Councillor Gaffney spoke how he had to work hard to get where he is. He went to school at Worcester State College and worked a full time job at the same time. Like Councillor Lukes it was not clear the connection between his hard work and the resolution.

It was not a surprise when the Mayor would not allow the friendly amendment written by Councillor Rivera to come to a vote. Instead he bowed to the wishes of Councilor Lukes, the Mayor allowed Councillor Rivera’ amendment to be voted on as a separated resolution. It was not a surprised that Councillors seeking cover voted for this separate resolution.

Manager Augustus spoke a few words about the good things being done by the City to resolve the issues. He said that these efforts were not well known. He said that the next class of police officers was half “minority” The surprise is not that what the City is doing is not well known, but that the Manager spoke at all. He has been an absent voice.

When the Black Lives Matter people rose up singing and walked out of the City Council meeting with the passage of Councillor Luke’s resolution, that moment was a surprise. As they were leaving Mayor Petty thanked them for their input. This was an interesting surprise as it showed that there are people in the City who do not see themselves as interlocutors between the people and the powers that that be.

Indirectly related to the events in Worcester is the blockade of I-93. It is a surprise how much energy this issue of police accountability is generating. I would not be surprised if this actually becomes a new civil rights movement.