Mediocre Worcester City Manager Has Few Clothes

Mediocre Worcester City Manager Augustus Is A Joke With Few Clothes

City Manager Edward Augustus is a mediocre City leader when compared to others. He is to some extent a fake.  However it can be said that many others in the City and around the country are mediocre and fakes.

Let us start with his great plus, the development of downtown. He certainly has taken credit for it and yet the evaluation of its success for Worcester has not been made. Many others had the foresight to see that the Galleria would be a failure when the Wrentham Outlets opened. Others wanted to reopen Front St. 

The issue of the development of downtown and other areas of Worcester has led to the Affirmative Action goals for construction jobs. No one in the public really knows how successful this effort has been. The Manager’s office is not releasing significant or timely data.  Also missing is where do people apply and what types of jobs are available.

The City Manager has taken credit for Affirmative Action through the Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Carter.  The success of this office and the number of jobs going to unemployed Worcester residence has yet to be evaluated.

The City Manager unlike some other officials in the State has maliciously prosecuted Black Lives Matter protestors. The judge in the case said that the very premise of the complaint filed by the City Manager was wrong. The judge ruled that there was NO criminal action. At least one of the protestor was found not responsible of even the civil complaint.

The City Manager failed in this area of race relations. He also failed in selling immediately the Mosaic Center which has a long history in the Black community. This was perceived as racist as other unused and essentially abandoned City property, such as the corner lot at Sunderland Road and Lake Ave. which are a hazard and an eyesore.

The City Manager gets failing grades for snow removal. How is it possible that anyone can give Mr. Augustus an “exceeds expectations” when he cannot keep City streets open and safe during a snow storm. Any competent executive can do this. If he can’t he does not belong in office.

The issue of lack transparency has been around for decades. Mr. Augustus has again failed overtly failed the City and its residents when he refused to release the report on the racist hate speech by a City employee, Mr. Traynor. This is sign of the institutional racism in the City. Mr. Traynor is one of the people who is supposed to accomplish the Affirmative Action goals.

The lack of transparency continues into the Police Department where Chief Sargent has indicated that he has a policy for the City based on the “Broken Windows” theory. The policy used in other cities has resulted in racist practices such as “Stop, Question, and Frisk” in New York City.  When will the Chief and the Manager make known the details of this policy?

City Manager Augustus is no one special. He is quite ordinary in his bending to disparate impacts on the “minority” community. He seems like, the many others who run city governments, to be mistake prone in providing the essential services such as ‘snow removal”.

The Department of Justice hearings were a joke. In this case the emperor has just enough clothes not to be a laughing stock.