All That Glitters is Not Good Public Policy

All That Glitters Is Not Good Public Policy

The City Manager of Worcester released his report on how to make Worcester a more diverse city on April 24, 2015. His ideas are reasonable, but late, inadequate, beside the points, and corrupting. The ideas raised by Manager Edward Augustus are mainly old ideas that have failed or old ideas that should have been implemented decades ago.

The big idea in the report is the creation of a “Chief Diversity Officer” whose job is to make sure that different populations in the City know about and apply for City jobs. This should have been an ongoing effort by the City with or without a Chief Diversity Officer. I suppose the Manager will now have a scapegoat to point to when due to institutional racism the City’s work force does not reflect its population.

Another big idea that failed and is being reestablished is the so called Clergy/ Police Alliance. The problem with this “alliance” is that the well meaning Clergy do not have much influence beyond their own congregations. The cops, the Mayor, and the Manager will get well meaning Clergy to stand behind in photo opts, but do not expect anything substantial to come of it.

The restructuring of the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee is just a reshuffling of papers. Nobody in City governments listens to them and the good people there do not want to get on the bad side of their sponsors by being too critical. Like other committees the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee serves at the pleasure of the Manager.

The issues of police body cameras, cruiser cameras, and lock up camera should have been done years ago. It is being done now because of the pressure of the Black (all) Lives Matter new civil rights movement. As the report says the use of these items are being “investigated”.  What is not in the report is civilian review of the police. Neither the Manager who is the boss of the cops nor Worcester Human Rights Commission has a mention in the reports as a means of review by the public of any alleged police misconduct. There is evidence that the Manager and the Police Chief are malicious prosecuting some of the protesters in the Black (all) Lives Matter movement.

The other items in the report regarding education, voting, youth jobs, etc are already being implemented. There is nothing new in the report.  

I am sure all of the politicians, including new candidates, will be happy with the report as it relieves them of the responsibility to tell the truth about the lack of transparency and be critical of the Manager’s report. Some of the right wing politician will be critical because they do not want to do anything about diversity and are ready to move out to Holden when the City becomes too diverse.

People I like to call “misleaders” who ingratiate themselves with the politicians will be scrambling to take advantages of some of the so-called new ideas in the report. Many of them are now thinking about how they can be hired as the “Chief Diversity Officer”. Others actually like to be photographed with the bosses to show they have juice.

I have been called elderly by many people and I am. During my many years I have seen this bait and switch before. It is used to defuse the militancy of oppressed people by holding out the false hope of substantial change and corrupting the people who should know better. 

Tale of Two Tapes

The Tale of the Tapes

A Worcester police officer, Michael Motyka, was arrested recently in Worcester Massachusetts for allegedly violating the civil rights of a Black man being held in the Worcester Police lockup on Belmont St.  He allegedly beat the handcuffed and shackled victim while calling him racial slurs.  The incident took place in December 2014 and videotaped by the cameras in the  lock up. 

The Worcester District Attorney’s (DA) office has refused to release a copy of the tape to the public. The spokesman for the DA stated that a special prosecutor will be appointed and that it is policy not to release tapes of criminal acts until after a trial.  The problem with this policy for this case is that at least four other officers witnessed the alleged beating of the victim by officer Motyka and did nothing. 

The issue in this case is not only the civil rights violations by officer Motyka, but also the civil rights violations of the officers who witnessed the alleged beating and racial sluts and did nothing to protect the victim.  This is a civil rights violation in itself and a violation of Worcester Police Department policy. The tape should be released to the public so that the public can review the policies and actions of the Worcester Police Department. The Worcester Police Department which is responsible for the tape has the ability to release it. It should be fully transparent on this issue.

The irony of the tape is that the City is spent a lot money and used a lot of resources based on a tape of Black Lives Matter protestors at Kelly Square. The City will likely not be able to use this tape in court  as it can not be authenticated. The protestors did not beat up anyone and did not use racial slurs.  A motorist might have been “annoyed”. The protestors never ignored any police commands to “disburse” as the police were not present at the protest. The protestors disbursed on their own volition.

In the case of Motyka the City should suspend the officer who did nothing, while officer Motyka allegedly beat up a shackled prisoner, until their cases are adjudicated. The Motyka tape is a part of the review of violations of Worcester Police Department policy. These charges are exponentially worse than the charges against the protesters who might have  annoyed a motorist.

A defense for the protestors seems to be “legitimate purpose” which means that there was a need to bring attention to the misconduct of the Worcester Police. The Motyka case is evidence of the legitimate purpose of the protestors.

There is evidence that the City is maliciously prosecuting the protestors. Malicious Prosecution is a civil rights violation and it has four elements : 1. Commencement of criminal proceedings, 2. the proceedings is adjudicated in victims favor, 3. There was not probable cause, 4. The proceeding was brought with malice. This should be investigated by the Department of Justice when it comes to Worcester.

When I first heard of the arrest of officer Motyka, I was encouraged,  thinking perhaps Worcester had changed its review of police misconduct.  If the review process is taken more seriously by the City, the protestors at Kelly Square had a lot to do with it. Now I am not sure if there is substantive improvement in City government.

Mayor Petty has come out against civilian review of the police. It is time that Mayor Petty realizes he is now a part of the problem. The City Manager’s refusal to drop the charges against the protestors in light of events shows a business as usual policy at City government.

Disturbing The Peace

The Connection Between Disturbing The Peace And Civil Rights Violations?

On April 15, 2015 four Black (all) Lives Matter protesters were summoned to a Clerk Magistrate hearing. The Clerk Magistrate ruled that there was not sufficient evidence for the assertion by the City of Worcester that the four protesters were disorderly, but he ruled that there was sufficient evidence for a complaint of disturbing the peace.

The evidence presented by the City of Worcester consisted to a larger extent of a police report. Although mentioned in the hearing a video was not shown.  The police report is suspect as the police were not witnesses to the protest at Kelly Square. One of the protesters, summoned to court, never entered the roadway and was at least one block away. The police report said another protester was wearing clothing he was not actually wearing. The report went on to say that the manner by which the police identified the protesters was from interviews days AFTER the protest.

The Worcester Police have been known for its secrecy and lack of transparency which allows it to escape scrutiny by the public. It is an environment which can lead officers to be less than truthful or unable to resist unlawful instructions from superiors

The City Manager and the Chief of police stated in the media that they only pursued the summons after they saw a video. They ordered an investigation.  Based on knowledge and belief the police report was ordered to be written by Chief Gemme and City Manager Ed Augustus.  They pressured officers to create the inconsistent and possibly false police report presented at the Clerk Magistrate hearing.  It will be interesting to see how the writers of the report respond to questions under oath at the trial.

There is no dispute that the complaints brought by the City Manager and the Police Chief against the protesters are political.  They both say that they would withdraw the charges if and when the protesters promise not to demonstrate in the streets. A non political complaint would not have such a condition.

There may be a violation by the City of the civil rights of the protesters. This violation is a separate violation from the issue of disturbing the peace. The City is threatening jail time and fines in order to gain a political end. The protesters have a right under the first amendment to protest the unjust killings of unarmed people especially young Black men. The issue is whether the City Manager and Police Chief conspire to deny the protesters their first amendment rights. The complaints have had a chilling effect on some people.  There seems to be some evidence that the Manager and Chief applied pressure to some police officers to create an inconsistent and possibly false police report.  This issue of conspiracy to violate civil rights should be an issue brought to the Department of Justice when it comes to Worcester.

This harassment and intimidation of the protesters by the City Manager, Chief of Police, and its mostly White City Council  might not rise to the level of a civil rights violation, but it is something  that should be investigated. It is certainly a large political mistake. A much better way to achieve the goal of a stop to protests is to engage the protesters in honest dialog. It is what the protesters have been demanding. The protesters have demanded increased scrutiny of the police. It is something that seems to be needed, given the recent arrest of a City police officer for civil rights violations. 

Marginalized People Stand Strong

The Marginalized People Stand Strong

The Community United Collective (CUC) held a rally of one hundred people in the City of Worcester on April 14, 2015. Although peaceful and relatively small, this rally has had a disproportionally large effect on the City.  A couple of days before the rally began City official brought out the big guns threatening to arrest people. A well meaning group of clergy seemed to have been organized by the City to preempt the rally. City Councillors said that protester should be charge with some kind crime.  A Worcester Police offers was arrested for civil rights violations. After the rally the City Manager said he would drop charges against the Kelly square protestors, if they agreed to behave. A City Councillor reportedly called for a Civilian Review Board. Councillor Lukes has an agenda item to punish the people at Mosaic Center.

No Worcester Police officer has ever been arrested for any action he took while on duty. No City Councillor in recent history has called for a civilian review.  The rally of Community United Collective as a part of the Black (all) Lives Matter new civil rights movement has compelled something of a social upheaval in the City of Worcester and the USA. Cops are being arrested for murder for killing unarmed people while on duty.  .

There were no politicians at the rally, not even candidates. There are twenty nine candidates seeking seats on the City Council. There seemed to be no clergy. There were street people, there were middle class working people, there were students, there were radicals, and there were the peace community. Marginalized people were at the rally.

CUC read a statement that said that it and its friends would not be turned around by the City government, the cops, the politicians, and other misleaders. There was a question and answer session after the statement.  A member of the CUC said that the stories appearing in the Worcester Telegram were inaccurate and possibly intended to intimidate protesters. No protested has been charged as of the date of the rally. Two protesters were being summons to a Clerk Magistrate Hearing to determine if the City had enough evidence to file a charge.

A spokesman for Progressive Labor Party who has been active in the CUC said that income inequalities were one of the material conditions leading to racism and gender disparities.  Income disparities eventually lead to killing of unarmed working people, especially young Black men.

The Black Lives Matter protests are continuing,  on April 14, 2015 the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC was blocked and in Springfield MA a roadway was also blocked.

The discussion about race is heating up and it seems that the CUC is not backing down. Let us see if the City can have a candid discussion without hiding behind the Department of Justice or some other interlocutor.

 

Faith community Press conference, Real or Illusion?

Faith Community Press Conference against Hate Speech, Illusion or Reality?

Councillor Sarai Rivera is a good and sincere person. She has fought against racism since I have known her. She was a leader in the Justice for Chirstino Hernandez Committee in the 1990s and she has taken courageous positions subsequently. Like Sarai Rivera others in the community who took part in the Clergy against Hate Speech are good people seeking only social justice.

That being said I question the timing and organization of the so called press conference of the Clergy against Hate Speech held on April 13, 2015.  The event was probably organized by the City Manager or people associated with the City Manager who likely hand picked the participants  to exclude all of the Black Lives Matter protester and supporters.

 There was almost no publicity before the event in the community; possibly to prevent people who might disagree with the City‘s scripted lines or who might embarrass the City Manager. What working person can go to a 2:30 PM meeting? Was this press conference called by the Manager or his friend as a preemption of the Black Lives Matter demonstration the next day?

The City Manager is under some pressure for his oppressive application to the Clerk Magistrate to charge Black Live Matter protesters. There is no evidence that can be used in court which is why the City Manager or the Chief Gemmed did not to the District Attorney.  A large demonstration is planned on April 14, 2015 at City Hall to protest the continued killing of unarmed Black men and other working people by the police.  These demonstrations, including the demonstrations in Worcester have compelled a change in police policy. Now the police are arresting police officer for violations that are committee while on duty. 

This Clergy group has been absent when hate speech has appeared in Worcester previously and it still does not want to say what hate speech it opposes. It was absent when the Nazis used the Library as their bunker headquarters in 2011. It was absent during the Tea Party’s racist activities against immigrants. It was absent when TurtleBoy called our students “savages”.  It has been absent as a group at the City Council when Black Lives Matter protesters called for better scrutiny of the Worcester Police Department.  In fairness the Clergy group is relatively new and seems to have taken on some of the goals of the City Manager’s Committee against Bias and Hate.

It is my hope that this group is not being used by the City as a wedge to divide the Black Lives Matter new civil rights movement; the same way that the Department of Justice discussion on race might be used. Let the City talk directly with the people. There is no need for an interlocutory.  I would like to see who from the Clergy goes to the Black Lives Matter demonstration on April 14, 2015.  During the old civil rights movement some of the clergy disassociated themselves from the street people in the hopes that the bosses would perceive them to be more respectable.

I am hoping that this Clergy group is real and not pawns for the City Manager. 

Worcester Hides Behind Department of Justice

Worcester Hides Behind Department of Justice.

It was announced recently that the City of Worcester invited the Department of Justice to hold discussions about race. The question arises why doesn’t the City hold these hearings directly. People have been demanding that there be increased scrutiny of the police, a review of the seemingly racist overreaction at North High School, and the lack of written policies on construction projects and Worcester residents.  Many people have raised that the schools are underfunded and a part of a system that will have adversely negative racial impact.  The people who have gone to City Council meetings, School Committee meetings, and other meetings are still here and no one from the City has asked them for a “discussion “on race.

The Department of Justice will interface in the City with the City Manager’s Coalition against Bias and Hate. This group consists of very well meaning people, but as a group it has not spoken out against the racist murders of unarmed working class people, especially Black men. The Coalition against Bias and Hate has not spoken out against the racist over reaction against North High students and students in general. It  have not spoken out against the racist underfunding of schools. It remained silent when the issue of job for Worcester resident was raised. The Coalition against Bias and Hate is run by the City Manager to give him cover on issues of race.

This cover for the City is seen in that it went to the media first before it contacted any Black or Latino person who has raised their voices against racism. The Coalition is said it would announce a schedule for the race discussions on April 24, 2015. This makes no sense given the urgency of the issue. The arrest of a police officer for allegedly beating a handcuffed prisoner at the City lock up adds more urgency to the situation. I don’t think that the Coalition against Bias and Hate has the experience or will to do anything  substantial against racism, given it track record. However I have an open mind on the issue.

The discussion of race should include the urgent discussion of police conduct and that of City Manager Ed Augustus. He and the Police Chief Gemme are seeking charges against two people who have participated in Black Lives Matter new civil rights movement. The is an obvious attempt by the City to intimate other people who have raised their voices against racism. There is no evidence that can be used in court against the two, but the City is going forward with its prosecution on April 15, 2015. There will be a rally on April 14, 2015, 6:30 PM at City Hall in support of the people being persecuted by the City. On April 18, 2015, 1 PM there will be a discussion of race and police conduct sponsored by the Massachusetts Human Right Commission and the Progressive Labor Party at the Worcester Library.

Councillor Lukes owes the City and its residents an apology for her “support the cops absolutely” resolution. Her resolutions and statements by Michael Gaffney have made it harder to appropriately scrutinize police conduct. This issue should also be discussed in the discussion on race.

The Department of Justice coming to Worcester and the arrest of the police officer in Worcester for alleged Civil Rights violations are a sign that the Black (All) Lives Matter new civil rights movement is having a positive effect on society. These things would not have happened if it were not for the protests, meetings, workshops, and marches of the people speaking out against racism.

A Pig In A Poke

A Pig in a Poke

The public learned two things at the April 7, 2015 Worcester City Council meeting. The first is that the City might have bought a pig in a poke.  The second is that City Councillors are easily intimidated by so called business capitalist investors; specifically Brady Sullivan.  The City Council approved Brady Sullivan’s purchase of  the Old Courthouse and project without a written contract, without a purchase and sales agreement, and without a Community Benefits Agreement.  It seemed that all of the City Councillors know this is bad business practice.

Councillor Rosen would not say whether he was happy or unhappy with the lack of transparency and the lack of documentation provided to the Council and to the public. prior to last night vote.  Regardless of his ignorance on the issue he voted on the approval of the Brady Sullivan “deal”.  He did say that he wanted a good deal. What will say if the cat comes out of the bag?

Councillor Russell also wanted a good deal: he at least gave a straight answer that he thought that the way Manager Augustus did not include the City Council in the negotiations  in a timely manner was not appropriate. He said that information should have been provided by the City Manager before the City Manager made public  the  “understandings”  with Brady Sullivan.

Kyhristian King, a candidate for City Councillor, showed the same caution as did Mr. Rosen. He wanted a good deal, but he would not say if he was unhappy with the transparency of the City Manager in the negotiations.

The head of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce and former Lieutenant Governor, Timothy Murray said that he also wanted a good deal with Brady Sullivan. He wanted Worcester residents to get at least fifty percent of the jobs. However he said that because no public money was involved that the City could not make obligatory legal demands on Brady Sullivan.

Lenny Cooper, a long time activist and a member of the NAACP and the Worcester Community Labor Coalition, said that the demands of the Coalition are fifty percent of hires by Brady Sullivan or their subcontractors be from the Worcester areas. Of that number fifteen percent should be so called minorities and seven per cent should be women.

So what is the real deal today? There is none. There is no written agreement that is legally enforceable on the issues of taxes, employment, mitigation of adverse changes to the neighborhood, or even a purchase and sale agreement. There is only the pig in the poke.

Especially disappointing is Councillor Lukes who used to pride herself as a fiscal conservative and a watch dog for the public.  She is also a lawyer who understands good business practice. In matter of Brady Sullivan Councillor Lukes endorsed the worse business practice of selling without a purchase and sale agreement. She used to slam former mayors for the lack of transparency and now she is silent on that issue.  It seems that she is running out of gas and is just a shadow of  her previous due diligence self.

For decades the City of Worcester have look for the Holy Grail of development. It has gone through several iterations of Worcester Commons Outlet. It has built a poorly designed Union Station that Amtrak did not want and that is losing money. There have been several changes to the plans for City Square and it seems that this might be a money loser as well.

No one can say for sure how the old Court House project will turn out. There are not documents to analyze. There is only the lack of transparency of City Manager Augustus and the wishful thinking of City Council.