It is no secret that Worcester City Council is split ideologically. Councilors King, Ojeda and Bilotta are the only progressive members, rising like marble pillars out of a sea of apathetic centrism. These three, pitted hopelessly against the eight establishmentarians, cut the Council in twain and leave an ideological gap a mile wide.
Three against eight: this has been the pattern on every progressive reform before the council since the start of its term in January. Split along the same line, over and over again. However, the pattern was featured most prominently on Sept. 8, when the Council put to death its biggest firestorm in recent memory: a civilian review board for the Worcester Police Department.
A civilian review board, (CRB) like proponents describe would have subpoena powers and routine access to WPD’s records, providing a valuable measure of oversight to the department. This is especially important for a police force with a proven pattern of absence of internal accountability, training, and consequences for officer misconduct…