City Manager Search Debate Delayed By Worcester Mayor's Hold

WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester City Council Thursday was set to debate a key part of the city manager search process, but Mayor Joseph Petty pulled the item from the council's agenda, barring discussion about the topic.

The maneuver was the latest twist in simmering conflict over the city manager search. Petty has said he's in favor of ending the search and giving acting City Manager Eric Batista a three-year contract. Petty had also on Wednesday lamented how much time the search process was taking during an appearance on the radio show Talk of the Commonwealth.

Meanwhile, At-Large Councilor Khrystian King — who has been leading the city manager search process in the Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee — has said the city must carry out the search process. Councilors voted 10-1 in April to do a full nationwide search.

King brought an item to Thursday's special council meeting that would've led to the hiring of a search firm to do the nationwide search. Only one executive search firm, GovHR USA, has submitted a bid to do the search.

At the beginning of Thursday's meeting, Petty said that he would hold the item. Under the city council rules, any councilor can hold an item, delaying debate and voting until the next scheduled meeting.

King protested Petty's hold, and asked for permission to speak about the item. Petty declined, saying it wasn't tradition to allow councilors to speak on held items — but King said Petty could allow it if he wanted to.

"You have the ability to allow me to speak," King said.

"I think it's closed," Petty responded.

King asked for a vote to suspend the rules of the city council so he could speak on the item, but that was voted down 6-4 with At-Large Councilor Thu Nguyen absent, and Petty and councilors Candy Mero-Carlson, Kate Toomey, Morris Bergman, Donna Colorio and George Russell voting not to suspend the rules.

Petty did allow members of the public to speak about the search. Leslie Slewyoin, a member of the Worcester NAACP, asked the council to go through the process of a city manager search.

"I think the citizens should be allowed to see a clear and open process to see how the city manager gets hired," he said.

Other community groups and local activists have said much the same recently.

"When the former City Manager announced his departure, we were told that there would be a process with a search firm to determine who the next city manager would be," the group Black Families Together said Wednesday. "We are disappointed about recent reports in the media, that it appears the city council might be moving away from a search process. How can the city council possibly think about appointing a city manager without an equitable, inclusive, and transparent process, with community engagement?"

Others have said that advocating for a search isn't a knock on Batista — who is the first Latino to become a Worcester city manager — but a way to get the public involved in the search.

"This demand for a new city manager does not negatively reflect Acting City Manager Eric Batista. I am proud of his accomplishments," activist Nelly Medina said this week. "The optics are that the city of Worcester is diversifying and making the progressive choice. But why is it that diversity in municipal leadership is only on their terms? Worcester's residents deserve a process before deciding on Worcester's new city manager."

Batista has also said he is willing to proceed through the search process in light of Petty's suggestion it should be ended.

"I respect the search process and am in no way trying to avoid it," he said.

Petty's hold will delay debate on hiring a search firm until the next meeting on Oct. 12.