Worcester Council Moves To Suspend City Manager Search

WORCESTER, MA — After voting 10-1 earlier this year to do a nationwide search for a new city manager, the Worcester City Council on Tuesday moved to suspend the search and hire acting City Manager Eric Batista.

Mayor Joseph Petty — who has previously said he wants to end the search — made a series of motions at Tuesday's meeting asking for the formal suspension of the nationwide search, to hire Batista, and to move into contract negotiations.

Petty's motions were widely expected at Tuesday's meeting after issues related to the search have been stymied in recent weeks. At-Large Councilor Khrystian King since spring has been leading the search process in a city council subcommittee and has asked the full council to vote on hiring the firm GovHR USA to seek candidates from across the country.

Petty said Batista has shown that he's qualified for the job while serving as acting city manager, and would rather not spend the money on a nationwide search if the council just ends up hiring Batista anyway.

"I just think you're the right person for the right time," Petty said Tuesday.

In a series of votes Tuesday, councilors voted 6-5 to "file" — a procedure of effectively killing legislative motions — items related to the search, including the formation of an ad hoc search committee, hiring GovHR USA and suspending the search. At-Large Councilor Khrystian King, District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj, At-Large Councilor Thu Nguyen, District 1 Councilor Sean Rose and District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera were in the minority voting against those items.

But King moved to hold Petty's motion to hire Batista and move into contract negotiations. King then asked Petty to work with the city attorney to create a process where Batista could meet with the community before he gets hired.

"[Batista] hasn't had the opportunity to do what we want to do, which is talk about his vision," King said.

Under city rules, councilors can hold any item, but only until the next meeting. That means Petty's motion to hire Batista will likely resurface at the next meeting scheduled for Nov. 15.

Petty's motions also allowed each councilor to talk about why the search was either important or unnecessary.

Throughout the process, every councilor acknowledged that Batista, 39, has the skills to do the job. He grew up on Grafton Hill and began working at City Hall in 2012 under former manager Michael O'Brien, right before Ed Augustus Jr. took over. He worked as a project manager, assistant city manager, director of urban innovation and as the interim chief diversity officer.

"Acting City Manager Batista, this isn't a vote against you, it is a vote for me for a process for transparency," District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj said.

"To not do a search to me is just lazy and apathetic and a little bit cheap. I'm so confused, why we would vote no to a search? Let's do our job," At-Large Councilor Thu Nguyen said.

At-Large Councilor Moe Bergman said he reversed course on wanting a search because several months ago he wasn't sure Batista wanted the job. Bergman also said Batista should get some "home court advantage" as a candidate due to his experience.

"Over the last six months it's become apparent to me, he really does want that job," Bergman said.

"It is our job to see potential," At-Large Councilor Donna Colorio said. "Early on, I saw the potential in Eric Batista and I knew he would do a great job."

Petty wasn't the first person to publicly seek to hire Batista. In April, District 3 Councilor George Russell suggested giving Batista a two-year contract, although it ultimately failed in a 2-9 vote. Russell said he originally made that motion so Batista could "deal forcefully on the day-to-day issues" of the city without the title "acting" hanging over his head.

Batista had many supporters at Tuesday's council meeting, although his hiring wasn't explicitly on the agenda. During public comment, many speakers said that Batista is qualified for the job, but also that he would represent a step forward for a city that has struggled with diversity: Batista would be Worcester's first nonwhite city manager.

But many other groups in Worcester, like Black Families Together and the Worcester Branch NAACP, urged the council to do a full nationwide search. On Tuesday, a representative from Latino Empowerment Organizing Network also asked for a full search.

After Petty in September said on the Talk of the Commonwealth show he would want to suspend the search, Batista responded with a statement saying he respects the search process.

"I appreciate the confidence that the mayor and many others have expressed in my leadership. I respect the search process and am in no way trying to avoid it. The process is set by the city council and in the hands of the Municipal and Legislative Operations subcommittee," Batista's Sept. 22 statement said.

District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera said hiring Batista without a full search could bring a "cloud" over his tenure.

"He will be scrutinized even much harsher than other city managers because his name is Batista," Rivera said. "I think it's going to be a proud day when a search has come forth, and we can say we've looked far and wide, and there's still no one that stands up to the work and caliber of Eric Batista."

Under Worcester's Plan E form of government, the city manager acts as the "chief executive officer of the city responsible for the administration of all city agencies" similar to elected mayors in cities like Framingham and Boston. The democratic control over the city manager flows through city councilors, with the city charter deeming one of the council's prime duties is hiring the city manager.