election

By Rosalie Tirella

Well, finally, our new mayor shows some cajones! Mayor Joe O’Brien has snubbed Joff Smith (at the moment an At Large Worcester city councilor with an at-LARGE ego but a Missing-in-Action brain) for the gal from Elm Street - Margot Barnet. He will formally endorse Barnet for the District 13 State Rep seat that Mr. Hottie Pants, Bob Spellane, has decided to give up after a number of horrid/stupid mis-steps (political and personal).

Barnet, a lady who has been president of the fab Regional Environmental Council, one-time home to the equally fab REC Director of Development Josie Shagwert and equally bright and articulate (and fab) REC ex-executive director Peggy Middaugh, is the kind of person we want to represent District 13. Smart, intelligent, honest.

We were getting so bummed out over the field of candidates - especially Joff Smith, a guy who, just because he looks cute in a suit, thinks he is somehow destined for a political career, a chance to lead “the people.” He’s been waiting for a chance like this for, let’s see, forever.

Why is it that men’s egos grow in inverse proportion to their IQs?

Smith’s ego is FUCKIN’ huge - and his contribution to the City of Worcester is so small! He has contributed next to nothing as a Worcester City Councilor, and despite his efforts to grand stand and jump on the hot issues like A.L.Beetle-mania, he is ultimately pointless. Click to continue »

The Battle for America 2008 By Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson

Reviewed by Steven R. Maher

“It’s a pretty fascinating slice of Americana” – Barack Obama on the 2008 election.

The 2008 Presidential election will fascinate historians for generations to come. And the aptly titled “The Battle for America 2008” by Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson will be great resource for historians writing about that drama. It is a great first draft of history.

Non-partisan

This book is unusually impartial. This is because the authors used the journalistic device of letting the primary actors – candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Sarah Pallin – speak for themselves. Throughout the book, at key historical moments, the major players are quoted in conversations with campaign aides, coming to a decision or explaining an event. Click to continue »

editor’s note: a message from Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for governor of Massachusetts:

Dear friends,

Welcome to our campaign’s weekly e-mail update. We’re off to a fantastic start, and I wanted to welcome new supporters and old friends with a quick message about the incredible opportunity that we face, even in the midst of great crises.

On Capitol Hill and Beacon Hill the sellouts continue apace - to health insurance giants, Wall Street banksters, war hawks and climate spoilers. Business as usual is still taking a heavy toll on our jobs, health, communities and environment, pushing us towards the brink. More than ever, there is cause to rise up for justice, survival and the future we deserve. We have an unprecedented opportunity to tip the balance in 2010 towards a healthy, just, sustainable future –in Massachusetts and beyond.

This campaign will be a vehicle for our shared vision that grows more essential with every passing year: vibrant, secure local economies, community-based green jobs, alternative clean energy and local agriculture (two of the fastest growing sectors around), an end to needless, cruel home foreclosures, and Medicare for all. Click to continue »

By Rosalie Tirella

… she shouldn’t run for governor of Massachusetts.

I have known and worked with Grace Ross for a while now. InCity Times endorsed her for governor last time around (I put her on our cover and ran a huge story, too!). I also endorsed her for Worcester City Council three years ago, when she ran for an at-large seat. She would have made a great at large city councilor. I mean, look who we ended up with instead: a totally incompetent nabob - Mike Germain.

I remember going to her “support Grace meetings” when she ran for that at large seat council seat - when she really had a chance of winning (until Mayor Joe O’Brien’s wife, Lisa Weinberg, began her smear campaign against Grace, calling her anti-semetic - the last thing Grace would ever be). Grace had so many great folks backing her then - all the city’s neighborhood activists, it seemed! She was so inspirational when she spoke! You just wanted to get up and clap after one of Grace’s beautifully worded speeches. Click to continue »

By Chris Horton

[Governor] Deval Patrick is no longer a suitable leader for the common people of Massachusetts, no matter where he came from. The people are done with waiting for change and listening to excuses why the promises that were made can’t be kept. They won’t vote for him, and we will only destroy our own credibility with them by working for him. Appeals to all Democrats to stick together around Patrick are utterly misplaced in the context of the Convention and the Primary election because what is at issue is whether he is appropriate as leader of the Commonwealth’s Democrats. Which he is not.

The heavy-handed tactics of his supporters to intimidate anyone who might go against him at the convention even before there was any opposition inside the Democratic Party - which I saw first hand - are an indication that he’s running scared. Click to continue »

By Rosalie Tirella

this past Worcester City Council meeting made me think: this guy isn’t gonna give anything to “the people.” His campaign was just a lot of hot air.

Case in point: O’Brien FINALLY got out of his mayoral chair, took the mic and talked on an issue: the city manager and DPW head Bob Moylan were giving councilors an update on the work that will be done at the new Crompton Park pool. Mayor Joe O’Brien got up and pretty much rubberstamped what the city administration did/said all along. In a very quiet tone of voice O’Brien said: we will, as money permits, try to open more city pools. Then, as if to throw a bone to the Save Our Poolz folks, he said the Wheels to Water program will be broadened, hopefully with more jobs for folks.

Nice back-pedalling, O’Brien! Click to continue »

By Cheez Wiz

A while ago, I pondered the effectiveness of government led by the forces of Mayor Joe O’Brien-Tim Murray-Jim McGovern and their biggest cheerleader, Jordan Levy. After all, how is this city going to grow when Joe’s “position papers” are basically outlines on how he is going to beg his federal and state connections for federal help? It doesn’t help matters that none of the big three has a private sector background. (Ya see, those panhandlers really do teach us things!)

The new Joe-Jordan-Jim-Tim Alliance relies on federal and state help. What they lack from the get go is a sense of ideas, creativity and business sense as a foundation for job growth. What happened to the ideas first put forth by President Obama - of the “carrot and stick” approach to building business?

What happened to increased use of No Child Left Behind? Why has that program been so watered down to suit the teachers’ unions at the expense of needy, low-income children? Click to continue »

By Cheez Wiz

Plan E government makes it easy to blame others in leadership roles. Who’s gonna pay for the mess? The economy gets worse. And all we are hearing about from the political class lately is how Guy Glodis’ effort at state auditor brings with it a political domino play. Silly me, I actually thought the political class cared for us. But it seems more like they just want to get another shiny title and a bump in their state-funded retirement accounts. The police will get their salary bump because of that outdated Quinn Bill. Maybe the Worcester City Council members will be able to blame City Manager Mike O’Brien - even though the Council members were the main beneficiaries of the union funding.

The only bump the property owners of Worcester will get is in their property taxes.

Blaming Mike O’Brien might be the way to push Mike out and to give the Timmy-Jimmy-Joe alliance the “strong mayor” title that has been so elusive with a Plan E government. Click to continue »