Worcester Roundtable Weighs In on Superintendent Pick, Human Rights Controversy, and Election Outlook

From support for Brian Allen’s appointment to sharp criticism of the City Manager’s Human Rights Commission decision, the panel tackles Worcester’s top issues.

By Hank Stolz

WORCESTER, Mass. —The Radio Roundtable, Matt Wally, Guillermo Creamer, Randy Feldman, Hank, and Ben talk about the local issues of the day. In this episode, they look at the hiring of Brian Allen as the next Superintendent of Worcester Public Schools. All agree that he is a good choice and that a nationwide search was unnecessary. Wally suggests that the criticism that Allen does not have classroom teaching experience can be overcome by hiring a Deputy Superintendent who does.

Both Feldman and Creamer serve on the Human Rights Commission and strongly react to City Manager Eric Batista’s decision not to reappoint Ellen Shemitz, the commission’s chair, and Elizabeth O’Callahan, the vice chair, to the commission. Shemitz and O’Callahan have been at odds with the City Manager. The commission had asked the City Manager to reappoint both. Creamer said that much of the press coverage has centered on the friction with the City Manager over access to Worcester Police records, but that the commission looks at many more topics than that during their meetings.

The Roundtable also takes an in-depth look at the municipal election. Signatures were due by 5 PM Tuesday, May 6th, but already there are enough candidates to trigger a preliminary election in September. The Roundtable discusses whether the Trump administration will be an election issue.

This article is based on a Radio Roundtable discussion originally aired on Talk of the Commonwealth, hosted by Hank Stolz for Radio Worcester.