| | Advanced Search

 

National Rankings: How Does Worcester Stack Up?—From sugar daddies to safety...

Leonardo Angiulo: Surviving Party Season With Your Teenager—Read this before party season gets bigger...

Parents of 18-29 Year Olds Want Them Living At Home—Clark Poll—They like them that much...

B’s Beat Lundqvist, Rangers 5-2—take a 2-0 lead in series

In Case You Missed It: Worcester’s Most Fashionable Men + Women—Who sets the style standard in Central Mass...

UMASS Memorial/Hahneman Nurses Settle, University Nurses Pending—UMass Memorial Nurses Avoid Strike with New Two-Year…

John Monfredo: Head Start Worcester Cuts Will Hurt 200+ Children—Cuts that will go deep in Central Mass...

Travis Rowley: Obama’s Failed Vision of Government—And what this week's lessons hold...

Beauty: 6 Easy Steps To Summer-Worthy Legs—get ready for skirts and shorts

Fresolo Investigation: How Transparent is MA Government?—Fresolo Investigation: How Transparent is MA Government?

 
 

BREAKING: Mayor Calls for Leadership over Police Chief Flap

Monday, March 26, 2012

Walter Bird Jr., GoLocalWorcester Contributor

 

Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty, in a statement just released today, has called for officials to stop talking about the controversy surrounding an alleged move by city councilors to oust Police Chief Gary Gemme.

“The City Manager and I are working together to address the issues raised by the City Council,” Petty said.  “In the meantime, I am urging all parties to take a step back from discussing this issue publicly. This is not going to be solved through the media or on the City Council floor; it will require leadership by all.”

The mayor referenced what became a political firestorm over the past several days when it was learned that several councilors may have been working the phones and talking to the city manager about relieving Gemme of his duties

“Clearly, what has transpired over the past week has created a distraction, but we can’t let these issues get in the way of our ability to lead, govern and most importantly, serve the citizens of Worcester,” Petty said.

It was the first public statement from either the mayor or City Manager Michael O’Brien about the issue. Media reports have quoted a statement by Gemme saying he received an e-mail from O’Brien, in which the manager offered his full support.
Attempts to obtain a copy that statement have been unsuccessful.

GoLocalWorcester has asked for a comment from O’Brien.

While the situation came to a head last week, the wrangling over Gemme has gone on for some time. The fallout has been noticeable and dramatic, with the city earlier this month clarifying its social media policy.
Councilor Tony Economou was among those who took issue with Gemme for using his Twitter account to express personal opinions or respond to critics, telling GoLocalWorcester last week, “I don’t care for it. I don’t particularly care for any department head tweeting or on Facebook.”
Economou said he has discussed it with the city manager.

GoLocalWorcester will post any updates to this story as they occur. Read more about the issue tomorrow on GoLocalWorcester.com.

 

Related Articles

 

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.



Commenting is not available in this channel entry.