Why Worcester Needs Bias Training
Snapshot of politics of the 2000s
Lawrence/Larry Abramoffs interview to join the Zoning Board of Appeals took a turn south, when he was asked about his relationship to one of his references, who is before the board frequently.
“I have no financial dealings whatsoever with Mark Borenstein. None. He’s just someone I know who recommended that maybe I should think about going back on here.”
He apparently had a petition in 1991 to 1994 that continuously got turned down, which he described as “highly politicized” and unfair, said it radically effected his life family and business but he eventually did prevail.
After his business closed in 2006, he figured that instead of getting mad he’d get even and try to bring a sense of common sense and fairness to the ZBA, which he believes he accomplished.
He has been semiretired with winters in Florida but is back in Worcester retired looking for something to do and believes he brings a lot of experience and a good perspective.
Apparently this Worcester developer connection was one of his references, because a commissioner asked stated “Mark Borenstein is a real estate lawyer who appears before the zoning board often and asked “Based on your relationship with him, would you recuse yourself when he’s the attorney"?”
He claims to know virtually every attorney, says that it really has no effect, and doesn’t think that it’s necessary to do that.
The commissioner disagrees, citing ethics training they had to take to be on the board.
Citing ethics training he’s taken in the past he disagrees, not “seeing why his relationship impacts this”, continuing that “If knowing someone is a requirement to recuse yourself, then I’m recused because I know everybody and they know me”
He claims that the person isn’t a personal friend beyond an aquaintance, to which the commissioner asks what he was thinking using him as a reference. Abramoffs responds saying that they were people he knows that are familiar with the zoning board and “thought would be familiar to you people”. He makes sure to mention that he also put Ed Augustus on there.
Continuing on discussing his relationship with the person he will be voting on every meeting, he states that they are “Not someone I feel I could not rule for or against fairly or unfairly based on my knowledge knowing him.
Ted Kostas, former D4 candidate and a member of the Worcester Republican Committee offers him a lifeline, asking if he wouldn’t have a preference based on the person person, just make determinations on the project itself.
Abramoffs states “I have no financial dealings whatsoever with Mark Borenstein. None. He’s just someone I know who recommended that maybe I should think about going back on here.”
He ellaborates, trying to cover his ass, “Actually, he mentioned it to my son, my son mentioned it to me, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah”
The commissioner thanks him for this clarification.
This aside, he still passes through five to two
The begin to introduce the next applicant and he interrupts to say that he is “rather disappointed” that it wasn’t a unanimous vote, that “you may want to change your vote now”
Here’s the video
What a concise example of problems in Worcester, and why we need bias training.
In related news, this past Tuesday Andrew Serratto was appointed to Parks Commission. He and Antonelli Jr go WAY back.