editorial about chuck turner

Boston Progressives Should Not Jump to Conclusions About Chuck
November 24th, 2008 | Category: press

November 21, 2008
Open Media Boston, Editorial

If there’s one politician that Boston community and labor activists can count on to “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted” it’s Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner (G/R - District 7). One of the vanishingly few African-American politicians in this “majority minority” city, he has energetically represented the interests of his largely low-income constituency of color. But he is has also been a rare progressive voice in a sea of conservative politicians - most of whom are Democrats, but that’s Massachusetts for you - and a bridge-builder to other communities and constituencies around the region. Not coincidentally, he is the only Green-Rainbow Party elected official in Boston. Yet today the city awoke to the startling news that Turner was arrested by the FBI at 7 a.m. this morning at City Hall, and charged with accepting $1000 in bribes from the same government informant who gave over $23,000 in bribes to former state Senator Dianne Wilkerson in exchange for assistance getting a liquor license for the Dejavu nightclub on Melnea Cass Blvd. in Roxbury.

However, progressives in general and the African-American community in particular have little reason to trust the motives of the FBI in this instance - given decades of official government harassment of both groups - and so progressive political lists have been abuzz all day about the whys and wherefores of this case.

Much of the progressive criticism of Turner’s arrest is now focusing on the weakness of the case against Turner presented in the FBI’s affidavit (available on the Boston Globe website in PDF format).

Having reviewed the affidavit and surveyed the local press on the case thus far, Open Media Boston has concluded that the FBI does indeed appear to be presenting a weak case against Turner - resting as it does on the testimony of a single “Cooperating Witness” - who the Boston Globe tentatively identified as Ron Wilburn, a local entrepreneur who had managed a local nightclub in the past and apparently represented the Dejavu nightclub throughout the FBI investigation. Wilburn’s motives still remain opaque at this point, and it is difficult to gauge what would cause him to work so closely with the feds.

The FBI case also relies heavily on their own interpretations of Turner’s clandestinely video and audio-taped actions - actions which can certainly be read as legal behavior, and for which there is precedent in the previous actions of other more powerful politicians in Boston. And those politicians were not dragged out to the U.S. District Court in Worcester by U.S. Marshals on the rare occasions when such potential financial infractions came to light. Far from it.

So while, as a news publication, Open Media Boston is bound by social contract to follow the facts wherever they may lead, as progressives, we believe it is critical that we withhold judgment against Turner in this case - as we would in any other case - and assume that the man is innocent until proven guilty. Not just in an often-flawed legal system, but also to the satisfaction of the communities that Turner represents.

We strongly suggest that other progressives do the same. We further recommend that everyone follow the case very closely. Keep on top of it. Stay informed and up-to-date. We’ll do our best to get you the news on this situation from the ground-up, not the top-down. As always.

Above all, we should all be watching the watchers. It can be a good thing that the FBI has a Public Corruption Squad in their Boston office, but they certainly missed their own agent John Connolly sending people to their deaths at the hands of mobster Whitey Bulger, and we’re still waiting for the squad to bring down some much bigger fish than they’re seemingly trying to scare up in this sting.

Given the hundreds of thousands of public dollars that have doubtless been spent on this investigation, one really has to question their priorities - as we strongly suspect that huge corporations are buying off major politicians every day in Boston as around the world, but no one gets so much as a slap on the wrist for such world-class malfeasance. It makes us think, and we hope it makes you think too.

Whether you agree or disagree with us, we’d like to hear from you. All registered users are free to comment on this editorial - as they are on every piece of content on this site - and we’d be thrilled if we got up a good debate on this one.

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