By Rosalie Tirella

I called Worcester city council/mayor candidate Bill Coleman last night. He writes for us and is also a friend who has helped me in so many ways, both personally and professionally (i. e. building shelves to hold ICT issues, doing small carpentry/handy man projects around the house; listening to me when I need a sounding board, etc.).

So yesterday I said: “Hey, Bill, I just read Nick K.’s column on you. I thought it sucked. You finished 8’th in the preliminary election (for an at large city council seat – you need to place 6th or better) and he showed you no respect. Minimized your very strong showing by poking fun at you.”

Bill, ever the optimist, didn’t see it that way. “It was OK!”

I guess Bill believes crappy press is better than no press at all.

Wrong.

Nick and the T & G have been making fun of Bill Coleman for years. And in a way, Nick’s latest column on Bill smacked of a more subtle kind of racism. If another of the city council candidates – white and well heeled – had won the spot Bill did this past preliminary election, Nick would have written an entirely different piece. He would have been impressed! He would have written: Look out incumbents! But no. It was just Bill who won. So Nick poked fun and make jokes. In Nick’s column, Bill didn’t get any credit for the job he did so well (8th place!) – only back-handed compliments. Crumby compliments that pissed me off – and lots of Bill’s supporters, of which there are many.

Nick, when was the last time we had an African American city councilor? When was the last time we have had a person of color speak for people of color – or just regular folks – on the Worcester City Council?

Maybe like twice in the City of Worcester’s history.

Bill Coleman has made a name for himself in Worcester doing many good deeds, meeting a ton of people, listening to their concerns, touting the folks and establishments he loves. He is as high energy as they come – certainly more energetic than you, Nick, a fat, gray-haired, old columnist who has overstayed his visit, when it comes to covering politics in this town. You have been around for so long (more than 25 years!!) you can’t even tell that the city you have been writing about so drippily for eons is changing.

WORCESTER NEEDS NEW COLUMNISTS for NEW TIMES!