Timothy Murray Resigns From Research Bureau After Police Reform Report

WORCESTER, MA — Former three-term Worcester mayor and President and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, Timothy Murray, announced that he has resigned from the Worcester Regional Research Bureau Board of Directors, according to a news release.

This comes after the WRRB released a report earlier this month that argued the Worcester Police Department was overdue for civilian oversight. The 27-page report, put out on Oct. 14, said that a civilian oversight entity will strengthen accountability and rebuild public trust.

Murray said he disagreed with the timing of the report's release, which was just a few weeks before the city's municipal election.

"To issue a report and recommendation three weeks before a competitive municipal election was, in my judgment, a mistake that does a disservice to the important discussion and debate this issue warrants," Murray wrote in a news release on Friday.

Related:

• Worcester Police 'Overdue For Civilian Oversight,' Research Bureau Says
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The report was requested by City Manager Eric Batista, following a Department of Justice investigation into the Worcester Police Department. The DOJ report found that officers used excessive force, engaged in racial discrimination and illegal sex acts against women.

The WRRB is a nonprofit that serves the public interest by conducting independent, non-partisan research into public policy issues.

Murray issued the following statement Friday:

“Throughout my time in public-facing roles, the Worcester Regional Research Bureau, under the leadership of Roberta Schaefer, Tim McGourthy, and Paul Matthews, has produced high-quality research and reports that have benefited both the public and policymakers when deliberating important issues. The request by City Manager Batista and the City Council for a report on police oversight protocols, including civilian review boards, is an important public policy matter that merits thoughtful deliberation and debate. To issue a report and recommendation three weeks before a competitive municipal election was, in my judgment, a mistake that does a disservice to the important discussion and debate this issue warrants.

Additionally, the Board of Directors of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau does not receive notice about when reports are being issued, nor are we solicited for input on potential research topics. Accordingly, I have suggested to Worcester Regional Research Bureau Executive Board members, both prior to and after my resignation, that a better description for the Worcester Regional Research Bureau Board of Directors in its current form would be ‘corporators’ or ‘supporters’ of the Research Bureau, as the Executive Board and officers are the primary decision-makers on Research Bureau policy and personnel matters.

I hope the Research Bureau leadership will take these suggestions under consideration and that the business community and others will continue to support the good work the Research Bureau has done over the past 40 years in independently and objectively researching complicated public policy matters facing Worcester and the region.”

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