Keep Chuck Turner Out of Jail and Let Him Serve Out His Full Council Term

Originally I held up this week's edition until today to cover yesterday's rally in support of Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner. The event was announced on understandably short notice after Turner was found guilty on charges that he took a $1000 bribe in 2007 and later lied about it to federal agents. He faces up to 35 years in prison at his sentencing hearing on January 25th. My plan was that I'd write a straight news piece about the rally, and then a short editorial about Turner's verdict. So I went and covered the rally as planned. And then I sat in front of my computer for a while. And then I thought, "what's the point of doing a news piece on the rally?" Right? What can one say at this point that hasn't already been said? Turner lost the trial. His supporters called a rally. A multiracial crowd of over 100 attended. Turner spoke. Said a lot of political and some spiritual stuff. Said he was going to fight to keep his council seat. Said he is going to fight for probation instead of jail time. Councilor Charles Yancey showed up in his support, and said some nice stuff. And that was basically it. The rest of the Boston press corps has already weighed in on the rally. I can't say much different in a news story. So why bother?

That's why I decided to focus on writing this editorial instead. Because what the rest of the news media really didn't cover - and generally doesn't know how to cover or doesn't care to cover - is what a sad scene the rally was. It was a cold windy fall day. The sky was overcast. Quite a few of Turner's longtime supporters showed up from all over the area. Some local union members wore signs supporting Turner on the back of their jackets, and there were a few Turner campaign signs tacked up here and there, but the crowd was generally unadorned.

In between occasional cheers, people were looking at each other in the crowd with worried expressions. It was not exciting the way rallies often are.

In fact, let me be brutally honest. At times, it felt less like a rally than a wake. But in this case, it was the untimely death of a political career - not, fortunately, a human being - that was being mourned behind the brave faces attendees were putting up.

Scratch that. It wasn't the "death" of a political career. No. It was the execution of one.

On a couple of occasions, most recently last week, I've already covered how the execution was perpetrated. Turner was netted by the feds in what was supposed to be a more wide ranging operation to uncover corruption in Boston politics. But aside from catching former State Senator Dianne Wilkerson taking more money in a more red handed fashion, the feds didn't catch anyone other than Turner. Their evidence of Turner's guilt was iffy video clip that showed federal witness Ron Wilburn handing Turner something that has been described as a "green blob."

But the feds proceeded to spend a large amount of money and staff time to bring Turner down. And they must've have known that Turner had few resources to bring to bear. He's the councilor of a disenfranchised district. He couldn't hire high-powered lawyers to basically guarantee him the win that should have been his. He didn't have lots of fancy advisors. He basically got a lawyer that he knew, and was advised by his regular supporters.

Throughout the whole sorry affair, he continued to spend whatever money he could find on his district office in Dudley Square. The same office that yesterday's rally was held outside. He spent that money to make sure he could do a proper job of constituent services right in his district - knowing that many of his constituents wouldn't always find it easy to get downtown while working 2 or 3 jobs at all hours of the day and night.

In fact, Turner says that keeping that office open put his campaign $122,000 in debt in 2007 - the year he is charged with taking the $1,000 bribe - alone.

And now as I write this an email has come in from Turner stating that the office will close tomorrow for lack of funds. Maybe forever.

Just looking at the amount of effort he has put into that district office doesn't speak of a corrupt offical on the make. It speaks of a good neighborhood politician putting his all into his work, and trying to do right by his community.

So no surprise that even after the verdict, Turner continues to maintain his innocence - stating that he doesn't even remember meeting with Wilburn (so insignificant a meeting was it to him) and that he certainly didn't take any money from the man.

But so far he protests the nature of the sting that brought him low and the outcome of the trial that followed to no avail.

Boston City Council President Michael Ross has already requested a council hearing to request the removal of Turner from office.

Turner and his grassroots supporters are going to have a steep uphill climb to convince a federal judge to give him probation. Especially without the aforementioned high-powered lawyers.

Which is why I focused less on Turner's strident and heartfelt words at yesterday's rally, and still less on the occasional cheers from the crowd, and more and more on one woman in the crowd who kept crying as the rally moved towards its conclusion.

"She sees what I see," I thought. "She realizes that Turner has the deck stacked against him. And that there's only a glimmer of hope that he can beat the odds, keep his council seat, and stay out of jail."

However, as I left the rally, I could see Turner's wisdom in trying to fight the good fight.

After all, why the hell not? Why just go down quietly?

Why not start a campaign to stay in office, and to stay out of jail?

Just this evening, Turner announced the following strategy in an email to his supporters

"I have a two step strategy to keep a seat on the Council until the term ends. The first step is for supporters to send letters to my City Hall office, addressed to Judge Woodlock. In the letter please ask him that I be put on probation in order to continue my work in Boston rather than spend time in prison. Based on the charges, the maximum time in jail is 35 years. We will give these letters to the federal probation office that handles the pre sentencing work.

"The second step is for supporters to send an email or letter to Council President Ross at City Hall with copies to my City Hall office asking that the vote on whether I stay on the Council take place after Judge Woodlock’s sentencing. By taking that step the Council would preserve the option of leaving me on the Council if the Judge puts me on probation."

So I'll tell you what. I'm up for this fight. Open Media Boston therefore supports Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner's two step strategy as described above.

Send letters to Judge Douglas Woodlock to sentence Turner to probation instead of jail time. And send letters to Council President Michael Ross to hold up the vote to decide if Turner will keep his council seat until after Woodlock's sentence is handed down in January.

Simple enough. And in the final analysis, it's far better to organize than to mourn in situations like this. Just like old Mother Jones would want us to ...

I do believe that if Boston area progressives put enough effort into this, that we can keep Chuck Turner out of jail, and keep him where he belongs ... in the Boston City Council representing District 7 until his current term expires next year.

It won't be easy. But what ever is for working people trying to get some justice?

Let's get to work.

Jason Pramas is Editor/Publisher of Open Media Boston. He has worked with Chuck Turner on various projects and campaigns in the past, and will continue to support him now and in the future. He thinks that rest of the Boston press corps has done a lousy job covering the Turner affair from the get-go, and bears part of the responsibility for the ridiculous outcome to Turner's recent trial.

Update: John Macleod sent an email pointing out that "The letters for the judge should be MAILED TO CHUCK TURNER'S office or support team AND NOT DIRECTLY TO THE JUDGE."