BOSTON – Bill Walczak, candidate for mayor of Boston, today wrote a letter to Governor Deval L. Patrick asking him to order the state’s Civil Service Commission to investigate whether there is still a need for the continuation of the Commonwealth’s civil service exam.  Walczak’s call for reform comes in response to the most recent incident of racial and gender bias accusations brought by Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers (“MAMLEO”) against the civil service exam and hiring practices of the Boston Police Department.

In his letter, Walczak points to the still undecided Lopez v. Commonwealth case, where 44 minority officers from across the state are suing the Commonwealth for bias in the civil service test, as not being a reason to wait for reform to the state’s civil service exam. “(W)e do not need to wait for an outcome (of this) case in order to take action.  Several cases over the past 20 years in the Commonwealth have shown a pattern of discrimination against minorities and female applicants by the Civil Service exam.  We must move forward boldly because we can do better.”

“I have spoken with Police Commissioner Ed Davis about the problems related to building a senior leadership team with archaic civil service rules about who is able to be promoted to senior ranks and how rote tests determine eligibility for promotion,” said Walczak. “As mayor, I will work with the Governor to make the changes necessary to ensure this is a fair system that is able to recruit the best candidates who reflect the diversity of our state.”

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