Cambridge Civic Journal Forum

December 7, 2013

RECOUNT UPDATE (Dec 7, 5:15pm)

Filed under: 2013 Election,Cambridge,City Council,elections — Tags: , , — Robert Winters @ 3:56 pm
Changes in Cheung Surplus Transfer (Official to Recount)
Candidate   expected   Official   Recount   Gain 
Kelley, Craig 66 74 65 -9
Maher, David 63 68 69 +1
vanBeuzekom, Minka  60 64 56 8
McGovern, Marc 64 61 60 -1
Simmons, Denise 47 49 51 +2
Reeves, Ken 46 37 46 +9
Seidel, Sam 40 37 47 +10
Mazen, Nadeem 33 36 41 +5
Smith, Jefferson 31 28 26 -2
Benzan, Dennis 24 25 20 -5
Carlone, Dennis 27 25 21 -4
Toomey, Tim 26 24 24 0
von Hoffmann, Kristen 19 20 20 0
House, Janneke 26 19 21 +2
Lee, James 10 10 11 +1
Leslie, Logan 10 10 14 +4
Vasquez, Luis 7 9 11 +2
Phillips, Lesley 4 7 4 -3
Mirza, Mushtaque 6 5 4 -1
Mello, Gary 3 4 5 +1
Williamson, James 2 2 0 -2
Moree, Gregg J.  0 1 0 -1
Yarden, Elie 1 1 0 -1
Peden, Ron 2 0 1 +1
write-ins 0 0 0 0
Total surplus 617 616 617 1
Dec 7 Update: Based on that actual ballot data, the expected
values for the surplus transfers are shown in the 1st column.

RECOUNT UPDATE (Dec 7, 5:15pm)

The distribution of Leland Cheung’s 617 surplus ballots was completed today. There were a few big swings in the number of ballots transferred to particular candidates, but it appears at this point unlikely that there will be any change in who will ultimately be elected.

The candidates who gained the most in the new surplus distribution are Sam Seidel (+10) and Ken Reeves (+9), though neither will ultimately benefit from these gains. Nadeem Mazen also picked up an additional 5 ballots. The candidates who suffered the greatest loss from Original Count to Recount are Craig Kelley (–9) and Minka vanBeuzekom (–8). Dennis Carlone also lost 4 ballots in this surplus distribution.

What this basically means is that the likely outcome when this gets to the deciding round (the 17th Count this time) will be that Craig Kelley and Nadeem Mazen should have approximately the same number of ballots (7th and 8th place) followed by Dennis Carlone (9th place); and the gap between Carlone and Minka vanBeuzekom will likely be greater than in the original count.

Perhaps the only uncertainty in this may be in how the additional ballots picked up by Sam Seidel and Ken Reeves may eventually find their way to the continuing candidates when they are counted out in the 15th and 16th Counts.

It was anticipated that as soon as Leland Cheung’s surplus distribution was made official, the election workers would commence the counting out of candidates with fewer than 50 ballots (Gregg Moree), then Ron Peden, then James Williamson. This all depended upon how far they would get before the expected close of the day at around 5:00pm, but they never got past the 2nd Count. The counting out of minor candidates will begin Monday morning at 8:30am. The ballots of most, but not all, of the continuing candidates have already been matched and sequenced in accordance with the original count, so many of the next few rounds should go relatively quickly. – Robert Winters

December 6, 2013

RECOUNT UPDATE (Dec 6, 2013)

Filed under: 2013 Election,Cambridge,elections — Tags: , , — Robert Winters @ 9:29 pm

RECOUNT UPDATE

Dec 6 – The 2013 Cambridge City Council Election Recount finished its fifth day today. The distribution and counting of ballots according to #1 Votes was completed early in the day and the results announced (see below). The rest of the day was dedicated to matching Leland Cheung’s #1 paper ballots with replica ballots created from the official electronic record of his #1 votes. This is necessary prior to any drawing and distribution of surplus ballots to other candidates (2nd Count) because of the legal requirement that ballot transfers must follow the same course as in the official results unless the discovery of an error warrants otherwise.

The matching of ballots and ballot records will continue on Saturday and, hopefully, the 2nd Count will then be carried out. Once that is complete, most of the uncertainty about the eventual election outcome will be removed since subsequent transfer rounds as candidates are defeated should proceed more or less as they did in the Official Count. The matching of paper ballots and ballot records will occur in later rounds whenever ballot order is relevant. – Robert Winters

Revised Ward & Precinct Totals for City Council Election (Recount)

Differences between Official Results (Nov 15) and Recount

Recount - Photo by Tom Stohlman
panoramic photo by Tom Stohlman

December 4, 2013

Cambridge InsideOut – Episodes 23 and 24

Cambridge InsideOut Episode 23 – The Recount Commences. Broadcast Dec 3, 2013, 5:30pm.

Cambridge InsideOut Episode 24 – Looking Deeper at the Ballot Data. Broadcast Dec 3, 2013, 6:00pm.

December 1, 2013

Home Stretch – Dec 2, 2013 Cambridge City Council Agenda Highlights

Home Stretch – Dec 2, 2013 Cambridge City Council Agenda Highlights

This Monday should be an interesting day. The City Council Recount commences at 8:30am at the Moore Youth Center (12 Gilmore St. by Hoyt Field), and at 5:30pm the City Council will meet in City Hall at the same time the Central Square Advisory Committee will be meeting next door in the Lombardi Building to hear testimony and discuss a housing proposal for 10 Essex Street. [The Planning Board will hold a hearing on Tuesday on the same proposal.]

There’s not a single City Council Order on the agenda this week, but there are a few noteworthy items as the 2012-13 City Council heads into its final month.

Central SquareManager’s Agenda #3. Transmitting communication from Richard C. Rossi, City Manager, relative to Council Order No. 28, dated Sept 9, 2013, regarding establishing a committee to monitor the progress of the non-zoning recommendations of the C2 Committee.

The proposal is to fold consideration of the non-zoning C2 recommendations into the scope of the existing Central Square Advisory Committee which has been around since the creation of the Central Square Overlay District over two decades ago. This will coincide with upcoming appointments to the committee to bring it back up to the 9 members specified in the ordinance. The zoning-related recommendations of the C2 Committee (as developed by CDD staff) will likely be where most of any controversy will play itself out, but the non-zoning recommendations will have a lot to do with defining the fabric of Central Square in the sense of "place-making."

Manager’s Agenda #4. Transmitting communication from Richard C. Rossi, City Manager, regarding the creation of a short term task force that will consider drafting a municipal ordinance related to outdoor lighting.

The Teague Petition on this subject may have died last year due to its shortcomings, but a task force was promised to come up with a more appropriate proposal. These appointments mark the beginning of that process. Recommendations are anticipated in the spring. It’s not surprising that Charles Teague is one of the appointed members, but it will be interesting to see whether or not he can work cooperatively with the other 11 appointees. As with most things it’s better to have a balanced committee that can gather input from all stakeholders. This also applies to the soon-to-be-appointed "Net Zero" task force.

Unfinished Business #13. A communication was received from Donna P. Lopez, City Clerk, transmitting a report from Councillor David P. Maher, Chair of the Ordinance Committee, for a public hearing held on Nov 7, 2013 on the petition received from Boston Properties to amend the Zoning Ordinances and Zoning Map in the Ames Street area. The question comes on passing to be ordained on or after Dec 2, 2013. Planning Board hearing held Nov 12, 2013. Petition expires Feb 5, 2014.

Communications #2. A communication was received from Kathleen Born, Chair, Cambridge Redevelopment Authority Board transmitting the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority Support for Boston Properties Ames Street Zoning Petition including a response to a request from the Ordinance Committee regarding fast food permits for the MXD District together with a Letter of Intent for the Ames Street Housing Project between the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority and Boston Properties Limited Partnership.

The Ames Street Zoning Petition has another City Council hearing scheduled for Dec 9, so this matter won’t be voted until at least then. The communication from CRA Chair Kathy Born provides some details behind various provisions in the petition which is primarily about facilitating construction of housing on this stretch of Ames Street.

Committee Report #1. A communication was received from Donna P. Lopez, City Clerk, transmitting a report from Councillor David P. Maher, Chair of the Ordinance Committee, for a public hearing held on Nov 20, 2013 to discuss a petition by the City Manager to amend the Zoning Ordinances of the City of Cambridge to define and list Registered Marijuana Dispensary, delete Section 11.700 and create a new Section 20.700 entitled Medical Marijuana Overlay Districts.

The proposed ordinance change is now taking shape, but it’s probably a good idea to think of this in conjunction with proposed statewide ballot questions that could potentially legalize marijuana outright. It would be reasonable to speculate that regulations now being developed for dispensaries would become the basis for future regulations for general sale of this drug should any such ballot questions prevail.

Committee Report #2. A communication was received from Donna P. Lopez, City Clerk, transmitting a report from Councillor David P. Maher, Chair of the Ordinance Committee, for a public hearing held on Nov 21, 2013 to conduct a public hearing on a zoning petition filed by Christopher H. Lutz, et al requesting the City Council to amend the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Cambridge by rezoning an area on the northern border of Richdale Avenue from Upland Road to Walden Street from its C1-A designation to residential C-1.

There’s not much to say about this except to note that the petition arose from a proposed redevelopment of the former Hathaway Bakery on Richdale Ave. for up to 54 units of new housing. Because the petition is opposed by owners of more than 20% of the affected area, it will require 7 votes out of 9 city councillors to pass the petition. As this may be difficult to achieve, it may well be the case that negotiation will be the preferred course of action for those unhappy with the proposed development. – Robert Winters

November 30, 2013

Turnout in Cambridge Municipal Elections: 1951 to 2013

Filed under: 2013 Election,Cambridge,elections — Tags: , — Robert Winters @ 9:49 am

Turnout 2013Turnout in Cambridge Municipal Elections: 1951 to 2013

The percent voter turnout in the recent Cambridge municipal election was about the same as recent years. Here are a few graphics to show the trend from 1951 to 2013:

Turnout graph
Click for larger image

The chart shows voter turnout as a fraction of the "active" voters in order to give a better indication of actual voter turnout. This year the number of registered voters reached an all-time high – in part due to the fact that the list has not been purged out of caution because of the various special elections that have taken place (and still to take place on Dec 10 for the 5th Congressional District). As a fraction of all registered voters, the voter turnout was 25%. As a fraction of "active" voters, the voter turnout was 35%. By either measure, voter turnout was down 1%. However, the actual number of voters increased by approximately 12% from 15,971 to 17,846 based on the number of City Council ballots cast.

November 29, 2013

Different Measures of Popularity of City Council Candidates

Filed under: 2013 Election,Cambridge,City Council,elections — Tags: , , — Robert Winters @ 1:06 pm

Different Measures of Popularity of City Council Candidates – 2013 Election

Anyone familiar with Cambridge municipal elections knows the importance of the #1 vote in electing favored candidates, but there are other measures of popularity that provide insight into the general acceptability of candidates to voters. Shown below are the standings of the top 12 candidates showing #1 Vote Totals; number of ballots listing candidate either #1 or #2 (Top2); number of ballots listing candidate #1, #2, or #3 (Top3); number of ballots listing candidate anywhere from #1 through #5 (Top5); and number of ballots listing candidate anywhere from #1 through #9 (Top9). There was a total of 17,743 valid ballots in the City Council election.

Candidate #1 Votes Rank1
Cheung, Leland 2391 1
Maher, David 1464 2
Toomey, Tim 1457 3
Benzan, Dennis 1301 4
McGovern, Marc 1187 5
Simmons, Denise 1184 6
Carlone, Dennis 1151 7
Kelley, Craig 1093 8
Mazen, Nadeem 985 9
Reeves, Ken 934 10
vanBeuzekom, Minka  875 11
Seidel, Sam 701 12
Candidate Top2 Rank2
Cheung, Leland 4406 1
Maher, David 2646 2
Simmons, Denise 2531 3
Toomey, Tim 2438 4
McGovern, Marc 2266 5
Benzan, Dennis 2208 6
vanBeuzekom, Minka  2017 7
Kelley, Craig 2009 8
Carlone, Dennis 1968 9
Reeves, Ken 1964 10
Mazen, Nadeem 1944 11
Seidel, Sam 1503 12
Candidate Top3 Rank3
Cheung, Leland 6082 1
Simmons, Denise 3847 2
Maher, David 3600 3
McGovern, Marc 3275 4
Toomey, Tim 3231 5
vanBeuzekom, Minka  3079 6
Benzan, Dennis 3032 7
Reeves, Ken 2887 8
Kelley, Craig 2861 9
Mazen, Nadeem 2720 10
Carlone, Dennis 2645 11
Seidel, Sam 2363 12
Candidate Top5 Rank5
Cheung, Leland 7999 1
Simmons, Denise 5721 2
Maher, David 4912 3
vanBeuzekom, Minka  4685 4
McGovern, Marc 4629 5
Toomey, Tim 4336 6
Kelley, Craig 4233 7
Reeves, Ken 4172 8
Benzan, Dennis 3966 9
Seidel, Sam 3828 10
Mazen, Nadeem 3727 11
Carlone, Dennis 3437 12
Candidate Top9 Rank9
Cheung, Leland 9299 1
Simmons, Denise 7181 2
vanBeuzekom, Minka  6253 3
Maher, David 6196 4
McGovern, Marc 5822 5
Kelley, Craig 5630 6
Toomey, Tim 5547 7
Reeves, Ken 5400 8
Seidel, Sam 5179 9
Benzan, Dennis 5004 10
Mazen, Nadeem 4687 11
Carlone, Dennis 4172 12

November 28, 2013

New Mobile App for Café People – the iRake

Filed under: Cambridge — Tags: , — Robert Winters @ 5:16 pm

Announcing a New Mobile App for Café People – the iRake

Storm drainDwelltimeHeavy rains drenched Cambridge a few days ago, and when you combine heavy rain with a plentiful supply of fallen oak leaves that can mean just one thing: Clogged Storm Drains. What’s a café dweller to do when the drains are so clogged that the sidewalk becomes impassable even for hipsters? Since actual physical labor is unthinkable for the Macbook Air crowd, we’ve invented a new mobile app for all those hipsters who wouldn’t dream of getting their feet wet – the iRake.

iRakeSure, you can always use "See, Click, Fix" to send word to those working class men in the orange trucks who take their coffee from Dunkin’ without the $5 cost and the pour-over. But who needs to mix with the little people, when you can simply activate the iRake with a few simple clicks between sips of free-range coffee brewed from politically correct nations of the world. You don’t even have to put down your expensive pastry!

Coming this winter: The iShovel (now in Beta).

City of Cambridge Seeks Members for the Central Square Advisory Committee

Filed under: Cambridge,Central Square,planning — Tags: , — Robert Winters @ 1:02 am

The City of Cambridge is currently seeking letters of interest from Cambridgeport, Riverside, Area IV, Mid-Cambridge residents and the Central Square business community who would like to serve on the Central Square Advisory Committee.

CentralSurplusCommittee Charge
Zoning: Undertake all Large Project Reviews as required by the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance and receives all applications for variances and special permits for activities within the Central Square Overlay District for review and comment.

Non-Zoning: Monitor the progress of the non-zoning recommendations of the K2C2 study.

Time Commitment
The Committee will meet every two months. Additional meetings will be scheduled as required based on project review needs.

Participation in previous Central Square planning activities and understanding of development and design issues are desirable. Final selection of Advisory Committee members will be made by City Manager Richard Rossi.

To apply, please send a letter by Fri, Dec 20, describing your interest in the the Central Square Advisory Committee and any experience you have working on similar issues to:

Elaine Thorne
Cambridge Community Development Department,
344 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139
ethorne@cambridgema.gov

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