Cambridge Civic Journal Forum

Opening Day – What’s on Deck for the January 10, 2022 Cambridge City Council meeting?

You really can’t expect too much at the first meeting of a new City Council term, especially with two rookies on the team. Of the 80 items awaiting report from the previous term, 44 have been carried over to the new term (including 5 new ones), and 36 were dispatched to oblivion (a good thing, in my humble opinion).

I often find myself searching for paradigms. Before diving in with comments and analysis I generally need a way to frame things rather than simply react to the proposals, rhetoric, actions and reactions. This is especially true with the coming of a new year or a new City Council term. I don’t even bother trying to make sense of the Cambridge School Committee anymore.

One paradigm I have been considering lately in regard to the City Council as well as other elected bodies is the nature of representation. Who do our elected representatives really represent – especially in a system that is supposed to be proportional representation? Are the geographical areas of the city proportionally represented? What about viewpoints on various issues, especially in a political context where some advocates are working overtime to convince voters and elected officials that just one or two issues are all that matter? Perhaps more significantly, do our elected officials represent the people of the city or primarily the activists? [One of the initial actions of one newly minted councillors was to meet with activists rather than residents in general. The other newly minted councillor held an open community meeting in North Cambridge.] Suffice to say that the overwhelming majority of Cambridge residents would likely not identify as “activists”.

This is important when you consider some of the recent flash points such as the reconfiguration of North Mass. Ave. in a manner that delights many activists and infuriates many residents and business owners (and their customers who may be driving from elsewhere). We have seen and will likely soon be seeing more densification zoning proposals pushed by activists who see themselves as part of a national movement. There are proposals now before the Council and the City administration having to do with alternate models for police and emergency response. Are these really what residents want or what the activists want? Do our city councillors see their main job as responding to the demands of the activists or reflecting the desires of the residents of the city? I shudder to think about what criteria some councillors may be using to decide on the next City Manager.

I really wish we had a better way to gauge public opinion than the biased views of city councillors, various neighborhood and activist listservs, NextDoor, or Twitter. My perhaps shocking point of view is that Cambridge people are actually pretty normal – but you wouldn’t necessarily know that from all the chatter.

As for the current meeting, here are the agenda items I thought worthy of comment as we get this next term underway:

Manager’s Agenda #1. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a COVID-19 update.
Placed on File 9-0

Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to work with the Chief Public Health Officer, the Cambridge Health Alliance, and other relevant City staff to create a “priority line” and/or establish “senior hours” at the City’s Covid-19 testing locations.   Councillor Simmons, Councillor Toner
Order Adopted 9-0

I don’t envy the job of a mayor, city manager, or school superintendent during a pandemic or other crisis. You’re likely to be a hero or a villain in the eyes of many people when you are simply trying to do your job, and the determination of hero vs. villain may be a function of things over which you have little control. The impulse to demand that you “do something” such as imposing restrictions or mandates is strong, and as the person in charge you have to weigh those demands against all the practical aspects of actual vs. perceived safety, union contracts, and economic survival of local businesses.

I follow the Covid numbers pretty closely and make new graphs daily in my “Plague Report” – nothing like a little medieval reference to keep your spirits up. What I don’t track (only because the local numbers are hard to access) are hospitalizations and similar measures of severity. Deaths and positive test results are no longer the most relevant measures of this pandemic now that Omicron has spread like a prairie fire with relatively few people dying or getting severely ill (largely thanks to widespread vaccination here). I am always eager to hear more specifics from our public health officials, and I’m grateful that time is set aside every couple of City Council meetings to delve more deeply into the specifics.

Intuitively, I expect that this Omicron prairie fire will burn itself out within a few weeks, but I really have no facts with which to back that up. Some people have been noting the patterns in South Africa, but we really are not all that comparable, especially in terms of vaccination rates. Meanwhile, even if the severity of illness has been tolerable, local businesses are still struggling and some are still closing for good. Suffice to say that the actions of city councillors have not played much of a role in this. This is not meant as a criticism. It’s just that there’s simply not much that they can do. Let’s just hope for an early spring of Red Sox games and reflection of the pandemic past.

Manager’s Agenda #3. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appointment of Assistant City Manager for Fiscal Affairs & Public Investments David J. Kale as a member of the Cambridge Health Alliance Board of Trustees, effective Jan 10, 2022.
Placed on File 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #4. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to approval of new appointments and reappointments of members of the Peace Commission for a term of three years. New Appointments: Kaleb Abebe, Annie Brown, Sarah DeMott, Yasmine Hung, Bonnie Talbert; Reappointments: Kazimiera I.H. Fraley, Larry Kim, Elka Kuhlman, David Seeman
Order Adopted 9-0

I suspect that every City Manager appointment this year will be taken as an opportunity to test the waters of the recent ill-advised charter change that gives the City Council veto power over appointments to City boards & commissions. Does this apply to the Cambridge Health Alliance Board of Trustees that was established under a Special Act rather than under the traditional management roles under the Plan E Charter? I don’t think we’ll be seeing any vetoes of appointments to entities like the Peace Commission, but I wouldn’t put it past some councillors to make an issue of it anyway. By the way, there is still no established protocol for how the City Council intends to consider appointments and/or exercise its unfortunate new authority.

Charter Right #1. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to appoint a 20-25 person Cycling Safety Ordinance Implementation Advisory Committee to advise and improve upon the implementation of the citywide bicycle safety infrastructure and to establish recommendations on mitigating any concerns raised in regard to this infrastructure, with the appointments to be announced no later than Jan 31, 2022. [Charter Right – Zondervan, Dec 20, 2021]
Order Adopted as Amended 9-0

Charter Right #2. That the City Manager is requested to convene meetings between his office, the Director of the Traffic, Parking, and Transportation Department, and with the heads of the Neighborhood Business Associations, with the Neighborhood Associations, and within each of the Cambridge Housing Authority’s senior buildings, to ensure that these stakeholders are given the opportunity to collaborate on devising new plans that will inform the City’s approach going forward in establishing citywide bicycle-safety infrastructure that works for bicyclists, motorists, pedestrians, seniors, those with mobility impediments, the local business community, and all our residents. [Charter Right – Zondervan, Dec 20, 2021]
Order Adopted as Amended by Substitution 9-0

Communications: There are 13 letters regarding the North Mass. Ave. roadway changes; 2 supporting the HEART proposal; 1 solicitation re: cable TV franchise fees; 1 on Covid testing; and 34 “sundry communications” on the proposal now being floated by CDD to radically alter residential zoning citywide (33 opposed and 1 in favor).
Placed on File 9-0

It was not so long ago that the idea of having stakeholder meetings and advisory committees would be noncontroversial and desirable – even if that meant some delay due to “processing things to death.” In our new “progressive” environment such community feedback is now viewed as counterproductive and obstructionist. After all, it might slow down the juggernaut. In the last meeting of the previous Council term there were actually people who who spoke out emphatically against these proposals for community input and review. Like it or not but being a “progressive” these days seems to be primarily about increasing and endorsing government control without question.

Resolution #3. Thanks to Peter Daly for his tremendous work as Executive Director of Homeowners Rehab, Inc., over the past 33 years, and in wishing him the very best as he looks to pursue his next exciting chapter.   Councillor Simmons, Mayor Siddiqui

Resolution #5. Resolution on the death of Janet Axelrod.   Councillor Nolan, Mayor Siddiqui

I especially like what Library Director Maria McCauley had to say about Janet Axelrod: “It is with sorrow that I write today. One of our longstanding Library champions, Janet Axelrod, passed away on December 26. Janet was the chair of the Board of Library Trustees. She was also one of the founders of the Cambridge Public Library Foundation. Janet was the very best board chair. She cared deeply about accessible library services, the freedom to read, and the privacy rights of users. She understood the complexities of a public library. She was committed to social justice, civil rights, and equity and inclusion work, and she greatly appreciated the staff of the Library and its volunteers.”

There are many Cambridge residents who volunteer their time and energy on various City boards & commissions completely independent of the politics of the day. They perform an essential function, and Janet Axelrod was an essential part of this tradition.

Resolution #7. Resolution on the death of legal scholar, civil rights champion, and Cambridge resident Lani Guinier on January 7, 2022 at the age of 71.

Order #2. That Article 20.90 – Alewife Overlay Districts 1-6 of the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance be amended to insert a new section entitled Section 20.94.3- Temporarily prohibited uses.   Councillor Nolan, Councillor McGovern, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Azeem
Referred to Ordinance Committee & Planning Board 9-0

This is simply a re-filing of this proposed moratorium due to the failure to schedule an Ordinance Committee meeting within the time limits required under state law. That said, I’ll repeat what I said when this was initially introduced: “If the City were to now pass either temporary or permanent zoning changes that significantly decrease the development potential, it sure seems like a good case could be made by the new owners that they should be compensated for that loss. I hope that won’t happen, but this says a lot about the consequences of City Council inaction or lack of a coherent vision.”

Suffice to say that the City Council should have established at least interim zoning for this area several years ago and before a significant amount of real estate changed hands. That, of course, presumes that our elected officials actually have some idea of what they want.

Order #3. That the Mayor is requested to schedule a training session within the month of January for the purpose of reviewing Robert’s Rules of Order with the entire City Council.   Councillor Simmons
Order Adopted 9-0

Communications & Reports #3. A communication was received from Councillor Mayor Siddiqui, announcing the formal 2022-2023 appointments to the City Council Committees.
Placed on File 9-0

Perhaps at some level it doesn’t really matter who is chosen to be Chair of any given committee, but the practical fact is that committee Chairs do use that role not only to facilitate deliberation but also as a vehicle for their personal political agendas. I simply cannot fathom some of Mayor Siddiqui’s appointments for this term, especially Ordinance and Public Safety. On the other hand, Dennis Carlone is a good match for NLTP, as is Marc McGovern with Human Services. The role of the Gov’t Operations Committee during a time when we’ll be selecting a new City Manager as well as a new City Clerk looms large and consequential. I hope they don’t screw it up. – Robert Winters