Cambridge Civic Journal Forum

August 1, 2023

Cambridge InsideOut Episodes 595-596: August 1, 2023

Episode 595 – Cambridge InsideOut: Aug 1, 2023 (Part 1)

This episode was recorded on Aug 1, 2023 at 6:00pm. Topics: Municipal election updates – final list of candidates; proposed 2030 gas ban amendment – de minimus benefit, detrimental effect on commercial kitchens, cultural discrimination; the problem of elected officials who don’t care what you think, exerting control and accomplishing litte; half truths sold as whole cloth. Hosts: Robert Winters, Patrick Barrett [On YouTube] [audio]


Episode 596 – Cambridge InsideOut: Aug 1, 2023 (Part 2)

This episode was recorded on Aug 1, 2023 at 6:30pm. Topics: Interesting candidates and not just radicals; civic resources and appreciation; the positive aspects of candidacy; Candidate Pages – individuals, not organizations; tail wagging the dog – bike lanes and AHO, narrow interests attempting to define the election issues; AHO – violating planning and zoning principles, the big lie of addressing affordability; the “other issues” that may be far more important; Is proportional representation really proportional? Hosts: Robert Winters, Patrick Barrett [On YouTube] [audio]

[Materials used in these episodes]

July 19, 2023

Cambridge InsideOut Episodes 593-594: July 18, 2023

Episode 593 – Cambridge InsideOut: July 18, 2023 (Part 1)

This episode was recorded on July 18, 2023 at 6:00pm. Topics: Saundra Graham; municipal election updates, candidates; Charter concerns; state of the Council; representatives vs. activists, democrats vs. progressives; the problem with City Council Aides; troubles in the Mayor’s Office; Ned Sennott – reporter-councillor; councillor never meant as a full-time profession. Hosts: Robert Winters, Patrick Barrett [On YouTube] [audio]


Episode 594 – Cambridge InsideOut: July 18, 2023 (Part 2)

This episode was recorded on July 18, 2023 at 6:30pm. Topics: Platform? – just be a representative; School Committee challenges – do the math; School Committee candidates; fallacy of throwing money and expecting solutions; loss of multi-families and disappearance of working/middle class; market distortions; myth of the Cambridge-centric universe; mandates as lazy governance; subculture of smart and reasonable people. Hosts: Robert Winters, Patrick Barrett [On YouTube] [audio]

[Materials used in these episodes]

June 24, 2023

2023 Cambridge Municipal Election: Nomination Papers

2023 Municipal Election: Nomination Papers

Vote!June 20, 2023 – Nomination papers for City Council and School Committee will be available beginning Monday, July 3rd at the Election Commission office, 51 Inman Street, Cambridge. The office will be open on Monday, July 3rd from 8:30am until 8:00pm. The deadline to file nomination papers is Monday, July 31, 2023, at 5:00pm. The 2023 Municipal Election Calendar is posted on the Commission’s website: www.cambridgema.gov/election. [Calendar]

The requirements to run for City Council or School Committee are:

1. The person must be a registered voter in Cambridge. To register, one must be 18 years of age by Election Day, a U.S. citizen and a resident in the City of Cambridge.

2. The person must file no fewer than fifty (50) and no more than one hundred (100) certifiable signatures of registered voters in the City of Cambridge.

The Commission has prepared an information kit for candidates containing important dates, Commission policies, services and publications. The kits will be available with the nomination papers on July 3rd.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 7, 2023.

June 7, 2023

Cambridge InsideOut Episodes 589-590: June 6, 2023

Episode 589 – Cambridge InsideOut: June 6, 2023 (Part 1)

This episode was recorded on June 6, 2023 at 6:00pm. Topics: Central Square updates – Starlight Square and a shoutout to Matt Boyes-Watson, Nina Berg, and especially Brian Wright; Cambridge Police doing the work; politicizing the moment and jumping on board the latest ideological train; looking back at the craziness of Covid, getting back to living; “saving capitalism one screw at a time”; retail spaces as amenities rather than as profit centers; Popportunists coming to Columbia Street. Hosts: Robert Winters, Patrick Barrett [On YouTube] [audio]


Episode 590 – Cambridge InsideOut: June 6, 2023 (Part 2)

This episode was recorded on June 6, 2023 at 6:30pm. Topics: Municipal Election Calendar; time to declare intentions for City Council or School Committee; dumbing down in the name of social justice; education and lifting people up; candidacy takes courage – putting yourself out there – service, not a career; need for a broad range of candidates and a lot of voter education; small “d” democrats vs. performative progressives; Sullivan Chamber as community theater; BEUDO – incentives and support vs. mandates; CDD as an activist organization; upzoning petitions on parade. Hosts: Robert Winters, Patrick Barrett [On YouTube] [audio]

[Materials used in these episodes]

December 6, 2022

Cambridge InsideOut Episodes 571-572: December 6, 2022

Episode 571 – Cambridge InsideOut: Dec 6, 2022 (Part 1)

This episode was recorded on Dec 6, 2022 at 6:00pm. Topics: Charter Review Ups & Downs; Caroline Hunter elected to School Committee in Vacancy Recount – and memories from 1994; Covid update; and a good word for the Manager’s 90-day update. Hosts: Patrick Barrett, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]


Episode 572 – Cambridge InsideOut: Dec 6, 2022 (Part 2)

This episode was recorded on Nov 15, 2022 at 6:30pm. Topics: This episode was recorded on Dec 6, 2022 at 6:30pm. Topics: Truth-Telling; the Inconvenient truths about proposed lab bans; Pride in the good things; the value of nuance vs. broad proposals; the problem with movements and binary thinking. Hosts: Patrick Barrett, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]

[Materials used in these episodes]

November 16, 2022

Cambridge InsideOut Episodes 569-570: November 15, 2022

Episode 569 – Cambridge InsideOut: Nov 15, 2022 (Part 1)

This episode was recorded on Nov 15, 2022 at 6:00pm. Topics: The Replacements – esp. for departing School Committee member Akriti Bhambi, how vacancy recounts are conducted in Cambridge; Covid optimism; positive and negatives from the Covid experience – outdoor patios, virtual meetings; Charter Review dominated by uninformed gripes. Hosts: Patrick Barrett, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]


Episode 570 – Cambridge InsideOut: Nov 15, 2022 (Part 2)

This episode was recorded on Nov 15, 2022 at 6:30pm. Topics: Climate Resiliency zoning, flood-prone areas, building elevations, “green score”, ADA compliance, intended and unintended consequences; learning from history – a Muddy River illustration; the value of “the 80% solution”, economic slowdown, especially labs; floating Linkage; reasonable outcomes in federal elections; listening vs. telling, pushing back on the ideologues; City Boards & Commissions – professionalism vs. politics. Hosts: Patrick Barrett, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]

[Materials used in these episodes]

November 2, 2022

Akriti Bhambi has submitted her resignation from the Cambridge School Committee – effective Nov 15, 2022

Filed under: 2021 election,Cambridge,School Committee — Tags: , , , — Robert Winters @ 7:42 pm

Akriti Bhambi has submitted her resignation from the Cambridge School Committee – effective Nov 15.

Akriti Bhambi, School Committee memberNov 2, 2022 – Under the Plan E Charter, Bhambi’s replacement will be determined from among eligible candidates who ran unsuccessfully in the 2021 School Committee election using a PR Count to elect one person from the quota of ballots that were used to elect Bhambi in 2021. The Election Commission will now have to officially contact all potential candidates (Caroline Hunter, Daria Johnson, and Christopher Lim) to determine if they wish to be considered and remain eligible for this vacancy recount. A date for this vacancy recount has not yet been scheduled.

Who would replace each of the elected city councillors and School Committee members should a vacancy occur? Replacements are determined from the ballots used to elect each councillor or School Committee member. I ran the tabulation software with the 2021 ballot data and here’s what I found (assuming all candidates are still eligible):

City Council Replacement
Azeem Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler
Carlone Nicola Williams
Mallon Sobrinho-Wheeler
McGovern Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler
Nolan Nicola Williams
Siddiqui Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler
Simmons Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler
Toner Joe McGuirk
Zondervan Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler
 
School Committee Replacement
Bhambi Caroline Hunter
Fantini Caroline Hunter
Rojas Villarreal Christopher Lim
D. Weinstein Daria Johnson
R. Weinstein Caroline Hunter
Wilson Daria Johnson

July 6, 2022

Cambridge InsideOut Episodes 555-556: July 5, 2022

Episode 555 – Cambridge InsideOut: July 5, 2022 (Part 1)

This episode was recorded on July 5, 2022 at 6:00pm. Topics: July 4 weekend wrap; benefiting from the existence of a problem, tales from the death of rent control; Charter revision history, ideas and concerns. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]


Episode 556 – Cambridge InsideOut: July 5, 2022 (Part 2)

This episode was recorded on July 5, 2022 at 6:30pm. Topics: Charter Review Committee; election methods – corrections and pitfalls; School Committee as forgotten stepchild of charter revision; Cambridge Jazz Festival; retirements of Louis DePasquale, Jim Monagle, Arthur Goldberg, Jim Maloney. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]

[Materials used in these episodes]

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