David Maher
2003 Candidate for Cambridge City Council
Home address:
120 Appleton St.
Cambridge MA 02138
Contact information:
Tel: 617-354-VOTE (8683)
e-mail: davidmaher03@yahoo.com
Send contributions to:
Committee to Re-elect David Maher
2298 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA 02140
David Maher is a lifelong resident of Cambridge who attended the Russell and Tobin schools and the New Prep School and received a management degree from Suffolk University. For the past decade, he has served as the Development Director for Cambridge Family and Children's Service - a non-profit agency serving the critical needs of children and families in Cambridge. David Maher was elected to the Cambridge School Committee from 1991 until 1999 when he was elected to the city council. Councillor Maher was elected by his peers to serve as the City's Vice Mayor (2000-2001). He has also spent a great deal of his personal time fighting for important issues, including acting as the city-wide chair for the Coalition for a Healthy Future - helping educate children about the harmful effects of tobacco products and is a past president of the Cambridge Chapter of the American Cancer Society.
Housing:
Maintaining the vibrancy and diversity that makes Cambridge such a special
place to live has become increasingly difficult. David Maher has
successfully worked to promote public private partnerships that will
result in hundreds of new affordable housing units being created for
Cambridge residents. Councillor Maher has consistently supported
efforts to respond to the shrinking middle-class in Cambridge by promoting
home ownership opportunities for middle-income families. David Maher
worked for the passage of the Community Preservation Act, which has
allowed Cambridge to leverage our annual commitment to affordable housing
from $4 million annually to the current level of $8 million. David Maher
believes that current efforts to bring back the outdated practice of rent
control don't make sense for Cambridge. David Maher will continue to
support sensible housing policies that help those most in need.
Quality of Life:
No response.
Municipal Finance & Government:
While most cities and towns in Massachusetts are facing budget cuts and
fiscal turmoil, Cambridge is one of only a handful of cities in the
country with a triple AAA bond rating. As chair of the Government
Operations and Rules Committee, Councillor Maher oversaw the
council's goal setting process, which stresses the use of fiscal focus and
discipline to maintain quality services and to keep our promise to
taxpayers by moving forward on important capital projects including a new
public library, improvements made to our roads and the on-going sewer
separation project. As other cities are cutting back - Cambridge has had
no public safety layoffs. David Maher is working to make a new police
station a reality. The city continues to maintain excess tax levy capacity
and free cash to implement all of these goals.
Environment and Public Health:
No response.
Land Use, Planning, Development, and Transportation:
Publicly accessible open spaces are vitally important to the quality of
life for our residents. David Maher has consistently worked to
acquire new open spaces and supported continued efforts to renovate
existing park and recreational spaces, including scheduled renovations and
upgrades to Russell Field and Donnelly Field. As co-chair of the Ordinance
Committee - the committee that oversees the city's zoning - David Maher
has worked to ensure that all new zoning reflects the desire and desperate
need for the creation of open space while working with neighborhood
residents to ensure a public process on all municipal projects. David will
continue to work to ensure that Cambridge remains a beautiful and livable
community for all residents.
University Relations:
Cambridge is home to some of the finest learning institutions in the
world. As Chair of the University Relations committee, David Maher has
worked to develop collaborative partnerships with the city's colleges and
universities that will benefit our public schools and non-profit
organizations.
It was David Maher's leadership that brought the Universities to the table with the city and residents to ensure an open dialogue as it relates to university projects.
Civic participation:
No response.
Cambridge Public Schools:
David Maher has worked tirelessly to provide the tools that educators need
to be successful. Throughout his tenure as Development Director for the
Cambridge Family and Children's Services, he has dedicated his time and
energy to ensuring that children have the tools needed to succeed and to
ensure reliable services to those in need. David's work on the Cambridge
School Committee was no different. As the Chair of the Buildings and
Grounds Committee, he worked with the Cambridge Teachers Association as
well as parents groups and school administrators to ensure the best
possible learning environment for both teachers and students by building
new schools and updating several existing facilities that meet or surpass
national standards for classroom environment.
David Maher knows that educators are faced with a multitude of challenges in a contemporary classroom. The role of a classroom instructor has evolved into a much more diverse job description as technology and family participation have changed dramatically. Teachers are faced with new challenges each and every day as they are asked to work in difficult and sometimes overcrowded classrooms. Unless we give teachers the tools they need to succeed, the children and ultimately, our future, will most certainly suffer.