Potential Topics:Cambridge InsideOut - September 6, 2016
Potential Topics:
The City of Cambridge will host the 21st Annual Danehy Park Family Day on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 11am to 4pm. Enjoy a fun-filled day of children's amusement rides, arts and crafts, live music and roving performers, plus free hot dogs, chips, sodas and T-shirts while supplies last! Check out performances throughout the day at the children's stage. Rain Date is Sunday, Sept 18.
Danehy Park is a 55-acre facility located at 99 Sherman Street in North Cambridge (adjacent to Garden and New Streets). This free event, sponsored by the City of Cambridge, attracts over 4,000 people annually and offers something for everyone.
Free shuttle buses will be running throughout Cambridge neighborhoods and from Alewife MBTA Station. Danehy Park can also be reached by #74 bus or #78 bus from Harvard Square; #83 bus from Central Square. Picnics and lawn chairs are encouraged.
For more information, including free, neighborhood shuttle and event schedule, visit the Danehy Park website: www.cambridgema.gov/danehypark
0) Death of Ruth Hubbard on Thurs, Sept 1
Ruth Hubbard, 92, first woman tenured in biology at Harvard
1) Comments on the 2016 Oldtime Baseball Game
2) Updates on State Rep. and State Senate races:
Fun Fact: There are 67,450 registered voters eligible to vote in this Thursday's State Primary Election. Of these, 141 people have not missed a citywide election since 1997. I'm one of them, and I know 58 of them.
38238 Democrat
25814 Unenrolled
2712 Republican
31,412 voted in the March 1 Presidential Primary
Sen. Pat Jehlen vs. Councillor Leland Cheung (Second Middlesex - Senate)
[which has become something of a proxy war between the anti- and pro-Charter School factions over Question 2 ("Lift the Cap")]
Sen. Sal DiDomenico (Middlesex and Suffolk - Senate)
Sen. Joseph A. Boncore (First Suffolk and Middlesex - Senate)
Rep. Timothy Toomey vs. Mike Connolly (26th Middlesex - House)
[including recent allegations of "Dark Money" originating from the "Our Revolution" PAC]
Rep. Marjorie Decker vs. Leslie R. Phillips (25th Middlesex - House)
Rep. Jay Livingstone vs. Keith R. Anderson (8th Suffolk - House)
Rep. Jonathan Hecht (29th Middlesex - House)
Rep. David Rogers (24th Middlesex - House)
Note: There are no Republican, no Green-Rainbow, and no United Independent Party challengers for any of these seats.
On July 21, 2016, Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) and Somerville Community Access Television (SCATV) hosted a debate between the 2 candidates for the 2nd Middlesex Senate District, incumbent Patricia Jehlen and challenger Leland Cheung. The debate was produced and hosted by Joe Lynch, producer of Greater Somerville. Panelists included Donald Norton, publisher and editor in chief of the Somerville Times, Alex Ruppenthal from the Medford Transcript and wickedlocal.com, and Robert Winters, founder of the Cambridge Civic Journal.
Democratic Debate for 2nd Middlesex Senate from Cambridge Community Television on Vimeo.
On July 21, 2016, Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) and Somerville Community Access Television (SCATV) hosted a debate between the 2 candidates for 26th Middlesex Representative district, incumbent Timothy Toomey and challenger Mike Connolly. The debate was produced and hosted by Joe Lynch, producer of Greater Somerville. Panelists included Donald Norton, publisher and editor in chief of the Somerville Times and Susana Segat, correspondent from Cambridge Community Television.
Democratic Debate for 26th Middlesex State Representative from Cambridge Community Television on Vimeo.
6:00pm The City Council's Neighborhood & Long Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts & Celebration Committee and Civic Unity Committee will conduct a joint public hearing to discuss improving voter turnout for municipal elections in Cambridge through voter reward options, and will focus on receiving feedback from the community. (Sullivan Chamber)
The "voter reward" proposal was a non-starter, but the Chair changed the Agenda of the meeting without prior Notice.
5:30pm The City Council's Neighborhood & Long Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts & Celebration Committee (and presumably the Government Operations Committee because the City Council Order that called for this meeting specified that it be a joint meeting - even though the official Calendar doesn't yet show this as a joint meeting) will conduct a public hearing to discuss different models for campaign finance reform and publicly-funded municipal elections in Cambridge, and will focus on receiving feedback from the community. (Sullivan Chamber)
Robert Winters' comments at NLTP Committee meeting: Aug 29, 2016
[Note: The City Council Order that led to this meeting explicitly stated that it was to be a joint meeting with the Government Operations Committee. In my view, that requirement was essential, and it was not met by having this isolated meeting of just one committee in which most of the substance was determined by the Chair of that one committee.]
Most of what is being proposed here seems to be about generating even more funding for local elections. The problem is excess spending. You are spending far too much and this has been escalating in recent years.
I would propose an alternative - a Voluntary Cap on Spending. [Perhaps this could be $50,000 for City Council and $15,000 for School Committee - just to suggest something based on last year's actual spending.] Candidates could certainly spend more, but there would be a lot of negative attention directed toward any candidate that chooses to exceed the cap.
I would also like to suggest that there be voluntary limits on the percentage of political contributions from non-residents. Two of the city councillors present here were able to get nearly all of their contributions from Cambridge residents in the most recent election, so it is clear that candidates can be quite successful when operating within such a voluntary restriction. This doesn't have to be onerous - simply asking that at least 50% of contributions come from Cambridge residents would be a reasonable starting point.
There has also been a disturbing trend in recent years toward purchasing elections by hiring many paid canvassers and even giving cash bonuses to campaign workers if the campaign proves successful. This practice only encourages other campaigns to engage in the same practices in order to compete - and the escalation of campaign spending continues. There was a time not so long ago that campaigns were conducted almost entirely by volunteers - with the only exception being a stipend for a campaign manager. This could still be the case, but it's made more difficult when other candidates are spending lavishly on paid campaign people rather than volunteers.
So much of the proposal created by this amateur "research group" is based on the suggestion of corruption in the current way of doing things. Specifically, anyone with a business interest who makes a contribution is presumed to be doing so as part of some quid pro quo understanding. I have been paying close attention to civics and politics in Cambridge for a very long time, and I really haven't seen much evidence that this is the case. Contributors do reward candidates who consistently vote for policies that they like, but the same can be said of just about any contributions to any political campaign. Why should contributing to a "pro-development" candidate be viewed any differently that contributing to an "anti-development" candidate? There is an implication in these proposals that one is acceptable and the other is not - but they are both perfectly reasonable points of view.
For the most part, the proposals from this politically-connected group ("Independent Working Group for Campaign Finance Reform in Cambridge") that is connected to one particular city councillor seem like a classic "solution in search of a problem".
Finally, it needs to be emphasized that few, if any, of the floated proposals are relevant to Cambridge municipal elections in which ranked-choice voting is used. I can easily imagine a hypothetical situation where a candidate or interest group recruited a large slate of candidates simply to maximize the amount of public funding that could be used to promote that slate. For example, if the requirement for public funding was at least 50 contributions of $10 or more, a slate of 20 candidates could be formed and 50 individuals identified to write a $10 check to each of the slate candidates. That would be just $200 spent per individual. All 20 candidates would then get public funds, but they would really just be promoting the whole slate of candidates from which perhaps one or two candidates might be elected. Naturally, as soon as one such slate was formed in this manner we would expect that other candidates or interest groups might do the same. Before long we could well see 50 City Council candidates even though most of them would be on the ballot primarily for fundraising purposes. I don't see this as a benefit toward democracy.
a) Comments on where the process stands
b) Comments on the protest last week by CResA and BLMC where 4 persons were arrested after chaining themselves to door handles at City Hall
Inclusionary Housing Committee Reports:
Committee Report #1. A communication was received from Paula M. Crane, Deputy City Clerk, transmitting a report from Mayor E. Denise Simmons, Chair of the Housing Committee for a public hearing held on May 31, 2016 to continue discussion regarding the recently completed Inclusionary Housing Study with community feedback from the May 18, 2016 hearing being shared and discussed with consultant David Paul Rosen & Associates.
Committee Report #11. A communication was received from Paula M. Crane, Deputy City Clerk, transmitting a report from Mayor E. Denise Simmons and Vice Mayor Marc C. McGovern, Co-Chairs of the Housing Committee for a public hearing held on July 11, 2016 to continue the discussion regarding the recently completed Inclusionary Housing Study and the Affordable Housing Trust’s recommendations to the City Council.
Committee Report #12. A communication was received from Paula M. Crane, Deputy City Clerk, transmitting a report from Mayor E. Denise Simmons, Chair of the Housing Committee for a public hearing held on May 18, 2016 to discuss the recently completed Inclusionary Housing Study and will focus on receiving feedback from the community.
Some revisions to the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance seem inevitable later this year, but the economic foundations in the study still seem (to me) to be a bit shaky, especially the idea of increasing the net affordable housing percentage from 11.6% to 20% without any allowance for additional density. My first concern is that if the requirement is too high then it may be more economically advantageous to build something other than housing, e.g. labs. My other concern is that since zoning changes require a two-thirds vote for ordination there might never be the political will to actually lower the requirement even if the economics warrant a decrease. It would be better if there was some way to index the requirement based on current economics.
9:00am-5:00pm Preliminary Screening Committee (Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin Land Boulevard, Riverfront Room)
The Preliminary Screening Committee, appointed by the Mayor, and charged with assisting the City Council with the process of selecting a new City Manager will hold its first all-day meeting on Thursday August 25th, 2016 at the Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin Land Boulevard, Cambridge, MA beginning at 9:00am in the Riverfront Room. The purpose of the meeting is to review the applications that have been submitted to the City's search consultants GovHR; select a group of candidates who will be interviewed by the committee on September 12th & 13th; and develop a series of interview questions that will be asked of candidates. In addition, the committee will select an individual(s) to serve as chair(s) of the committee. Due to the highly confidential nature of the process and in accordance with Massachusetts Open Meeting Law the committee will convene in a public meeting and is expected to vote to move into executive session for significant portions of the meeting. Contact: Mayor E. Denise Simmons, (617) 349-4321
Baker’s economic development chief wants to be Cambridge city manager (Boston Globe)
Jay Ash, secretary of housing and economic development, says he wants a job that allows a more in-depth focus on problems.
August 10 - We now have at least one really excellent candidate publicly declaring his interest in the Cambridge City Manager position. Jay Ash's credentials are pretty great. - RW
Preliminary Screening Committee for New City Manager SelectedAug 19, 2016 – The Mayor is pleased to announce the appointment of the following people to participate in the Preliminary Screening Committee for a new City Manager. We also extend our appreciation to the 50 people who submitted applicants and were generously willing to volunteer their time in support of our search efforts.
The Preliminary Screening Committee, comprised of 15 community members reflecting citywide constituencies and four City Council members, will be facilitated by our search firm GovHR USA. The purpose of the Committee will be to interview the most qualified applicants and determine the three finalists to present to the public and to the City Council for their vote.
The public will have opportunities to meet the three finalists and provide feedback prior to the nominating vote taken at a City Council meeting in late September.
The following provides a list of the Committee’s constituent members and a brief recap of their qualifying credentials.
| Constituency | Applicant Choice | Bio |
| Resident representative | Peter Traversy | Peter is a resident of North Cambridge. He’s a small business owner and active in youth sports. |
| Resident representative | Elaine Thorne | Elaine is a Riverside resident and was a longtime Project Planner for the City of Cambridge with extensive experience working in all neighborhoods in our City. She is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Cambridge Community Center. |
| Resident representative | Laura Booth | Laura is a resident of the Port neighborhood. She’s a CPSD parent who brings extensive work experience in the local nonprofit community and is a longtime advocate for affordable housing. She has experience with senior level hiring. |
| Large Business representative | Jay Kiely | Jay currently serves as Chair of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. He is a senior level manager with Forest City and has been active in Cambridge’s civic, nonprofit, and corporate arenas. |
| Small Business representative | Patrick Magee | Patrick is a Wellington/ Harrington resident who owns and manages Atwood’s Tavern on 877 Cambridge Street. He is a founding member of ECBA and has served as President for the past five years. |
| CPS Representative | Richard Harding | Richard is a resident of the Port and has been a longtime elected member of the School Committee. He is Co-president of the Cambridge NAACP and served as a member of former Police Commissioner Haas’ Community Advisory Board. He’s been a leader in the Men of Color Task Force. |
| Public Safety representative | Gerald Reardon | Chief Reardon is a nationally recognized leader in Fire Safety. He has spent his entire professional career with the City of Cambridge Fire Department and the last 17 years as its Chief. |
| Person with demonstrated knowledge of municipal finance | Fred Fantini | Fred is an East Cambridge resident and served as Deputy Treasurer for the Town of Arlington for 35 years. He’s a former CCTV president; a longtime member of the Cambridge School Committee; and has experience with executive searches. |
| Health and Human Services/Public Health representative | Claude Jacob | Claude is Cambridge’s Chief Public Health Officer at the Cambridge Health Alliance. He’s also Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Association of County and City Health Officials and has experience with executive search hires. |
| Representative with knowledge of City Planning/Urban Development | Susan Schlesinger | Susan is a Cambridgeport resident and longtime advocate for affordable housing. She’s been an active member of the Affordable Housing Trust and with the Community Preservation Act Board. She has experience with high level executive searches. |
| Higher Education/Institutional partner | Kevin Casey | Kevin is Associate Vice President at Harvard University with oversight of nonprofit engagement, government relations and local economic development. |
| Public Art and/or Recreational representative | Ellen Semonoff | Ellen is a Mid-Cambridge resident and has longtime served as Cambridge’s Assistant City Manager for Human Services, which has oversight of the city’s recreation department. She’s the Chair of the Cambridge Public Health Committee and former Chair of the Cambridge Health Alliance. She has experience with high level executive searches. |
| Affordable Housing advocate | Susan Connelly | Susan is a North Cambridge resident and a CPSD parent. She has extensive experience working in the field of affordable housing and serves as Director of the Community Housing Initiatives at the Massachusetts Housing Partnership and serves as Treasurer of the Cambridge Housing Authority Commissioner’s Board. |
| Nonprofit Community representative | Elaine DeRosa | Elaine is a Cambridgeport resident and has extensive experience working on behalf of low-income individuals and families serving as Executive Director of CEOC for past 28 years. She has committee experience working on city public policy, affordable housing, health care and delivery of community services issues. |
| Representative who advocates for the quality of our community’s civic and social well-being | Reverend Lorraine Thornhill | Rev. Lorraine Thornhill has served as Lead Pastor in the Port neighborhood for the past 19 years. She’s also Lead Chaplain, Cambridge Police Department; Vice-Chair, Board of Trustees Cambridge YWCA; Commissioner, City of Cambridge Human Services Department; and President, Cambridge Black Pastors Alliance. |
| City Council member | Councillor Leland Cheung | |
| City Council member | Councillor David Maher | |
| City Council member | Councillor Nadeem Mazen | |
| City Council member | Councillor Timothy Toomey | |
Manager's Agenda #5 (June 20). A communication transmitted from Richard C. Rossi, City Manager, relative to recommendations from the Outdoor Lighting Task Force that address the potential detrimental impact of outdoor lighting and propose solutions that diminish existing problems and address problems that may be created by new development. [Report][Proposed Ordinance (HTML)]
The Task Force was appointed Dec 2, 2013 and was originally expected to complete its report and draft Ordinance by Spring 2014. It clearly took a lot longer than that with many different iterations of the proposed Ordinance. It's worth noting that the Ordinance will apply not only to new construction but to all properties in Cambridge with several years to bring all properties into compliance with the Ordinance.
There is currently a campaign by some activists to oppose this proposed ordinance in its current form. The core of their argument seems to be that it would permit the king of lighting that was installed on the new Zinc apartment buildings in North Point (and which has been turned off for now by decision of the Board of Zoning Appeals).
Message being circulated regarding "Limit Light Pollution"
Hillary Is Poised to Make the ‘Impossible Possible’ — for Herself and for Women in America
Commission On Presidential Debates - sites and dates for 2016 general election debates
First presidential debate:
Monday, September 26, 2016
Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
The debate will be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on major topics to be selected by the moderator and announced at least one week before the debate. The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. Candidates will then have an opportunity to respond to each other. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a deeper discussion of the topic.
Vice presidential debate:
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Longwood University, Farmville, VA
The debate will be divided into nine time segments of approximately 10 minutes each. The moderator will ask an opening question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a deeper discussion of the topic.
Second presidential debate:
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which half of the questions will be posed directly by citizen participants and the other half will be posed by the moderator based on topics of broad public interest as reflected in social media and other sources. The candidates will have two minutes to respond and there will be an additional minute for the moderator to facilitate further discussion. The town meeting participants will be uncommitted voters selected by the Gallup Organization.
Third presidential debate:
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
The format for the debate will be identical to the first presidential debate.
All debates will be moderated by a single individual and will run from 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time without commercial breaks. As always, the moderators alone will select the questions to be asked, which are not known to the CPD or to the candidates. The moderators will have the ability both to extend the segments and to ensure that the candidates have equal speaking time. While the focus will properly be on the candidates, the moderator will regulate the conversation so that thoughtful and substantive exchanges occur. The CPD is in discussion with technology and civic groups that will provide data to the moderators to assist them in identifying the subjects that are most important to the public.
This year’s debates will build on the successful 2012 debate formats which introduced longer segments, allowing the candidates to focus on critical issues. “The CPD has a simple mission, to ensure that presidential debates help the public learn about the positions of the leading candidates for president and vice president,” CPD Co-Chairs Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr. and Michael D. McCurry said. “These formats will allow an in-depth exploration of the major topics in this year’s election.”
In the fall of 2015, the CPD announced the dates and venues and its 2016 Nonpartisan Candidate Selection Criteria. Under the criteria, in addition to being constitutionally eligible, candidates must:
CIVIC CALENDAR
6:00pm School Committee meeting (Attles Meeting Room, CRLS, 459 Broadway)
7:00pm Planning Board meeting (2nd Floor Meeting Room, City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway)
5:30-7:30pm Transit Advisory Committee meeting (Room 117, MIT Building E25 (E25-117))
5:30pm Community Preservation Act Committee Meeting (Ackermann Room, City Hall)
The purpose of the meeting will be for the CPAC to vote on the percentage allocation to CPA expenditure categories and on particular projects to be funded with Community Preservation Act Funds for FY17. These funds may be allocated to affordable housing, open space and historic preservation.
7:00am-8:00pm State Primary Election (Citywide)
2:30pm The City Council's Housing Committee will conduct a public hearing to continue the public discussion regarding the recently completed Inclusionary Housing Study and the Draft Recommendations of the Community Development Department. This hearing to be televised. (Sullivan Chamber)
6:00-8:00pm Cambridge Historical Commission Meeting (Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Ave.)
8:30pm Cambridge Election Commission meeting (Senior Center, 806 Mass. Ave.)
I. MINUTES II. REPORTS 1. Assistant Director's Report 2. Commissioners' Reports III. PUBLIC COMMENT |
IV. ACTION AGENDA Old Business 1. State Primary, September 8, 2016 New Business |
5:30pm City Council meeting (Sullivan Chamber)
8:00am Recycling Advisory Committee (Sullivan Chamber, City Hall)
5:30pm The City Council's Public Safety Committee will conduct a public hearing to discuss the evolving technologies with which the public and municipality interact regarding public works issues and emergency events. The Committee will examine the use of technologies such as Commonwealth Connect and RapidSOS compared to traditional communications to better understand how the City uses these programs, what residents should expect when interacting with the City through the programs, and how they can effectively serve the public good. (Ackermann Room, City Hall)
5:30-7:30pm Cambridge Bicycle Committee Meeting (4th Floor Meeting Room, City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway)
3:00pm The City Council's Ordinance Committee will conduct a public hearing to discuss a proposed amendment to the Municipal Code in Title 6 entitled “Animals” by adding a new Chapter 6.20 entitled “Restrictions on the Sale of Animals in Pet Shops.” (Sullivan Chamber)
6-00-8:00pm Envision Cambridge Alewife Working Group Committee (Water Department, 250 Fresh Pond Pkwy, First Floor Cafeteria)
8:00am-6:00pm PARK(ing) Day (many locations throughout Cambridge)
PARK(ing) Day is an annual international event where residents, artists and activities come together to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into "PARK(ing)" spaces: temporary public places. The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat - at least until the meter runs out! [more information]
The City of Cambridge will host the 21st Annual Danehy Park Family Day on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 11am to 4pm. Enjoy a fun-filled day of children's amusement rides, arts and crafts, live music and roving performers, plus free hot dogs, chips, sodas and T-shirts while supplies last! Check out performances throughout the day at the children's stage. Rain Date is Sunday, Sept 18.
Danehy Park is a 55-acre facility located at 99 Sherman Street in North Cambridge (adjacent to Garden and New Streets). This free event, sponsored by the City of Cambridge, attracts over 4,000 people annually and offers something for everyone.
Free shuttle buses will be running throughout Cambridge neighborhoods and from Alewife MBTA Station. Danehy Park can also be reached by #74 bus or #78 bus from Harvard Square; #83 bus from Central Square. Picnics and lawn chairs are encouraged.
For more information, including free, neighborhood shuttle and event schedule, visit the Danehy Park website: www.cambridgema.gov/danehypark
5:30pm City Council meeting (Sullivan Chamber)
5:30-7:30pm Joint Meeting of the Bicycle, Pedestrian and Transit Committees (Stata Center, MIT, Room 124)
Topic: Review of projects in construction (Fern Street; Concord Area Sewer Separation; Huron Avenue; Pearl Street)
5:30pm Envision Cambridge Engagement and Communications Working Group (City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 4th Floor Conference Room)
6:00pm School Committee meeting (Attles Meeting Room, CRLS, 459 Broadway)
7:00pm Planning Board meeting (2nd Floor Meeting Room, City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway)
Joint CRA Meeting with the Cambridge Planning Board regarding the KSURP/MXD Infill Development Concept Plan
3:00pm The City Council's Ordinance Committee will conduct a public hearing to discuss the zoning petition filed by Jane W. Heatley, President of the William Noyes Webster Foundation, Inc. to amend Section 20.700, Medical Marijuana Overlay Districts by extending the district. This hearing to be televised. (Sullivan Chamber)
6:00-8:00pm Cambridge Pedestrian Committee Meeting (4th Floor Meeting Room, City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway)
Time TBD Cambridge Bow Tie Ride
Join us for the 9th annual Bow Tie Ride! Time and route TBD. Sign up with your email to receive ride news updates.
5:30pm City Council meeting (Sullivan Chamber)
6:30pm The City Council will conduct a public hearing to discuss the property tax rate classification. (Sullivan Chamber)
6:00-8:00pm Envision Cambridge Advisory Committee meeting (City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 4th Floor Conference Room)