Cambridge InsideOut - August 29, 2017

Topics:

Robert and Judy1) Civic Updates - Vail Court, Volpe Rezoning, Short-Term Rental regulation, Central Flea, the continuing Foundry saga, ... [Volpe Site/Petition Overview]     [Aug 14 Globe article on graduate housing demands]  [new petition]

2) 2017 Candidates     Cambridge Candidate Pages

Suggest Topics for Cambridge Municipal Election Candidates – 2017

List of Candidates for City Council & School Committee - with sortable tables

Questionnaires and Endorsing Organizations - Who are they, WHAT are they, and what are they asking?

3) 2017 Cambridge City Council Campaign Bank Reports

4) 2017 City Council Campaign Receipts and Expenses

5) Index of all Cambridge City Council and School Committee candidates: 1941 to 2017
plain text version    PDF version

6) Women candidates in the City Council and in the School Committee elections going back to 1941.
It's a sortable table. cambridgecivic.com/?p=5469

7) Civic Infrastructure and Plan E history

8) Civic Calendar


Continuing Question: How will the turmoil in national politics trickle down to the local level and, in particular, how might it influence the Cambridge municipal election?

Speculation: After over a century of non-partisan Cambridge elections (a major tenet of "The Cambridge Idea" dating back to the late 1800s), there are indications that "Our Revolution", the Bernie Sanders-driven national entity and effectively an emergent political party separate from the Democratic Party, may back candidates in the 2017 Cambridge municipal election.

Answer 1: New endorsing entities are popping up and sending long questionnaires to candidates testing them on their adherence to Sanders-oriented themes.

Answer 2: Candidates, especially incumbents, seem almost obliged to issue statements reinforcing their support for a variety of Resistance-theme actions, rallies, etc.

Answer 3: We'll have to wait and see whether candidates emphasize local themes or national themes at the candidate forums and on their campaign websites.

Required Reading for the Revolutionaries: Ten Reasons Why Bernie Sanders Must Be Stopped


Civic Updates:

The Volpe Graduate Student Housing Requirement Petition (filed ~Aug 14)

The undersigned hereby petition the City Council of the City of Cambridge to amend the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance, as most recently amended, by adding the sections and provisions set forth in this document to Article 13.000 of said Zoning Ordinance of the City of Cambridge.

13.913 Graduate Student Housing Production Requirement

13.913.1   Applicability. The Graduate Student Housing Production Requirement is intended to apply in conjunction with the provisions of Section 13.90 to be adopted for the PUD-7 District.

13.913.2   Graduate Student Housing. For the purposes of this Section 13.913, Graduate Student Housing is defined as a Dormitory (as defined in Article 2.000) where lease agreements (or similar occupancy agreements) for residents require payment of rent on a monthly basis and are made available to persons who are employed or enrolled in a program of postgraduate education at an educational institution.

13.913.3   Production Requirements. Non-residential development (exclusive of any Gross Floor Area ("GFA") exempted in Section 13.93.1) in the PUD-7 District shall not be authorized to exceed, in the aggregate:

(a) 20% of the total GFA permitted for non-residential uses in the PUD-7 District (exclusive of any GFA exempted in Section 13.93.1) until substantial construction activity on a minimum of 600 net new dwelling units of Graduate Student Housing (compared to the number of dwelling units of Graduate Student Housing available within one and one-half (1.50) miles from the PUD-7 District as of August 3, 2017), of which 300 dwelling units must be suitable for families, has commenced in the City of Cambridge within one and one-half (1.50) miles from the PUD-7 District.

(b) 40% of the total GFA permitted for non-residential uses in the PUD-7 District (exclusive of any GFA exempted in Section 13.93.1) until substantial construction activity on a minimum of 1,200 net new dwelling units of Graduate Student Housing (compared to the number of dwelling units of Graduate Student Housing available within one and one-half (1.50) miles from the PUD-7 District as of August 3, 2017), of which 500 dwelling units must be suitable for families, has commenced in the City of Cambridge within one and one-half (1.50) miles from the PUD-7 District.

(c) 90% of the total GFA permitted for non-residential uses in the PUD-7 District (exclusive of any GFA exempted in Section 13.93.1) until substantial construction activity on a minimum of 1,800 net new dwelling units of Graduate Student Housing (compared to the number of dwelling units of Graduate Student Housing available within one and one-half (1.50) miles from the PUD-7 District as of August 3, 2017), of which 700 dwelling units must be suitable for families, has commenced in the City of Cambridge within one and one-half (1.50) miles from the PUD-7 District.

13.913.31   No part of the 1,800 graduate student housing units required by this Section 13.913 may count toward any of the other allowance or requirements for new housing and residential uses as prescribed in the Housing Provisions to be adopted in Section 13.93.1.2.

13.913.4   Graduate Student Housing Phasing Plan. In conjunction with the provisions and requirements of Section 13.90 to be adopted for the PUD-7 District, the Final Development Plans for Development Parcels shall include a Graduate Student Housing Phasing Plan providing a procedure by which the provisions of this Section 13.913 will be periodically monitored and reported to the Planning Board. The Planning Board shall approve such a Phasing Plan if it is found to ensure that the Graduate Student Housing units will be completed on a schedule that meets the objectives of the City and ensures compliance with the requirements of this Section 13.913.



Political Updates

Vote!Suggest Topics for Municipal Election Candidates - 2017

Candidates for City Council and School Committee in each municipal election since 2003 have been asked to submit statements to be posted on their Cambridge Candidate Pages on a range of topics relevant to the respective offices. Candidates can also submit statements on other topics of importance to them and they can modify any statements all the way up to Election Day. There are no endorsements on the Candidate Pages - just an opportunity for candidates to introduce themselves to voters. The request will soon go out to this year's candidates. Are there any particular topic areas that should be on this year's list? Please let me know what you think so that we can have a good starting point for all candidates. For reference, the topics from the 2015 election are listed below. - Robert Winters

City Council candidates were asked in 2015 about:
1) Background [biographical, etc.]
2) Top Priorities [List about three and elaborate below]
3) Land Use, Planning, Zoning, Density
4) Economic Development and Commerce
5) Housing
6) Energy, the Environment, and Public Health
7) Traffic, Parking, and Transportation
8) Open Space, Parks, and Recreation
9) Municipal Finance (budget, assessments, property taxes, etc.)
10) Quality of Life and Public Safety

Other topics that you might wish to address: Civic Participation, Government and Elections, Plan E Charter, City Manager, University Relations, Youth Programs, Senior Programs, Arts and Public Celebrations, Cambridge Public Schools, Future of the Foundry Building

School Committee candidates were asked in 2015 about:
1) Background [biographical, etc.]
2) Top Priorities [List about three ­ then elaborate below]
3) Top Challenges Facing CPS today
4) Evaluation of the Innovation Agenda
5) School Department Administration and Superintendent
6) School Department Budget and Capital Needs
7) Achievement Gaps, Meeting the Needs of All Students
8) Meeting the Needs of Advanced Learners
9) Controlled Choice, Student Assignment Policies
10) Curriculum and Programs
   a) Elementary School Grades
   b) Middle School Grades
   c) High School Grades

Any topics to add, delete, or modify?


Aug 21 - The Election Commission has issued the official candidate list with names as they will appear on the ballot:

City Council Candidates School Committee Candidates
Ronald Benjamin, 172 Cushing Street, 02138
Josh M. Burgin, 812 Memorial Drive #1411, 02139
Dennis J. Carlone, 9 Washington Avenue #6, 02140
Olivia D'Ambrosio, 270 3rd Street #305, 02142
Jan Devereux, 255 Lakeview Avenue, 02138
Samuel Gebru, 812 Memorial Drive #614A, 02139
Richard Harding, Jr., 189 Windsor Street #1, 02139
Craig A. Kelley, 6 Saint Gerard Terrace #2, 02140
Dan Lenke, 148 Richdale Avenue, 02140
Ilan Levy, 148 Spring Street, 02141
Alanna M. Mallon, 3 Maple Avenue, 02139
Marc C. McGovern, 15 Pleasant Street, 02139
Gregg J. Moree, 25 Fairfield Street #4, 02140
Adriane B. Musgrave, 5 Newport Road #1, 02140
Nadya T. Okamoto, 220 Banks Street #5, 02138
Hari I. Pillai, 165 Cambridgepark Drive #234, 02140
Jeff Santos, 350 3rd Street #809, 02142
Sumbul Siddiqui, 530 Windsor Street, 02141
E. Denise Simmons, 188 Harvard Street #4B, 02139
Vatsady Sivongxay, 59 Kirkland Street #2, 02138
Bryan Sutton, 764 Cambridge Street #6, 02141
Sean Tierney, 12 Prince Street, 02139
Paul F. Toner, 24 Newman Street, 02140
Timothy J. Toomey, Jr., 88 6th Street, 02141
Gwen Thomas Volmar, 13 Ware Street #4, 02138
Quinton Y. Zondervan, 235 Cardinal Medeiros Avenue, 02141
Manikka L. Bowman, 134 Reed Street, 02140
Fran A. Cronin, 1 Kimball Lane, 02140
Jake W. Crutchfield, 281 River Street #1, 01239
Emily R. Dexter, 9 Fenno Street, 02138
Alfred B. Fantini, 4 Canal Park #203, 02141
Elechi M. Kadete, 10 Laurel Street #4, 02139
Kathleen M. Kelly, 17 Marie Avenue #1, 02139
Laurance V. Kimbrough, 24 Aberdeen Avenue, 02138
William MacArthur, 18 Shea Road, 02140
Piotr Flawiusz Mitros, 9 Michael Way, 02141
Patricia M. Nolan, 184 Huron Avenue, 02138
David J. Weinstein, 45 S. Normandy Avenue, 02138

2017 Cambridge Candidate Pages

2017 Campaign Event Listings and Candidate Forums
[Note: Only events open to the general public (with or without RSVP) will be listed.]

2017 Cambridge City Council Campaign Bank Reports (with sortable tables)

Campaign Finance Reports - 2017 City Council (PDF with links to detailed reports)

Campaign Contributions (2017) - Total Receipts and Cambridge Receipts


July 20 - A group of at least 10 registered voters filed a petition to have a non-binding public opinion question placed on this year's municipal ballot asking if voters will approve of public financing for municipal elections. My personal opinion is that this lies somewhere between frivolous and an attempt to influence this year's City Council and School Committee elections. New candidates don't appear to be having any difficulty at all raising sufficient funds to run a credible campaign and they all have unlimited free access to social media. The Election Commission certified that the required minimum of 10 signatures were filed in support of this petition, and it now will be referred to the City Council and will (presumably) appear on the agenda for the August 7 Midsummer City Council meeting. The City Council can approve of it being placed on the November municipal election ballot, but that has to happen a minimum of 90 days prior to the Nov 7 election. The Council could also disapprove (or someone could presumably delay it via the Charter Right) which would then require the petitioners to instead gather the valid signatures of 10% of registered voters (about 6500 signatures) - a substantial task. They would also have to file the necessary paperwork with the state if they intend to raise or spend any money. The number of days between Aug 7 and Nov 7 is 92 days. The lead petitioner appears to be someone named Adam Strich who was photographed recently carrying a sign that says, in Arabic, "The people want to bring down the regime." Well, as long as we're clear about where the petitioners are coming from.

Here's the text of the petition:
We, the undersigned registered voters of Cambridge, Massachusetts, hereby petition the Cambridge City Council to include the following nonbinding public policy advisory question on the November 2017 ballot:

“Many Cantabrigians have expressed concern over what they perceive to be the undue influence of a few wealthy donors and special interest groups on municipal elections. Such concerns have the potential to erode the people's confidence in their elected officials and reduce civic engagement, thereby undermining the objectives of responsible government. In response to similar concerns, cities as diverse as Los Angeles, New York City, Portland (OR), Seattle, and New Haven have provided for the complete or partial funding of electoral campaigns. Although they typically require only a tiny fraction of a city's budget, these public-financing programs have nevertheless been shown to result in a more vibrant and democratic process. Would you be in favor of the City of Cambridge adopting such a program for elections to the City Council?”


Just in case you're interested in how this rather large number of candidates compares to past Cambridge PR elections, here's the whole history going back to 1941 (CC for number of City Council candidates and SC for number of School Committee candidates). Any significant write-in candidates are included in the totals.

Number of candidates in Cambridge municipal elections: 1941-present
Year CC SC     Year CC SC     Year CC SC     Year CC SC
1941 83 28   1961 23 16   1981 25 13   2001 19 10
1943 39 19   1963 22 17   1983 16 16   2003 20 8
1945 37 14   1965 24 13   1985 22 9   2005 18 8
1947 34 18   1967 20 18   1987 19 13   2007 16 9
1949 40 16   1969 26 14   1989 28 8   2009 21 9
1951 27 15   1971 36 22   1991 19 12   2011 18 11
1953 35 18   1973 34 26   1993 29 11   2013 25 9
1955 41 19   1975 25 16   1995 19 11   2015 23 11
1957 35 26   1977 24 10   1997 20 8   2017 26 12
1959 31 21   1979 23 12   1999 24 13        

The following City Council candidates have either had or scheduled a campaign kickoff event, announced their candidacy, or submitted sufficient signatures to qualify for the ballot (26): Ron Benjamin, Josh Burgin, Dennis Carlone, Olivia D'Ambrosio, Jan Devereux, Sam Gebru, Richard Harding, Jr., Craig A. Kelley, Dan Lenke, Ilan Levy, Alanna Mallon, Marc McGovern, Gregg Moree, Adriane Musgrave, Nadya Okamoto, Hari Pillai, Jeff Santos, Sumbul Siddiqui, Denise Simmons, Vatsady Sivongxay, Bryan Sutton, Sean Tierney, Paul Toner, Timothy J. Toomey, Jr., Gwen Volmar, and Quinton Zondervan.

The following School Committee candidates have either had or scheduled a campaign kickoff event, formally announced their candidacy, or submitted sufficient signatures to qualify for the ballot (12): Manikka Bowman, Fran Cronin, Jake Crutchfield, Emily Dexter, Alfred B. Fantini, Elechi Kadete, Kathleen Kelly, Laurance Kimbrough, Will MacArthur, Piotr Mitros, and Patricia M. Nolan, and David J. Weinstein.


Civic Infrastructure (from Dec 1, 2015)

Civic landscape today dominated by single-issue advocacy and neighborhood groups that often do not represent their neighborhoods. Common pattern is that some dominant characters eventually drive out other participants rendering the group a narrow agenda-driven entity. Some groups (PSNA, Agassiz-Baldwin) generally have a better focus such as (a) children (Agassiz), or (b) cooperation with the local business community (PSNA).

Groups like the Cambridge Residents Alliance are dominated by zoning and, arguably, efforts to slow or stop new development - residential or commercial/office/lab. The Fresh Pond Residents Alliance is of this type (in addition to serving as a launching point for a City Council candidacy).

For the Cambridge Schools there are also advocacy groups (Special Ed and others), but not necessarily a general forum for broader discussion.

June 7, 2009 - Once upon a time there was a civic organization in Cambridge known as the Cambridge Civic Association (CCA). It was formed in 1945 out of several organizations that had been existed through the 1930s and that had lobbied the state legislature to create the Plan E Charter option (1938) which featured a city manager form of government and proportional representation elections for city council and school committee. These reforms were central to model charter reform movements active in the United States from the early 1900s. The central theme of the CCA in its early days was "good government" in the sense of being anti-patronage and for professionally managed local government. This changed with the introduction of rent control at the end of the 1960s after which the CCA shifted leftward and became permanently lashed to the mast of the rent control vessel. Though the CCA still exists on paper (I believe), it rapidly declined after the statewide abolition of rent control (late 1994) and essentially disappeared a decade later (early 2005).

I bring up the ghost of the CCA today only to point out that when it was created it had some very admirable goals. Here's the original Mission Statement of the CCA:

Purposes: This association is formed for the following purposes:

These are pretty good founding principles for a civic organization.

One founding principle of the CCA that fell into disuse over the years is listed above as #3: To encourage and support the candidacy of men and women seeking election to public office and to support intelligent, wholesome leadership in public affairs. Indeed, I can personally testify to the fact that in its dying years the only reason the CCA made endorsements at all was because the CCA-endorsed incumbents wanted the benefit of having an advertised CCA slate of candidates that would help secure their reelection. There was precious little effort to recruit new candidates or to support them. Today, the benefits of incumbency are greater than ever. The cost of political campaigns have become absurdly high and most of the incumbents now have (City paid) staff who are inevitably political appointees who directly or indirectly assist in the reelection efforts of their bosses. The deck is increasingly stacked against challengers. Furthermore, the salary and benefits for elected councillors are now so sweet that it is unlikely that any of them would ever want to move on to another job.

CCA Origin

The Advent of PR in Cambridge - by David Goode

Plan E - page 1    Plan E - page 2


CIVIC CALENDAR

Tues, Aug 29

6:30pm   Planning Board meeting  (2nd Floor Meeting Room, City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway)

Wed, Sept 6

3:30pm   The City Council's Health and Environment Committee will conduct a public hearing to discuss the recently published “City of Cambridge Getting to Net Zero Action Plan: Fiscal Year 2016 Progress Report,” and to receive a general update on the Net Zero Action Plan.  (Sullivan Chamber)

Mon, Sept 11

5:30pm   City Council meeting  (Sullivan Chamber)

Tues, Sept 12

6:00pm   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 projects to be funded with Community Preservation Act Funds for FY18. These funds may be allocated to affordable housing, open space and historic preservation. For more information, contact Karen Preval at 617-349-4221 or kpreval@cambridgema.gov.

Wed, Sept 13

8:00am-9:30am   Recycling Advisory Committee  (Sullivan Chamber, City Hall)

2:30pm   The City Council's Ordinance Committee will conduct a public hearing to continue discussion on a zoning petition by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create a new Planned Unit Development Overlay District (PUD-7) over the area known as the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center site in Kendall Square. This hearing to be televised. (Sullivan Chamber)

6:00-8:00pm   Envision Cambridge Advisory Committee meeting  (Citywide Senior Center, 806 Mass. Ave.)

Discussion topic: present focus area working group recommendations, review and comment

Mon, Sept 18

5:30pm   City Council meeting  (Sullivan Chamber)

Mon, Sept 25

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)

Tues, Sept 26

3:00pm   The City Council's Health and Environment Committee will conduct a public hearing as a follow up to Policy Order #2 of June 20, 2016 to discuss the City’s Tree Ordinance and possible ways to improve this ordinance to protect the tree canopy while protecting individual property rights.  (Sullivan Chamber)

Mon, Oct 2

5:30pm   City Council meeting  (Sullivan Chamber)

Wed, Oct 11

8:00am-9:30am   Recycling Advisory Committee  (Sullivan Chamber, City Hall)

Mon, Oct 16

5:30pm   City Council meeting  (Sullivan Chamber)

Mon, Oct 23

5:30pm   City Council meeting  (Sullivan Chamber)

Mon, Oct 30

5:30pm   City Council meeting  (Sullivan Chamber)

Mon, Nov 6

5:30pm   City Council meeting  (Sullivan Chamber)

Tues, Nov 7

Municipal Election. Polls are open 7:00am until 8:00pm. The Preliminary Election Count will follow at the Cambridge Senior Center in Central Square.

The Preliminary PR Count will take place at the Senior Center after the polls close.

9:00pm   Cambridge Election Commission meeting.  (Senior Center, 806 Mass. Ave.)

Wed, Nov 8

The PR Election Count continues at the Cambridge Senior Center as auxiliary ballots are tabulated and Unofficial Results are determined.

9:00am   Cambridge Election Commission meeting.  (Senior Center, 806 Mass. Ave.)

Wed, Nov 8

8:00am-9:30am   Recycling Advisory Committee  (Sullivan Chamber, City Hall)

Mon, Nov 13

5:30pm   City Council meeting  (Sullivan Chamber)

Fri, Nov 17

4:30pm   The Cambridge Election Commission will meet to finalize the 2017 Cambridge Municipal Election results, including any provisional ballots and overseas absentee ballots (if any).  (1st Floor Meeting Room, 51 Inman St.)

4:30pm   COUNTING OF PROVISIONAL BALLOTS

5:00pm   COUNTING OF OVERSEAS BALLOTS

The Official 2017 Election Results will be tabulated, certified, and announced after these ballots are included.