Cambridge City Council Notes

Tripling Down – June 8, 2026 Cambridge City Council meeting

I may provide more details in the coming days, but here are the featured agenda items that jumped out at me: City Hall

Manager’s Agenda #2. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to appointments to the Cambridge Commission on the Status of Women. [text of report]
Appointments Confirmed 8-0-1 (Nolan - Absent)

Manager’s Agenda #4. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to appropriations to the Combined Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Management Advisory Committee (CSO Advisory Committee) for a term of five years, effective June 8, 2026. [text of report]
Appointments Confirmed 8-0-1 (Nolan - Absent)

Manager’s Agenda #7. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a five-year progress review of the Affordable Housing Overlay. [text of report]
pulled by McGovern; comments by McGovern about “housing crisis”, Chris Cotter (Housing) touting the AHO, Zusy says report “impressive” and intent of MFH amendments not to thwart this, Simmons stating how much “hard work” done by councillors and staff, Siddiqui touting AHO; Placed on File 8-0-1 (Nolan - Absent)

The one sure thing about self-reporting and self-evaluation is that you never have to worry about a bad review, or about any negatives whatsoever. Trophies for everyone!

Manager’s Agenda #11. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to AR26-30 regarding a report on how the decision to install artificial turf was made. [text of report]
pulled by Al-Zubi; comments by Al-Zubi, Deputy City Manager Kathy Watkins on greater cost of maintaining a grass field, claims about micro-plastics, discontinuation of use of crumb rubber; Al-Zubi suggesting that artificial turf raises environmental concerns and risk of injury concerns; Zusy on pros and cons, says putting in a “plastic field” is “so weird”, claims insufficient community process (so what else is new?), says that in ten years we won’t want a turf field, notes East Cambridge Planning Team letter, asks if turf fields are sterilized; Kathy Watkins says fields are tested for “bounce” periodically; Flaherty on joys of baseball, insufficient outreach, cooling; Watkins on scheduling, cooling, outreach; Sobrinho-Wheeler on process, original budget request that he wanted reduced, suggests that City staff conspired to create community advocacy to support the City plans, objects to City Manager having ultimate authority hinting at preference to have a popularly elected strong mayor form of government; Yi-An Huang acknowledges need for improvement in community engagement, notes similar discussion of trade-offs in other cities and towns, notes fact that natural grass cannot sustain the kings of activities in demand; McGovern says this has been difficult conversation, asks “Is this a done deal?”; Watkins states that decision was made long ago; Huang notes that the trade-offs are real and that if given the choice between grass and turn, people will always choose grass, but the issue is the ability to maintain the fields so that they be used to meet the actual demand and utilization, need to stay the course; Azeem with questions about relative overall costs, sports vs. picnics, says there is strong public interest in maintaining Ahern as a grass field, suggests that City should change their position; Adam Corbeil (Recreation) comments, says conversation will continue; McGovern expresses frustration (curiously concerned about public outcry in this case - even though he is generally dismissive of public outcry on other issues), wants to know what options the Council has, when is this moving forward; Watkins says the design team is actively working on designs for turf field - imminent process; McGovern suggest bringing Office of Sustainability into discussion, Watkins says they have regularly been consulted; Zusy suggests putting turf field at Gold Star Mother’s Park, put a field on top of First Street Garage under a bubble; Watkins debunks these suggestions; Kevin Beutel (DPW) explains why Zusy suggestions infeasible; Zusy says Ahern Field more like a “common” than just a playing field, suggests delaying this for another week; Watkins says that all the alternatives have been explored; Zusy suggests using Volpe site temporarily - debunked by Watkins; Siddiqui suggests that this matter could be Tabled, notes concerns about community process; Al-Zubi moves to Table; Tabled 5-3-1 (AAZ,MM,JSW,CZ,SS - Yes; BA,TF,DS - No; PN - Absent)

At the risk of creating enemies among the free-range crowd, the greater issue is not whether Ahern Field specifically should have artificial turf, but whether that part of Cambridge (and really all parts of Cambridge) has ready access to actual green space where kids can play and cows can graze (well, maybe not that so much). To this point, the report states:

Open Space Context in East Cambridge
Ahern Field is part of a broader network of open spaces in East Cambridge, which contains a variety of nearby open spaces that support recreation, gathering, lawn use, and neighborhood access to green space. Recent additions and improvements including Toomey Park, Triangle Park, Little Binney Street, and publicly accessible open space at the Moderna campus provide a range of passive and active recreation opportunities within walking distance.

Note: A strategically placed shortcut across the infrequently used Grand Junction RR tracks could go a long way toward providing greater access to nearby Donnelly Field from East Cambridge.

Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Cambridge Historical Commission, the Law Department, the Department of Public Works, Inspectional Services, the Cambridge Public Health Department, Community Preservation Act staff, the Harvard Square Business Association, and the owners of properties abutting the Old Stone Wall, for the purpose of developing a practical plan to stabilize, preserve, and restore this historic resource. Councillor Simmons, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Flaherty
Order Adopted 7-0-2 (Azeem, Nolan - Absent)

Old Stone Wall - May 8, 2020
Old Stone Wall, May 8, 2020

Order #2. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Police Department, the Community Safety Department, the Emergency Communications Department, the Department of Human Service Programs, the Department of Public Works, the Law Department, and any other relevant City departments and community partners to develop a Neighborhood Safety Additions Plan for the areas of the City previously served by ShotSpotter technology. Councillor Simmons, Councillor Flaherty
pulled by Simmons; comments by Simmons, Flaherty; Al-Zubi proposes amendments (w/Sobrinho-Wheeler), claims to support public safety (?); Sobrinho-Wheeler also claims to support public safety; Azeem says he doesn’t really care about ShotSpotter, not sure what purpose of amendments are; Al-Zubi continues to question effectiveness of ShotSpotter; Zusy says she supports Al-Zubi amendments, says we should work smarter rather than add resources; McGovern proposes amendment to Al-Zubi amendment (OK by voice vote); Simmons expresses Al-Zubi efforts; Charter Right - Simmons

“The discontinuation of any public safety tool should be accompanied by a serious review of what additional resources, strategies, staffing, partnerships, or investments may be needed to ensure that the City is not merely removing an existing tool, but actively and concurrently strengthening its broader approach to neighborhood safety…”

Order #3. That the City Manager is requested to use the Federal Stabilization Fund to provide one-time stabilization payments to Cambridge-based and Cambridge-serving organizations impacted by FY27 MOVA cuts, report back to the City Council with a proposed funding plan, and work with the Mayor’s Office and other relevant City staff to engage with the broader Cambridge nonprofit community to assess the full scope of federal and state funding reductions and their impact on the City’s safety net services. Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Zusy, Councillor Flaherty
pulled by Siddiqui; comments by Siddiqui, Al-Zubi (on $1 million for vouchers for those who were in Transitional Wellness Center); McGovern says those funds have been allocated; Siddiqui offers some details; Yi-An Huang says it’s in FY26 Budget for one, other out of federal stabilization fund ($3.7 million remaining in fund); Azeem asks what would happen if federal funds canceled, Huang says we would partially “backfill” the funding; McGovern comments about federal government and current funding needs; Flaherty asks if we can do the additional $1.6 million, Huang says discussion is about keeping things whole rather than simply backfilling all funding; Flaherty added as sponsor; Charter Right - Al-Zubi

Order #4. That the City Council shall complete the required review and determinations prescribed by Section 2.128.060(c) before taking any future vote regarding the continued use of ShotSpotter or any other surveillance technology. Councillor Flaherty, Councillor Simmons
pulled by Flaherty; comments by Flaherty - “rules matter”, says that in this instance the Surveillance Technology Ordinance requires that certain determinations are required prior to discontinuing any given technology - and this was not done, says this policy order specifically addresses the procedure - “we need to follow the rule of law” - suggests that the prior vote was invalid - cut off by Siddiqui’s clock; JSW/McGovern motion to extend meeting for one hour passes 7-1-1 (DS - No; PN - Absent); JSW says this Order of out-of-order, suggests this is just being a sore loser; JSW calls the question (passes 7-1-1); Order Fails of Adoption 2-6-1 (TF,DS - Yes; Nolan - Absent)

Last week’s action to disallow any discussion or possible amendments to the related Order was deplorable and unprecedented. This new Order appears to be an effort to introduce some of the concerns that might have been expressed last week were it not for the actions of the Fascist Five to shut down all discussion. My guess is that one of them exercises their Charter Right on this Order or again makes a peremptory motion to defeat it without any discussion. Prove me wrong.

Order #5. That the City Manager is requested to direct the Community Development Department, and other relevant City departments, to examine and report back to the City Council with a feasibility analysis with findings, options, and recommendations regarding the following proposed amendments to the multifamily zoning ordinance. Councillor Flaherty, Councillor Zusy
pulled by Flaherty; comments by Flaherty regarding consequences of the Multi-Family Housing Ordinance, tremendous market upheaval, and how middle-class families are being forced out of the city in favor of young professionals and empty-nesters; Azeem moves to suspend rules to bring forward Brown Petition (Appl. & Petitions #1), says there is space for amendments and there is a committee meeting coming up on this matter, suggests referring this Order to the committee meeting, suggests that this Order and Brown Petition will put a range of projects on hold; Siddiqui notes that only option here is to refer the Petition; Zusy complains about not being recognized (as a co-sponsor of this Order), says purpose of this Order is not to rescind to MFH zoning but to make it better, provide greater flexibility, says height is a real issue - OK with height but only on major thoroughfares, wants green space to be actual green space at ground level [Note: many of these suggestions reflect what Tim Love stated at a prior NLTP Committee meeting]; Zusy also notes need to greater regulate AirBnB’s and for universities to produce more graduate student housing; Sobrinho-Wheeler defends minimal setbacks as a good thing, noting that he can reach out his window and touch the next building, notes that one sponsor (Flaherty) accepts thousands of dollars from real estate developers, says that last election was primarily a referendum on the Multi-Family Housing ordinance (not true), brings up capitalism, says there should be even more height; McGovern says he is open to amendments to ordinance as long as they don’t stall housing development, questions where the numbers quoted are coming from, suggests that these amendments will make housing less affordable, disagrees with having any parking, suggests that allowing six-stories is how we get inclusionary units in the neighborhoods (except that it’s not actually working out that way), acknowledges that a lot of people are upset - but that’s because the ordinance is working; McGovern suggests that the ordinance is producing multi-family housing in neighborhoods where there are none (but this is false - it’s really about much larger buildings typically next to existing smaller multi-family buildings); Al-Zubi comments that she wants an “authentic dialogue”, we should be “centering housing as a human right” and “something we should build so that we are not dependent on market forces” (i.e. government housing); Siddiqui comments; Azeem says that no inclusionary housing has been built that is not more than four stories; Zusy suggests referral to joint meeting of Housing Committee and NLTP Committee; Flaherty notes that 9 Wyman St. is an example of why this ordinance does not work - 56 units, but only one 3-BR unit and the rest very small units, notes that this is a regional problem; Referred to Housing, NLTP 8-0-1 (PN-Absent)

I’m sure the message will go out from the ABC brass to again urge their sheep-like adherents to oppose any and all amendments or new proposals that might in any way modify last year’s Multi-Family Housing Zoning Ordinance because, as they seem to believe, the City Council is infallible and every action their dutiful majority takes is pure perfection with absolutely zero unintended consequences.

Charter Right #1. Zero Waste Master Plan Ordinance changes. [Charter Right – Simmons, June 1, 2026]
Taken up by Siddiqui after Manager’s Agenda; Tabled 8-0-1 (Nolan - Absent)

On The Table #8. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to proposed changes to the City’s Zero Waste Master Plan. [Tabled June 1, 2026] [text of report]

Besides renaming the Recycling Advisory Committee (on which I served for 22 years) as the more updated Waste Reduction Committee (as opposed to Waist Reduction Committee), it seems (to me at least) that the primary changes here are that (a) all larger residential properties and all commercial properties (including restaurants) will now be required to participate in food waste diversion and recycling with appropriate containers, (b) retailers will no longer be able to offer reusable bags and may only offer paper bags or compostable plastic bags, and (c) food-service retailers will be required to allow customers to opt-in to single-use products (e.g. straws, condiments, napkins, etc.) rather than opting out, and to require recycling collection for front-of-house operations.

Applications & Petitions #1. A Zoning Petition has been received from Doug Brown to amend the current Article(s) and/or section(s) numbered and entitled Articles 2, 5, 6, 11 and 19 height, setback, parking, open space and design review requirements. [text of petition]
taken up w/Order #5 (see above); Referred to Ordinance Committee & Planning Board 8-0-1 (Nolan - Absent)

Most or all of the proposed changes seem completely sensible, so my guess is that the petition will effectively be Dead On Arrival as it violates the ABC orthodoxy. I will be delighted if it proves otherwise.

77 Communications

Resolution #1. City Council thanks and warmest congratulations to S&S owners Gary Mitchell, Aimee Baum, and the entire Mitchell-Wheeler family on 107 extraordinary years of service to Cambridge and the Inman Square community, and in expressing its profound admiration for their dedication to preserving a beloved neighborhood institution across six generations. Councillor Simmons, Councillor Flaherty, Councillor McGovern, Mayor Siddiqui
Adopted 8-0-1 (Nolan - Absent)

We had a great meal at the S&S this past Thursday. It has been a neighborhood institution for more than a century, and the loss of a real delicatessen is an especially great loss. I really hope that whatever follows in that space (or in a portion of that space) also becomes a neighborhood institution. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I was once upon a time a frequent patron at the old Inman Square Men’s Bar (Ladies Invited!) that also occupied a space in that block. There was once an article in the old Cambridge TAB that referred to Inman Square at that time as “Real Square”. It used to have the delightful feel of a place that was at least a bit lost in time - in a good way.

Committee Report #1. The Human Services and Veterans Committee held a public hearing on Wed, Apr 8, 2026 to review and discuss the final research report on Rise Up Cambridge. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 8-0-1 (Nolan - Absent)

Committee Report #2. The Finance Committee held a public hearing on Thurs, Apr 9, 2026 to continue the discussion from Feb 25, 2026, on establishing future Budget Priorities. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 8-0-1 (Nolan - Absent)

Comments?

Doubling Down – June 1, 2026 Cambridge City Council meeting

After the lunacy of the previous meeting, one might think this would be a good week for reflection and adjustment. We’ll see… City Hall

Budget Adoption and related money matters

Manager’s Agenda #2. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to amendments to the FY27 Submitted General Fund Budget. [text of report]
Recommendations Adopted, Referred to Committee Reports #3 and #3A; Placed on File 8-0-1 (Simmons-Absent)
General Fund Adopted as Amended 8-0-0-1 (Al-Zubi - Present)
Water Fund Adopted 9-0
Public Investment Fund Adopted 9-0

“These increases will bring the total FY27 Operating Budget for the City to $1,033,209,502 (up from the $1,032,959,502 originally submitted FY27 Operating Budget) and an increase of $41,028,182 or 4.1% from the FY26 Adopted Budget. The projected tax levy to support the FY27 Budget is $725,608,519, an increase of $46,756,048 or 6.9% from the FY26 tax levy. The actual tax levy will be determined in the fall as part of the property tax and classification process.”

Unfinished Business #2-14. Loan Authorizations totaling $109,980,000.
All Loan Orders Adopted 9-0 except UB#5 Adopted 8-1 (Al-Zubi - No)

Committee Report #1. The Finance Committee held a public hearing on Tues, May 5, 2026 on the City and School budgets covering the fiscal period July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 8-0-1 (Simmons - Absent)

Committee Report #2. The Finance Committee held a public hearing on Wed, May 6, 2026 on the City and School budgets covering the fiscal period July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 8-0-1 (Simmons - Absent)

Committee Report #3. The Finance Committee held a public hearing on Tues, May 12, 2026 on the City and School budgets covering the fiscal period July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 8-0-1 (Simmons - Absent)

Communications & Reports #4. Communication from Finance Co-Chairs: Process for Identifying Future Budget Priorities, Part 3. [text of report]
Placed on File 9-0

Councillors Nolan and Al-Zubi do hereby declare that the future Cambridge budget priorities are public housing, shelters, and childcare. I was kinda hoping that fiscal restraint and infrastructure resilience might make the Top Three, but apparently not with this Group of Nine.

Board Appointments

Manager’s Agenda #3. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the reappointment of Conrad Crawford to the Board of Directors of the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority for a term of five years. [text of report]
Appointment Confirmed 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #6. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to reappointments to the Community Preservation Act Committee (CPAC) [Chandra Harrington, Mary Flynn, Kevin Foster, Ellen Schacter]. [text of report]
Appointments Confirmed 8-0-1 (Simmons-Absent)

Tweeting or Bleating

Manager’s Agenda #7. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to AR26-25 regarding a review of the City’s social media platform usage policies. [text of report]
Placed on File 8-0-1 (Simmons-Absent)

Public Safety and Tinfoil Hats

Manager’s Agenda #8. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a summary of Surveillance Technology Impact Reports (STIRs) in calendar year 2025. [text of report]
Placed on File 8-0-1 (Simmons-Absent)

Order #7. That the City Council approve of the Surveillance Technology Impact Report for Open Architects student data platform as discussed in the May 20, 2026, hearing. Councillor Al-Zubi, Councillor Nolan
Order Adopted 9-0

Order #8. That the City Council disapprove further use of SoundThinking’s Acoustic Gunshot Detection Technology (ShotSpotter) by the City pursuant to the Surveillance Technology Ordinance 2.128.060 (C). Councillor Al-Zubi, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Nolan
Order Adopted 5-2-0-2 (Al-Zubi, McGovern, Nolan, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui - Yes; Flaherty, Simmons - No; Azeem, Zusy - Present)

Regardless of any pushback received as a result of the May 18 vote, the same subgroup of councillors is doubling down this week with a prohibition of ShotSpotter via ordinance - regardless of what the Cambridge Police Department or the City Manager may advise.

I went for a while to last night’s meeting - just in time for one of the most obnoxious displays of non-collegiality I have ever witnessed. The Order declaring the City Council’s authority to ban ShotSpotter under the Surveillance Ordinance was the agenda item. Ms. Al-Zubi was recognized by our problematic mayor and Al-Zubi immediately “called the question” forcing a vote - even though Councillor Flaherty had proposed some amendments that had been circulated to the councillors and to the public prior to the vote. The same five councillors who had voted to ban ShotSpotter on May 18 voted in favor of calling the question and preventing the Flaherty amendments as well as any discussion on the matter. The Al-Zubi Order was then passed in the same 5-2-0-2 vote as May 18 with only Flaherty and Simmons voting “No”, and Zusy and Azeem again voting “Present”.

I have been Council-watching for nearly four decades, and this ranks way up there in my list of obnoxious actions by city councillors. The five councillors who disdained democracy so much that they would not even allow their colleagues to speak are Al-Zubi, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui, Nolan, and McGovern. If ever you hear people chant “This is what democracy looks like” at a rally, these five councillors should not even enter the picture.

Committee Report #5. The Public Safety Committee held a public hearing on Tues, Apr 7, 2026 on the Cambridge Police Department’s federal immigration enforcement tracker, CM26#32. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 8-0-1 (Azeem - Absent)

Order #11. That the City Manager is requested to work with the Cambridge Police Department and Law Department to develop and implement a policy requiring the posting of “Know Your Rights” informational and educational materials in all police department facilities. Councillor Al-Zubi, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Nolan
Order Adopted 9-0

Health & Environment

Order #3. Zero Waste Master Plan Ordinance changes. Councillor Nolan, Councillor Al-Zubi, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Zusy
Charter Right - Simmons

Manager’s Agenda #10. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to proposed changes to the City’s Zero Waste Master Plan. [text of report]
Tabled 9-0

Order #4. That the City Manager, in collaboration with the Urban Forestry Division, DPW, CDD and Inspectional Services, is requested to develop recommendations for updates to the Tree Protection Ordinance that will provide further protection to the City’s significant public and private trees for the greater good of the City. Councillor Zusy, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Al-Zubi, Councillor Flaherty
Order Adopted as Amended 9-0

Committee Report #4. The Health and Environment Committee held a public hearing on Tues, Mar 31, 2026 to review and discuss the Cambridge Net Zero Action Plan (NZAP) Annual Report and the Climate Committee’s review and report. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 8-0-1 (Azeem - Absent)

Order #9. That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant departments and community organizations to provide the City Council with a comprehensive Food Access Report that includes, but is not limited to, an accounting of existing programs, expenditures, outcomes, and unmet needs to inform a public hearing on food insecurity and related City policies, programs, and expenditures. Councillor Al-Zubi, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor McGovern, Mayor Siddiqui
Order Adopted 9-0

Housekeeping

On The Table #2. A communication from City Councillor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler transmitting the proposed 2026-2027 Rules of the Cambridge City Council. [Charter Right – Flaherty, May 11, 2026; Tabled May 18, 2026]
Rules Adopted as Amended 9-0

Communications & Reports #2. A communication from Mayor Siddiqui transmitting a memorandum regarding information from the School Committee. [text of report]
Placed on File 8-0-1 (Azeem - Absent)

Communications & Reports #3. A communication from Mayor Siddiqui transmitting a memorandum regarding updates to the 2026-2027 City Council Committee Appointments. [text of report]
Placed on File 8-0-1 (Azeem - Absent)

Councillors Simmons and McGovern will swap committee appointments with Simmons moving from Housing to Economic Development and McGovern doing the reverse.

Barney

Resolution #2. Condolences to the family of Barney Frank. Councillor Simmons
Charter Right - Simmons

Comments?

Charting Right Toward Chaos – May 18, 2026 Cambridge City Council meeting

Perhaps the funniest thing about the most recent City Council meeting was the suggestion that our current mayoral selection method breeds ill will among councillors. The flurry of Charter Right invocations at that meeting suggests that perhaps the backroom scheming associated with the mayoral selection isn’t really the greatest source of conflict among our otherwise peace-loving local representatives. Indeed, Councillor Flaherty called it “a very positive experience - politics at its finest, outstanding.” Compared to the conflict over things like ShotSpotter, segregated bike lanes, and densifying our way toward Flushing, maybe the mayoral wrangling for votes is a quiet, peaceful harbor in a sea of difference. Peoples Republic

There is little doubt that the do-over of several items on the Charter Right list will bring out the usual suspects in need of repeatedly repeating their repetitive public commentary - especially those fiction-loving fans of ShotSpotter removal. In any case, here are the items I think may be most interesting in this next gathering in the Merry Month of May.
[It’s my birthday today, by the way, and as Elaine Stritch sang so sweetly, “I’m Still Here”.]

Manager’s Agenda #1. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a federal update including an update on relevant court cases. [text of report]
pulled by Siddiqui; comments by Siddiqui, City Solicitor Megan Bayer, Franz LaBianca (Law), Flaherty, Nolan; Placed on File 8-0-1 (Simmons Absent)

Manager’s Agenda #4. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $30,000 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Land Conservation Assistance Grant. [text of report]
Order Adopted 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #5. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $450,000 to support the purchase of four parcels of land located within the town of Lincoln, MA. [text of report]
pulled by Flaherty; comments by Flaherty, Mark Gallagher (Water), Dave Kaplan (Watershed Manager), Yi-An Huang, Kathy Watkins, Nolan, Zusy; Orders Adopted 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #6. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $350,000 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Drinking Water Supply Protection Grant. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan along w/Order #5; Order Adopted 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #7. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to appropriation of $251,320.90 from the Federal Fiscal Year 2024 Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) Community Connections Grant. [text of report]
Order Adopted 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #10. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a report on Social Housing. [text of report]
pulled by Siddiqui along w/Order #11; comments by Siddiqui, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Al-Zubi, Zusy, Nolan, Flaherty, Melissa Peters (CDD), Yi-An Huang; Placed on File 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #11. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to appointments to the Social Housing Task Force. [text of report]
pulled by Siddiqui along with Order #10; Appointments Confirmed 9-0

How many euphemisms for public housing are we up to now? I am quite certain that whatever the next scheme brings it will boil down to actual private property owners subsidizing even more housing units and their upkeep through higher and higher property taxes.

Order #1. City Council support of H.968, H.886/S.647, H.1023, and S.570 and S.571 to enact extended producer responsibility and product stewardship in recognition that these laws will relieve municipalities of rising costs, and incentivize producers to sell products that are less toxic and easier to reuse and recycle, by requiring such producers to bear the costs for the proper recycling and responsible disposal of their products. Councillor Nolan, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Al-Zubi
pulled by Nolan for comments; Order Adopted 9-0

Order #2. That the appointment of Interim City Clerk Paula M. Crane be extended for an additional period not to exceed six months. Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Zusy
pulled by Siddiqui along w/ Comm. & Reports #2 for comments; Order Adopted 9-0

Communications & Reports #2. A communication from Mayor Siddiqui transmitting a memorandum regarding the search process for a permanent City Clerk. [text of report]

Charter Right #1. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the relevant departments to immediately request Empower to resign from the Massachusetts High Technology Council and consider options for transitioning the City of Cambridge out of Empower and transferring its retirement accounts into one of the City’s other retirement programs should Empower continue to be a member of the MHTC. [Charter Right – Sobrinho-Wheeler, May 11, 2026]
Comments by Sobrinho-Wheeler, Simmons; Order Withdrawn by Unanimous Consent

This is yet another example of the intolerance of the current City Council. Simply because an entity espouses a different point of view, the knee-jerk response is to disaffiliate. By the way, I still use Twitter daily - and it’s nice to know that it’s like wearing a cloaking device where I can be invisible to city councillors who could never possibly admit that they will be seen anywhere but Bluesky or another approved social media. I also continue to happily bank at Citizens Bank.

Charter Right #2. That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant City departments including the Law Department to ensure that there is no new data collected by ShotSpotter devices and all existing data shall be kept, used, or deleted only as required by law under our Welcoming Community Ordinance and Surveillance Technology Ordinance. [Charter Right – Azeem, May 11, 2026]
Comments by Acting Police Commissioner Pauline Wells, Yi-An Huang, Azeem, Al-Zubi, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Simmons (proposes to Table), Flaherty (notes the false narratives during public comment), Zusy (clueless), Nolan, McGovern, Siddiqui; Motion to Table Fails 4-5 (BA,TF,DS,CZ - Yes; AAZ,MM,PN,JSW,SS - No); Order Adopted 5-2-0-2 (AAZ,MM,PN,JSW,SS - Yes; TF,DS - No; BA,CZ - Present)

This Order is an outgrowth of the comically inept Public Safety Committee meeting that I attended on April 29 at which virtually all of the public comment came from DSA members. They expressed their belief that their private conversations were being recorded. However, the presentation from the Cambridge Police clearly stated: “There has never been a conversation recorded in Cambridge.”

The Order asserts that “ShotSpotter … has a false positive rate of about 82 percent in Cambridge.” I know math is hard for some people, but I will simply point out that if ShotSpotter detected even a single car backfire or a firecracker and if there were zero gunshots in Cambridge, the false positive rate would be 100%. The fact that most detections are not caused by gunfire should perhaps best be understood as Cambridge having relatively few gunfire incidents - an unequivocally good thing.

Let’s be clear what Councillors Al-Zubi, Sobrinho-Wheeler, McGovern, and Nolan are calling for in this Order (as it speaks volumes about the low priority they apparently afford public safety): (1) That the City Manager … rescind prior approval of ShotSpotter, including ending any and all contracts with ShotSpotter; and (2) That the City Manager … direct the Police Department to stop using ShotSpotter, including turning off and physically removing the surveillance tools no later than 90 days. This is just crazy.

Charter Right #3. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to work with the Mayor’s Office, Law Department, Election Commission, and other relevant City Departments to engage the Collins Center in assisting the City in reviewing policy options for allowing Cambridge voters to directly elect the City’s Mayor. [Charter Right – Simmons, May 11, 2026]
Comments by Simmons, Sobrinho-Wheeler, McGovern, Nolan, Al-Zubi, Flaherty, Zusy, Megan Bayer, Yi-An Huang, Siddiqui; proposed amendments (Simmons, Flaherty) partially Adopted; Al-Zubi proposed amendment to change to a directly elected Executive (effectively eliminating our city manager form of government) Fails 2-7 (AAZ,JSW - Yes; all others No); Order Adopted as Amended 7-1-0-1 (Zusy - No; Al-Zubi - Present)

Though this Order calls only for “reviewing policy options”, let’s be clear that this is really about the desire of some councillors - and especially our current Mayor - to eat their cake and have it too. There was a recent Charter Review process - one in which Ms. Siddiqui placed her thumb on the scale in the appointment of the Charter Review Committee - which resulted in a new Charter that was adopted only a few months ago. Perhaps the greatest flaw in that entire flawed process was that it ultimately placed essentially all choice in what would be presented to voters into the hands of incumbent city councillors. Then again, simply going with what a slim majority of the Charter Review Committee recommended would have been even worse. It was a small miracle that most of the really crazy stuff received enough push-back that we managed to somehow get a proposed Charter that preserved most of the good aspects of the previous Plan E Charter.

As has been pointed out many times, the position of Mayor in Cambridge is really comparable to the position of President of the City Council in cities like Boston and elsewhere. The CEO of Cambridge is its City Manager who is hired by majority vote of the City Council. A directly elected mayor is more appropriate to a strong mayor system of local government - and that is not the form of government that voters approved last November.

Charter Right #4. That the City Manager is requested to report back to the City Council on the projected fiscal impact of maintaining the current exemption for seniors, along with any administrative steps necessary to do so. [Charter Right – Sobrinho-Wheeler, May 11, 2026]
comments by Sobrinho-Wheeler, McGovern (w/proposed amendment to make fee free w/voluntary check-off); Azeem, Huang, Zusy, Simmons, Flaherty, Al-Zubi, Nolan (w/proposed amendment to have $25 fee w/voluntary check-off); Nolan amendment Fails 2-7 (BA,PN - Yes, all others No); MM/JSW amendment Adopted 5-4 (AAZ,MM,JSW,CZ,SS - Yes; BA,TF,PN,DS - No); Azeem proposed amendment for a one-year review of check-off option Adopted 9-0; Order Adopted as Amended 7-2 (BA,TF - No)

This seemed to be the consensus at the April 28 meeting of the City Council’s Transportation (etc.) Committee. I really hope this Order prevails if for no other reason than that the permit fee is a nuisance. Meanwhile, in neighboring Arlington, there’s this: “COA Parking Sticker entitles the sticker-holder to park for FREE in Arlington at metered parking spots and in municipal parking lots, up to the maximum time posted on the meter (4 hours).”

Charter Right #5. That a special Committee of the City Council be formed to conduct a full and complete analysis of each of the proposed changes to the Rules of the City Council, with the goal of a transparent understanding of each of the proposed changes and the implications. [Charter Right – Sobrinho-Wheeler, May 11, 2026]
Taken up w/Charter Right #5; comments by Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui, Flaherty, Simmons, Azeem, Nolan, McGovern, Zusy; Order Fails 3-5-0-1 (TF,DS,CZ-Yes; BA,MM,PN,JSW,SS-No; AAZ-Present)

Perhaps the most interesting proposed Rules change is this:
Rule 17A. All regular meetings of the City Council shall be held that week starting on Monday and ending on Tuesday. The City Council meeting shall start on Monday at 5:30pm and shall continue until either the conclusion of all business on the agenda or until the meeting recesses at 9:00pm, whichever occurs sooner. If the meeting is recessed on Monday at 9:00pm, the City Council meeting will resume the following Tuesday at 1:00pm and shall continue until the conclusion of all business on the agenda or until 5:00pm, whichever occurs sooner.

I think this is a terrible idea. - RW

Charter Right #6. A communication from City Councillor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler transmitting the proposed 2026-2027 Rules of the Cambridge City Council. [Charter Right – Flaherty, May 11, 2026]
Taken up w/Charter Right #5; four proposed amendments by Al-Zubi re: Public Comment time allotment, end time for meetings, restrictions on Council discussion; proposed amendment by Nolan; comments by Siddiqui; Al-Zubi Amendment #1, Part 1 adopted 8-1 (PN-No); comments by Nolan re: proposed Al-Zubi Amendment #1, Part 2, comments by City Solicitor Megan Bayer re: legal requirement for public comment at a public hearing; Al-Zubi Amendment #1, Part 2 Adopted 9-0; comments by Al-Zubi on proposed Al-Zubi Amendment #2 (to Rule 31B), comments by McGovern, Simmons, Megan Bayer, Azeem, Elliot Veloso, Zusy, Flaherty; Amendment #2 Adopted 9-0; Al-Zubi on proposed Amendment #3 (to Rule 17A, end mtgs. at 10pm), Siddiqui, City Manager Yi-An Huang, McGovern, Azeem, Zusy, Nolan, Simmons, Sobrinho-Wheeler; Al-Zubi Amendment #3 Adopted 7-2 (TF,DS-No); Amendment #4 (AAZ and PN) re: Rule 23FG and limitations on Council discussion, comments by Al-Zubi, Simmons, Nolan, Azeem, McGovern, Siddiqui; Amendment #4 Fails 3-6 (AAZ,PN,JSW-Yes; BA,TF,MM,DS,CZ,SS-No); Flaherty motion to adjourn and refer to special committee ruled to be out of order by City Solicitor, add’l comments by Simmons; Azeem motion to Table remainder of proposed amendments, Tabled 6-3 (AAZ,JSW,SS - No).

Comments?

Heading Downhill Fast – May 11, 2026 Cambridge City Council meeting

Here are the agenda items that interested me this week: City Hall

Manager’s Agenda #1. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to an update on the City’s digital equity work. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; comments by Nolan, Maria McCauley, Sue Walsh, McGovern, Al-Zubi, Jason Lee, Zusy, Siddiqui; Placed on File 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #2. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $312,000 to support the City’s digital equity efforts through a Digital Navigator position at the Cambridge Public Library for up to 3 years. [text of report]
Order Adopted 9-0

The report on the City’s digital equity work is impressively detailed and also direct and honest about the reasons for focusing on digital equity rather than investing a king’s ransom on a Municipal Broadband network. I will make only two relevant comments. First, for many people (including me), accessing and learning how to use technology often comes via help from friends and some degree of trial and error rather than through a City-sponsored program. Second, many people - including many of my students - primarily use their phones for Internet access and for most of their digital needs. This fact was not mentioned in the report. Personally, I have never had anything other than a land-line, and I don’t think I could get by without a fast desktop computer loaded with useful software.

Manager’s Agenda #3. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $65,000 to support World Cup watch parties across Cambridge. [text of report]
Order Adopted 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #4. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to an update on the successful completion of the 221 Mount Auburn Street demolition. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; comments by Nolan, Kathy Watkins, Azeem, Yi-An Huang, Zusy, Flaherty, McGovern; Placed on File 9-0

I am very interested to see how the condominium owners who lost their homes will recover at least some of their investment. I also have some questions regarding whether the owners of a building lost in a fire or, in this case, an emergency demolition must follow all current zoning rules or if they can simply rebuild, more or less, to the specifications of the previous structure. I recall that after the Berkshire Street conflagration of December 2016 the Planning Board made some recommendations in this regard in early 2017 which became the basis for Ordinance 1393 that was ordained on April 24, 2017.

Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the relevant departments to immediately request Empower to resign from the Massachusetts High Technology Council and consider options for transitioning the City of Cambridge out of Empower and transferring its retirement accounts into one of the City’s other retirement programs should Empower continue to be a member of the MHTC. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Al-Zubi, Mayor Siddiqui
Charter Right - Sobrinho-Wheeler

Order #2. That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant City departments including the Law Department to ensure that there is no new data collected by ShotSpotter devices and all existing data shall be kept, used, or deleted only as required by law under our Welcoming Community Ordinance and Surveillance Technology Ordinance. Councillor Al-Zubi, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Nolan
pulled by Simmons; comments by Al-Zubi, Simmons (on “performative allyism” and “saviorism of marginalized people”, calls the order “borderline insulting to people who look like me” – “Have you had your son shot down in the street? I have.”); Charter Right - Azeem

Order #3. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to work with the Mayor’s Office, Law Department, Election Commission, and other relevant City Departments to engage the Collins Center in assisting the City in reviewing policy options for allowing Cambridge voters to directly elect the City’s Mayor. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Nolan, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor McGovern
pulled by Sobrinho-Wheeler; comments by Sobrinho-Wheeler, McGovern, Nolan, Azeem (would prefer Instant Runoff), Zusy (questions why this is being considered now, calls it a distraction), Siddiqui (who still apparently believes that only incumbent city councillors should be involved in proposing charter changes), Megan Bayer, Flaherty (sees this as Step 1 toward eliminating our city manager form of government, says the mayoral selection was a very positive experience - politics at its finest, outstanding), Simmons (notes that the mayoral question did not meet the threshold for consideration from the Charter Review Committee); Charter Right - Simmons

Order #4. That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant City departments to do extensive outreach to residents, businesses, and property owners to communicate the current water level status and take all measures to reduce nonessential water use citywide, and provide a report on citywide water usage and water supply. Councillor Nolan, Councillor Flaherty, Councillor Zusy, Mayor Siddiqui
pulled by Nolan for comments; Order Adopted 9-0

Order #5. Foreign Policy Issues in the City Council. Councillor Nolan, Councillor Simmons
pulled by Simmons; comments by Nolan (no one is silencing anyone, notes that it would be equally inappropriate for our federal representatives to weigh in on our local issues), Simmons (notes that issues outside Cambridge do often affect us locally, but this is about we use our time here), Azeem (moves to bring forward Charter Right #1); Azeem notes that his views have changed, calls City Council processes strange - most matters go through a committee process, but a matter like this goes through no process, says he will now support this foreign policy order on Cuba, questions image of Cambridge as a progressive city if this only has 5 votes; McGovern says he will vote for this, says it is our business to take a stand on Cuba; Al-Zubi will vote No, attacks Israel, says the Council can do what it wants; Sobrinho-Wheeler says he will vote Yes on Cuba resolution, No on the Order re: foreign policy issues, suggests that only millionaires can have influence at the U.S. Congressional level; Zusy expresses sympathy for the people of Cuba, but we could take up issues from around the world at every meeting - will vote for this Order, but will vote “Present” on the Cuba issue; Flaherty will also vote “Present” on the Cuba order - we could do this every week, but we should focus on things within our boundaries, notes upcoming local charity drives for Cuban people and invites people to open their wallets; Siddiqui says she will support Cuba resolution and will vote No on Order #5; Simmons responds to public commentary re: Caroline Hunter and her fight against apartheid in South Africa and how much grief she got in Cambridge at the time for her efforts - will not vote for the Cuba issue - why won’t we address voting rights matters now in the center of national debate - notes the many important matters that have happened in Cambridge that received little or no attention; Order Adopted 6-3 (Azeem, Flaherty, McGovern, Nolan, Simmons, Zusy - Yes; Al-Zubi, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui - No)

Charter Right #1. That the City Council go on record calling upon President Trump to immediately rescind Executive Order 14380, immediately enter meaningful negotiations with the Cuban government with the goal of ending the United States oil embargo, and carry out his foreign policy agenda with respect to the wishes of the people of the United States and in accordance with international law. [Charter Right - Nolan, May 4, 2026]
Azeem motion to take this up with Order #5 (see above); additional comments by Nolan; Order Adopted 5-0-0-4 (Al-Zubi, Azeem, McGovern, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui - Yes; Flaherty, Nolan, Simmons, Zusy - Present)

I am eager to hear what State Senate candidate Azeem will have to say about this. He did, after all, make a very clear statement a while back about his intention to vote “Present” on all such foreign policy orders, but I suppose when there’s a throng of potential DSA worker bees in the audience clamoring in support of this particular policy order, it’s probably good for the campaign to jettison previous positions.

At the May 4 City Council meeting three councillors (Nolan, Simmons, Flaherty) stated that they would be voting “Present” on this Cuba order. I hope they can get to five voting “Present”, and I say that even though I agree that maintaining the current impasse with Cuba is ridiculous.

By the way, whenever the topic of Cuba comes up, I can’t get the Irving Berlin song “See You in C-U-B-A” out of my head. The Chenille Sisters also have a great version.

Order #6. That the City Manager is requested to report back to the City Council on the projected fiscal impact of maintaining the current exemption for seniors, along with any administrative steps necessary to do so. Councillor Simmons, Councillor Zusy
pulled by Simmons; comments by Simmons, Zusy, McGovern (w/various proposed amendments, also wants to exempt low-income people), Al-Zubi (refers to “class analysis”), Flaherty (would like to be added as sponsor, feels that no senior should pay the fee while Transportation is getting $22 million in revenue), Azeem (worried that we’re trying to get too clever with this); Nolan (still believe we should charge what the program costs, but never questions the cost estimates - still wants to maintain $75 for all but with checkoff to reduce to $25, including seniors); Charter Right - Sobrinho-Wheeler

Communications & Reports #3. Draft 2026-2027 Rules of the City Council [text of report]
pulled by Sobrinho-Wheeler for comments; Late Policy Order (Flaherty, Councillor Simmons) introduced, JSW immediate Charter Right; Nolan disagrees with 9:00pm proposed end time - feels 10:00pm would be more appropriate, has other suggested amendment re: striking a proposed cap of only two opportunities to speak on a given matter; Siddiqui outlines options; Azeem agrees with Nolan proposed amendments, agrees with breaking meeting into two days when needed; Al-Zubi prefers to refer to committee or to exercise Charter Right; Siddiqui moves to adopt rules; Charter Right - Flaherty

Late Order #7. That a special Committee of the City Council be formed to conduct a full and complete analysis of each of the proposed changes, with full the goal of a transparent understanding of each of the proposed changes and the implications. Councillor Flaherty, Councillor Simmons
Charter Right - Sobrinho-Wheeler

I think this is a terrible idea. - RW

Comments?

Stepping Fourth – May 4, 2026 Cambridge City Council meeting

This being May 1 (May Day for you revolutionaries), I’m sure several of our city councillors have taken the “No Work, No School, and No Shopping” pledge that was in the Policy Order that they unanimously approved last week. In contrast, I will today be grading exams and going shopping in what I hope will be several councillor-free stores. City Hall

This past week provided some interesting lessons in just how delusional some of our elected officials and some public commenters are – most notably Wednesday’s meeting of the Council’s Public Safety Committee. Tuesday’s Transportation Committee meeting made clear that the top brass of the City’s Transportation Department must have been experts at cheating on their lab reports while in college with lessons learned and now applied to cooking the books to justify their illusory costs for the Resident Permit Parking program used to justify the tripling of the permit fee. On an encouraging note, there did appear to be some emerging consensus among councillors that maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t such a bright idea to discard the senior exemption. I eagerly await a coming City Council order recommending that this nuisance fee for seniors continue to be waived.

I also attended a CMAC gathering of members of the City’s Boards & Commissions on Wednesday evening. This is a tradition started by Mayor David Maher some years ago that has now been rekindled. The history of the City’s boards going back to the early 1800’s was the highlight, but the reunion of many long-time civic friends was the even greater highlight.

The Budget Hearings will be starting this week (May 6, May 6, and May 12 and possibly May 14 if a kerfuffle breaks out). I anticipate that at least two councillors will advocate defunding the police, and I won’t be at all surprised if some will still push for several budget-busting proposals that are not currently budgeted (e.g. social housing, a successor to the Rise Up Cambridge free money scheme, municipal broadband). You can access the Budget Book here. We have now officially topped a billion dollars.

Anyway, here are a few featured items on this week’s City Council agenda:

Manager’s Agenda #6. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to appointments to the Conservation Commission effective May 4, 2026. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; comments by Nolan, John Nardone (DPW), Jennifer LeTourneau (Conservation); Appointments Confirmed 9-0

Order #2. That the City Council go on record calling upon President Trump to immediately rescind Executive Order 14380, immediately enter meaningful negotiations with the Cuban government with the goal of ending the United States oil embargo, and carry out his foreign policy agenda with respect to the wishes of the people of the United States and in accordance with international law. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Al-Zubi
pulled by Nolan; comments by Sobrinho-Wheeler, Nolan (will vote Present), Simmons (will vote Present), Flaherty (will vote Present), Al-Zubi, Azeem (He will vote to support Order - completely contradicting statements he has made in the past regarding his intention to vote Present on foreign policy matters such as this. Oh, what a difference a State Senate candidacy makes when you’re trying to court the DSA vote.), McGovern, Zusy, Siddiqui; Charter Right - Nolan
[Note: Public Comment was dominated by DSA members and DSA-adjacent allies who expressed their belief that the people of Cuba should not be made to suffer from the actions of the USA (no argument there) and even referred to the actions of the USA as “genocide”. Notably, not a single peep was ever heard from the DSA when Russia annexed Crimea and when it invaded Ukraine. Indeed, DSA members at that time expressed support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.]

I suspect this won’t be the last of these ineffective international policy orders this City Council term. At least they don’t have Muammar Gaddafi to kick around anymore.

Order #3. That the City Manager is requested to confer with relevant City staff to review City ordinances regulating the operation of food vendors in City parks. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor McGovern, Vice Mayor Azeem, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Al-Zubi
pulled by Nolan; comments by Sobrinho-Wheeler, Nolan, Siddiqui; Order Adopted 8-0-1 as Amended (McGovern Absent)

Bring on the hot dog vendors!

161 Communications - mainly about Garden Street, but I have no idea how to actually read these communications in the new system (and several people have now asked me about this).

Charter Right #1. That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant staff to explore options for commissioning a housing needs study through a qualified research institution, to establish a clear evidence-based understanding of existing housing conditions, resident needs, and measurable housing goals to guide future decision-making. [Charter Right – Simmons, Apr 27, 2026]
comments by Simmons, Zusy, Al-Zubi, McGovern, Flaherty, Azeem, Nolan, Sobrinho-Wheeler; Simmons amendment Adopted 7-1-0-1 (Zusy - No; Al-Zubi - Present); Al-Zubi amendment Adopted 9-0; Order Adopted as Amended 9-0
[RW comment: Councillor Simmons is a dear friend of many years but, with all due respect, her amendment to this Order can effectively be summed up by the sentence, “Study it all you want, but don’t use any information learned to change a damn thing.”]

My sense is that the prevailing view is that there’s little political attention or traction to be gained by a study of actual current housing needs when they can continue to yell Crisis! Crisis! in order to justify anything and everything regardless of any intended or unintended consequences.

Committee Report #2. The Neighborhood and Long-Term Planning Committee and Housing Committee held a joint hearing on Mar 25, 2026 to discuss present findings on the state of housing production since the passage of the Multifamily Zoning in February 2025. The March 25, 2026 meeting recessed and reconvened on Apr 7, 2026 to continue the discussion. [text of report (two meetings)]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 8-0-1 (McGovern Absent)

The simple truth is that the Multifamily Zoning passed in Feb 2025 is now causing a lot of disruption and consternation, but my sense is that a slim majority of city councillors will continue to shield they eyes and ears lest they be forced to reconsider some of their orthodoxy and false promises - especially if it might conflict with their political aspirations. - RW

Comments?

May Day meets the FY2027 Budget – April 27, 2026 Cambridge City Council meeting

It was only a matter of time before the socialist and anti-capitalist voices on the City Council grew louder. This week they are in full voice. In contrast, this week also marks the release of the FY27 Budget and some very significant loan authorizations which, needless to say, will be funded by those good old capitalist realities like private property ownership and real estate taxes. The contrast of conflicting realities is sheer delight. Here are some of this week’s highlights: Coins

FY2027 Operating Budget: $1,017,855,440 ($1,032,959,502 including the Water Fund)

Manager’s Agenda #1. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to submission of the FY2027 budget and appropriation orders for the General Fund, Water Fund, and Public Investment Fund. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan comments by Nolan, Yi-An Huang, Taha Jennings, Flaherty, Azeem, Simmons, Siddiqui; Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

FY2027 Loan Authorizations: $109,980,000
FY2027 Public Investment Budget: $45,173,083

Manager’s Agenda #2. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $10,000,000 to provide funds for the design and construction of improvements along Massachusetts Avenue and vicinity between Bigelow Street and Sidney Street. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan, comments on #2-13 by Nolan, Flaherty; Passed to 2nd Reading and Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #3. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $13,000,000 to provide funds for the reconstruction of various City streets and sidewalks. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; Passed to 2nd Reading and Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #4. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $12,000,000 to provide funds to replace and modernize the City’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; Passed to 2nd Reading and Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #5. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $14,000,000 to provide funds for remediation and improvements at Gold Star Mothers Park. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; Passed to 2nd Reading and Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #6. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $28,500,000 to provide funds for the Municipal Facilities Improvement Plan. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; Passed to 2nd Reading and Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #7. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $12,795,000 to provide funds for financing school building upgrades. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; Passed to 2nd Reading and Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #8. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $8,375,000 to provide funds for the design and construction of surface enhancements and sewer and drainage infrastructure improvements in the Baldwin neighborhood. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; Passed to 2nd Reading and Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #9. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $500,000 to provide funds for the City’s Climate Change Program to improve protection against flooding and extreme heat. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; Passed to 2nd Reading and Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #10. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $7,500,000 to provide funds for the sewer Combined Sewer Overflow Control Program. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; Passed to 2nd Reading and Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #11. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $1,000,000 to provide funds for design and construction of the Harvard Square sewer separation and stormwater management program. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; Passed to 2nd Reading and Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #12. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $310,000 to provide funds for the replacement of Ozone generators at the Water Department. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; Passed to 2nd Reading and Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #13. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow $2,000,000 to provide funds for water works construction projects for repairs and replacement of water distribution infrastructure. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; Passed to 2nd Reading and Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

FY2027 Budget Summaries

Manager’s Agenda #14. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to AR26-20 regarding a report on major capital initiatives at or above $15,000,000 for the period from FY21 to FY26. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; comments by Nolan, Zusy, Huang, Kathy Watkins, McGovern; Referred to Finance Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #15. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a response to AR26-23 regarding the Cambridge Preschool Program. [text of report]
pulled by Al-Zubi; comments by Al-Zubi, Nolan, Siddiqui; Referred to Human Services & Veterans Committee 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #16. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the reappointments for the Cambridge Library Board of Trustees. [text of report]
Appointments Confirmed 9-0

James Roosevelt, Elisabeth Werby, Risa Mednick, Michael Baenen, Karen Kosko reappointed to 3-year terms.

Manager’s Agenda #17. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a Family Policy Council appointment and reappointment. [text of report]
Appointments Confirmed 9-0

Tracy Rose Tynes appointed, Yoyo Yau reappointed.

Manager’s Agenda #18. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appointment of Fiqir Worku to the Human Rights Commission. [text of report]
Appointments Confirmed 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #19. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Peace Commission Appointments. [text of report]
pulled by Nolan; comments by Nolan on streamlining and consolidation of boards, Huang, Saffana Anwar (Peace Comm.), Zusy; Appointments Confirmed 9-0

New appointments: Paul Knott, Heather Rivera, Katherine E. Stevenson, Pamela Howard, Muna Kangsen, Karim L. Razzaz, Julie Ayaz
Reappointments: Larry Kim, Elka Kuhlman, Annie Brown, Bonnie Talbert, Sarah DeMott, Kazimiera Fraley

Manager’s Agenda #23. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a Mass Ave Active Use zoning petition. [text of report]
pulled by Siddiqui; comments by Siddiqui, McGovern, Azeem (noting comments from Cambridge Redevelopment Authority), Zusy (noting that there is a Special Permit option to opt out of 1st floor retail); Adopted as a City Council Zoning Petition and Referred to the Ordinance Committee and Planning Board for Hearing and Report 9-0

Manager’s Agenda #24. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a Cambridge Street Active Use zoning petition. [text of report]
pulled by Siddiqui; Adopted as a City Council Zoning Petition and Referred to the Ordinance Committee and Planning Board for Hearing and Report 9-0

Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to report back to the City Council within ninety (90) with a brief written update describing: (a) the updates made to succession-planning and employee-ownership materials; (b) the status of the worker-cooperative technical-assistance referral pipeline; (c) any guidance issued or planned regarding below-threshold quote-seeking from worker-owned cooperatives and related vendor-outreach steps; and (d) any additional low-cost, staff-feasible next steps the City Manager recommends for expanding support for worker-owned cooperatives in Cambridge. Councillor Al-Zubi, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Nolan
Order Adopted 8-0-1 (Simmons Absent)

Workers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!
[Is this really something that local government should be doing?]

Order #2. That the City Council go on record endorsing the May Day Strong National Day of Action on May 1, 2026, as an expression of Cambridge’s support for workers’ rights, economic justice, and the tradition of peaceful civic engagement. Councillor Al-Zubi, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor McGovern
Order Adopted 8-0-1 (Simmons Absent)

A great day to go shopping.

Order #3. That the City Council encourage MassDOT to implement infrastructure improvements to the Museum Way and Charles River Dam Road intersection. Councillor Zusy, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Nolan, Vice Mayor Azeem
pulled by Zusy; comments by Zusy, Sobrinho-Wheeler; Order Adopted 9-0

Order #4. That the City Manager is requested to direct appropriate departments to develop an accessible “Neighbors’ Guide to the MFH Ordinance.” Councillor Zusy, Councillor Nolan, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Flaherty
pulled by Zusy; comments by Zusy, McGovern, Melissa Peters (CDD), Azeem, Flaherty, Nolan, Huang; Order Adopted 9-0

Order #5. That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant staff to explore options for commissioning a housing needs study through a qualified research institution, to establish a clear evidence-based understanding of existing housing conditions, resident needs, and measurable housing goals to guide future decision-making. Councillor Zusy, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Flaherty
pulled by Zusy; comments by Zusy, Azeem, Al-Zubi (w/proposed amendment), McGovern, Melissa Peters (CDD), Huang, Flaherty, Simmons; Charter Right - Simmons
[Note: As I have pointed out before, the mythical target of 12,500 new housing units did not grow out of the Envision Cambridge process. CDD staff simply inserted that number from the MAPC after the fact, and questioning this arbitrary goal is now long overdue. - RW]

Charter Right #1. That the City Manager is requested to direct the Cambridge Department of Transportation (CDOT) and any other relevant departments to halt any further design, engineering, procurement, or construction activities related to implementing a reconfiguration of Garden Street to restore two-way motor-vehicle traffic. [Charter Right – Flaherty, Apr 13, 2026]
Comments by Siddiqui, Flaherty, Al-Zubi, Nolan (long speech), Sobrinho-Wheeler, McGovern, Brooke McKenna (Dept. of Congestion, Obstruction, & Aggravation), Azeem, Zusy (noting that Transportation Dept. intentionally slow-walked the reconfiguration, and a proposed amendment); Simmons comments and motion to Table [Fails 4-5 (Flaherty, Nolan, Simmons, Zusy - YES; Al-Zubi, Azeem, McGovern, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui - NO)]; comments by Azeem, Huang, Siddiqui, Flaherty (notes that neighbors overwhelmingly prefer two-way operation), McGovern; Zusy proposed amendment to text of Order [Fails 4-5 (Flaherty, Nolan, Simmons, Zusy - YES; Al-Zubi, Azeem, McGovern, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui - NO)]; Nolan comments re: loss of trust; Simmons motion to Refer to Transportation Committee [Fails 3-6 (Flaherty, Simmons, Zusy - YES; Al-Zubi, Azeem, McGovern, Nolan, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui - NO)]; Order Adopted 5-4 (Al-Zubi, Azeem, McGovern, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui - YES; Flaherty, Nolan, Simmons, Zusy - NO); Reconsideration Fails 4-5 (Flaherty, Nolan, Simmons, Zusy - YES; Al-Zubi, Azeem, McGovern, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui - NO)
[Note: This was never about the relative safety of two options. It is now and has from the beginning been purely about catering to political advocacy groups. - RW]

379 Communications - almost all re: whether the current horrible one-way Garden Street configuration should be changed to an equally horrible two-way configuration.

Chances are this will again be the main topic during Public Comment. Garden Street was a perfectly safe and relatively quiet street for all the years prior to the City screwing it up.

Committee Report #1. The Government Operations, Rules, and Claims Committee held a public hearing on Tues, Mar 24, 2026 to discuss the 2026 City Manager’s Annual Goals and Review Process. [text of report]
Report Accepted and Placed on File 8-0-1 (Azeem Absent)

Committee Report #2. The Ordinance Committee held a public hearing on Mon, Mar 30, 2026 to review the Community Benefits Ordinance and discuss potential updates including allowing the allocation of funding to community organizations for capital projects. The Ordinance Committee voted favorably to forward the proposed amendments to the Community Benefits Ordinance to the full City Council with a favorable recommendation. [text of report]
pulled by Siddiqui; Two amendments Adopted and Passed to 2nd Reading 7-0-2 (Azeem, McGovern Absent); Report Accepted and Placed on File 7-0-2 (Azeem, McGovern Absent)

Comments?

In Lieu of Taxes – April 13, 2026 Cambridge City Council meeting

Here are a few things of potential interest at this week’s meeting: City Hall

Manager’s Agenda #2. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appointment of Sara Rivera as an Election Commissioner for a term effective Apr 13, 2026 and expiring Mar 31, 2030. [text of report]
Placed on File 8-0-1 (Simmons-Absent)

There has been chatter in some quarters regarding Tom Stohlman not being reappointed to the Election Commission. These are mostly conspiratorial suggestions that this was due to Tom’s asking important questions in the wake of last November’s kerfuffle in the Preliminary PR Count when test ballot data was inadvertently not cleared prior to the Election Night tabulation. I seriously doubt whether that was a major factor in the appointment process. Any of the three nominated candidates would have been a good choice. Let’s also not dismiss the idea that a majority female City Council might not be thrilled with continuing an all-male Election Commission. I have more issues with those who are questioning the appointment than I do with the appointment itself (and Tom is a long-time friend), and I certainly don’t wish to see Sara Rivera’s arrival on the Election Commission clouded by manufactured controversy.

Manager’s Agenda #3. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Bicycle Committee Appointments. [text of report]
Appointments Confirmed 8-0-1 (Simmons-Absent)

Manager’s Agenda #4. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Pedestrian Committee Appointments. [text of report]
Appointments Confirmed 8-0-1 (Simmons-Absent)

Speaking of appointments to City boards and commissions, there is a matter worthy of discussion that never gets any attention – namely the process where City staff have effectively become the appointing authority. City staff generally do the vetting of the board applicants and then forward the list of preferred appointees to the City Manager for the formal appointment. In an ideal system, City boards with actual authority should be representative of the residents of the city and not be primarily advocates for policies and preferences espoused by City staff. Issue-specific advisory committees are a somewhat different story, e.g. you wouldn’t expect a member of the Recycling Advisory Committee to be an opponent of recycling or a member of the Bicycle Committee to be hostile to the presence of bicycles on city streets. That said, advisory committees should be just that - advisory. It distresses me whenever I hear of significant actions (such as road configurations) being contingent on the blessing by one-sided boards of activists. Also, in a City with a proportional representation election system, one might think there should be some degree of proportionality and differing perspectives on most City boards and commissions.

Manager’s Agenda #10. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the Police Review & Advisory Board Quarterly Report for the period of Fall 2025 through the First Quarter of 2026. [text of report]
pulled by Al-Zubi for comments; Nolan comments; Referred to Public Safety Committee 9-0

The relatively small number of cases that have come before the PRAB certainly lends support to some of the reconfiguration of boards that was viewed by some as controversial late last year.

Manager’s Agenda #11. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, regarding an update on the City Manager Performance Review Process. [text of report]
Placed on File 8-0-1 (Simmons-Absent)

Order #1. That the City Council go on the record urging Harvard administration to end the practice of time caps for non-tenure track teaching faculty and urging Harvard administration to acknowledge the labor contribution and employee status of all its researchers, regardless of funding source, and contractually recognize these researchers’ protected right to union representation. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Al-Zubi
pulled by Sobrinho-Wheeler for comments and minor amendment; Zusy comment; Adopted as Amended 8-0-0-1 (Zusy-Present)

I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, as a former Mathematics Preceptor at Harvard it was the 7-year time cap that dictated my exit – though I have continued in the Harvard Extension School and the Harvard Summer School for 25 years after my exit from the teaching faculty in the Mathematics Department. I definitely would have preferred to stay, but I had other options. On the other hand, it has always been my understanding that the time cap was something favored by the faculty to prevent the Harvard administration from tamping down the number of tenured faculty in favor of non-tenured faculty willing to work for significantly less compensation and a greater teaching workload. Some other colleges have found better solutions to this dilemma. For what it’s worth, I was always happy to work for less compensation and a substantial teaching workload. It’s a job, not a country club.

Order #2. That the City Manager is requested to direct the Cambridge Department of Transportation (CDOT) and any other relevant departments to halt any further design, engineering, procurement, or construction activities related to implementing a reconfiguration of Garden Street to restore two-way motor-vehicle traffic. Councillor Al-Zubi, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler
pulled by Flaherty; comments by Al-Zubi, Brooke McKenna (wants to keep current configuration), Flaherty (objecting to “repetitive litigation” - bad public policy); Charter Right - Flaherty

This provides yet another illustration of how things can go sideways when elected officials insert themselves into the business of road design and traffic management. The Cycling Safety Ordinance and its inflexible amendments are perhaps the greatest example of bad decisions being forced by incompetent politics. The Garden Street flip-flopping is a corollary to this, but it’s not the case that we should expect better outcomes from our dysfunctional Department of Congestion, Obstruction, and Aggravation. Pick your poison – politics or Kool-Aid. When City policies are dominated by the principle of “solution in search of a problem”, keep your expectations low.

Order #3. That the City Manager is requested work with relevant City departments to provide a report on how the decision to install artificial turf at Ahern Field was made, the rationale for artificial turf, and what process was taken to ensure community concerns and public health considerations were fully addressed, and to ensure that construction will not move forward until a report is delivered. Councillor Nolan, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Zusy, Councillor Flaherty, Councillor Azeem, Councillor Al-Zubi
pulled by Nolan; comments by Nolan, McGovern, Deputy City Manager Kathy Watkins, Zusy with proposed amendment [to be determined], Flaherty, Azeem, Al-Zubi, Yi-An Huang, Siddiqui; Zusy amendment Adopted 9-0; add’l sponsors added 9-0; Order Adopted as Amended 9-0

I don’t know what’s best in terms of natural grass vs. more durable artificial turf, and I’m not really sure how PFAS becomes a health concern when you’re not Grazin’ in the Grass. Then again, I once knew a person who wouldn’t allow smoke detectors in her building when she learned that there was a trace amount of radioactive material in the detectors used for ionization.

Committee Report #1. The Finance Committee held a public hearing on Tues, Mar 10, 2026 to review and discuss the Police Department budget for FY27 before it is submitted to the City Manager, as required under Cambridge Municipal Code Chapter 2.74.040. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0

Committee Report #2. The Ordinance Committee held a public hearing on Mar 11, 2026 to have a conversation regarding zoning recommendations to strengthen active use requirements on Cambridge Street and Mass Ave as a follow-up to the recently adopted zoning petitions following the Our Cambridge Street Planning Study and Mass Ave Planning Study. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0

Committee Report #3. The Ordinance Committee held a public hearing on Apr 6, 2026 to continue the discussion that was held at the Mar 11, 2026 hearing regarding zoning recommendations to strengthen active use requirements on Cambridge Street and Mass Ave as a follow-up on the recently adopted zoning petitions. [text of report]
pulled by McGovern; 3 Orders Adopted 9-0; Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0

There are three proposed Orders in Report #3 meant to tweak the current zoning. Tweaking is good – especially as an alternative to some of more radical rezoning of recent years upon which political ambition has been built without regard for the potential consequences. - RW

Comments?

Rules? We don’t have to follow no stinkin’ rules!

Updated Mar 8, 2026 - In the 2024-25 City Council Rules, there are two items that have been often ignored in recent City Council terms:

Rule 27. Every committee of the City Council to which any subject may be referred shall report on the subject within a reasonable time from the time of referral. Any committee report that has not been signed by the Chair of the committee within seven days after submission of the committee report by the City Clerk will be placed on the City Council agenda unsigned. In the case that the Chair of any committee shall fail for thirty (30) days from the time any subject has been referred to it to call a hearing of the committee, a quorum of the committee may call a hearing of said committee. Notice of all committee hearings must be given at least forty-eight (48) hours before the time of the hearing.

Rule 28. Minutes shall be kept of all committee proceedings. All minutes, reports, and papers shall be submitted to the City Council by the City Clerk or their designee. Recommendations of each committee shall be made to the City Council for consideration and adoption.

As if communication through the Tunnel of Zoom wasn’t bad enough, some committee Chairs apparently have not seen fit to keep either their colleagues or the public informed unless they were present at the meeting or chose to view a recording of the meeting. There are reasons why minutes of a meeting are taken. Not everyone wants to suffer through a recording of a long and possibly boring meeting, and a voluminous transcript is not a substitute for good (succinct) minutes.

Here is the current record of deliquency [Chair]:

Ordinance Committee (8 missing reports)
2025 [McGovern, Toner]: OK
2024 [McGovern, Toner]: Oct 29
2023 [McGovern, Zondervan]: June 21, June 28, Aug 3
2022 [McGovern, Zondervan]: OK
2021 [Carlone, McGovern]: Jan 27, Dec 15
2020 [Carlone, McGovern]: Aug 26
2019 [Carlone, Kelley]: Oct 3

Finance Committee (0 missing reports)
2025 [Nolan, Toner]: OK
2024 [Nolan, Pickett, Toner]: OK
2023 [Carlone, Nolan]: OK
2022 [Carlone, Nolan]: OK
2021 [Carlone, Simmons]: OK
2020 [Carlone, Simmons]: OK
2019 [Simmons]: OK

Gov’t Operations, Rules & Claims (1 missing report)
2025 [Toner, McGovern]: OK
2024 [Toner]: OK
2023 [Mallon]: OK
2022 [Mallon]: OK
2021 [Simmons]: OK
2020 [Simmons]: OK
2019 [Devereux]: Nov 12

Health & Environment Committee (2 missing reports)
2025 [Nolan]: OK
2024 [Nolan]: OK
2023 [Nolan]: OK
2022 [Nolan]: OK
2021 [Zondervan]: OK
2020 [Zondervan]: OK
2019 [Devereux, Zondervan]: May 29, Oct 15

Neighborhood & Long-Term Planning, etc. (1 missing report)
2025 [Zusy, Sobrinho-Wheeler]: OK
2024 [Pickett, Zusy, Sobrinho-Wheeler]: OK
2023 [Carlone]: OK
2022 [Carlone]: OK
2021 [Nolan]: June 9 (minutes exist, but never reported)
2020 [Nolan]: OK
2019 [Carlone, Zondervan]: OK

Public Safety (0 missing reports)
2025 [Toner, Wilson]: OK
2024 [Toner, Wilson]: OK
2023 [Zondervan]: OK
2022 [Zondervan]: OK
2021 [Zondervan]: OK
2020 [Zondervan]: OK
2019 [Kelley]: OK

Econ. Development & University Relations (4 missing reports)
2025 [Toner, Wilson]: OK
2024 [Toner]: OK
2023 [Toner]: OK
2022 [Toner]: Apr 13, June 15
2021 [Mallon]: Jan 13
2020 [Mallon]: Aug 11
2019 [Siddiqui]: OK

Human Services & Veterans (1 missing report)
2025 [McGovern, Wilson]: OK
2024 [McGovern, Wilson]: OK
2023 [McGovern]: June 13
2022 [McGovern]: OK
2021 [McGovern]: OK
2020 [McGovern]: OK
2019 [Mallon, Siddiqui]: OK

Housing Committee (0 missing reports)
2025 [Azeem, Siddiqui]: OK
2024 [Azeem, Siddiqui]: OK
2023 [Simmons]: OK
2022 [Simmons]: OK
2021 [Simmons, Sobrinho-Wheeler]: OK
2020 [Simmons, Sobrinho-Wheeler]: OK
2019 [Siddiqui, Simmons]: OK

Transportation & Public Utilities (0 missing reports)
2025 [Zusy]: OK
2024 [Pickett, Zusy]: OK
2023 [Azeem]: OK
2022 [Azeem]: OK
2021 [Sobrinho-Wheeler]: OK
2020 [Sobrinho-Wheeler]: OK
2019 [Devereux]: OK

Civic Unity (0 missing reports)
2025 [Simmons, Zusy]: OK
2024 [Simmons, Pickett, Zusy]: OK
2023 [Simmons]: OK
2022 [Simmons]: OK
2021 [Simmons]: OK
2020 [Simmons]: OK
2019 [Simmons]: OK

Most Delinquent:
McGovern (8), Zondervan (5), Carlone (4), Devereux (3),
Toner (3), Mallon (2), Nolan (1), Kelley (1)

Number of Missing Reports:
2025 (0), 2024 (1), 2023 (4), 2022 (2), 2021 (4), 2020 (2), 2019 (4)

City Council Committee Assignments: 2026-2027

Jan 8, 2025 – This is going to take some time to digest – especially the decision to appoint as Chair of the Public Safety Committee someone who has repeatedly called Cambridge Police murderers. Then again, this same Mayor Siddiqui appointed Mr. Zondervan to that position in both 2020 and 2022. - RW

City Council subcommittees for 2026-2027
Committee	Members
Ordinance	McGovern (Co-Chair), Sobrinho-Wheeler (Co-Chair), Al-Zubi, Azeem, Flaherty, Nolan, Simmons, Zusy, Siddiqui (committee of the whole - mayor ex-officio)
Finance	Al-Zubi (Co-Chair), Nolan (Co-Chair), Azeem, Flaherty, McGovern, Simmons, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Zusy, Siddiqui (committee of the whole - mayor ex-officio)
Government Operations, Rules, and Claims	Sobrinho-Wheeler (Chair), Azeem, Simmons, McGovern, Nolan
Housing	Azeem (Co-Chair), Sobrinho-Wheeler (Co-Chair), Al-Zubi, Simmons, Zusy
Economic Development and University Relations	Flaherty (Co-Chair), Zusy (Co-Chair), Al-Zubi, McGovern, Nolan
Human Services & Veterans	Al-Zubi (Co-Chair), McGovern (Co-Chair), Flaherty, Simmons, Sobrinho-Wheeler
Health & Environment	Nolan (Chair), Al-Zubi, Azeem, McGovern, Zusy
Neighborhood and Long Term Planning, Public Facilities, Art, and Celebrations	Zusy (Chair), Al-Zubi, Azeem, Flaherty, Nolan
Transportation & Public Utilities	Azeem (Co-Chair), Flaherty (Co-Chair), Nolan, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Zusy
Civic Unity	Simmons (Chair), Azeem, Flaherty, McGovern, Zusy
Public Safety	Al-Zubi (Chair), McGovern, Nolan, Simmons, Sobrinho-Wheeler

FYI - Current Rules and Goals: Cambridge City Council & Cambridge School Committee

City Council Values Statement and Priority Areas (adopted Feb 9, 2026)

City Council Rules 2026-2027 (provisionally adopted Jan 5, 2026)

City Council Committees (for the current term)

Rules of the School Committee 2020-2021 - Adopted January 6, 2020 (document says 2019-2020)
(Revised January 16, 2018) (Revised March 6, 2018) (Revised June 19, 2018)

Rules of the School Committee 2018-2019 - Adopted January 1, 2018
(Revised January 16, 2018) (Revised March 6, 2018) (Revised June 19, 2018)

School Committee Rules (adopted January 7, 2008)

School Committee Goals (adopted October 7, 2008)

Research Assistants? I don’t think so...

May 2, 2006 – The Cambridge City Council voted 8-1 on May 1 in favor of giving themselves personal “research assistants.” Only Councillor Craig Kelley had the fortitude to raise any questions about the proposal. So it appears the proposal will sail through the Budget Hearings with barely a raised eyebrow. While I have raised the issue of the genesis of this proposal, the question of its merits and its implementation have not been addressed here. So, here are some observations, questions, and suggestions for our elected officials, City administration, and residents to consider:

1. There was a time when our elected officials enlisted citizens to assist them in research matters relating to public policy. Cambridge is perhaps the best city in the United States in which to find experts in almost any matter that the City Council (or School Committee) may need to better understand. There is a wealth of evidence over the last 65 years showing how citizens have worked with elected officials in the development of public policy. If the City Council feels burdened by the research needs of its committees, there is an enormous pool of talent available at no cost. Currently, the City Council makes very little use of this very available resource.

2. There was a time when councillors collaborated much more than they currently do in committee work and in the development of policies. A well-functioning City Council committee should delegate responsibilities so that each member masters certain facets of the tasks at hand and shares this knowledge with the rest of the committee. In effect, councillors serve as staff to each other. I would argue that it is better that elected officials educate themselves.

3. Are these jobs going to be publicly posted with a job description? Who will be doing the actual hiring? If Councillor Smith wants to hire Mr. Jones as personal staff, will the mayor have veto power over the hire? Does the Personnel Department have a role to play here or are these to be political hires? None of these details have been discussed publicly and they are important.

4. If these “research assistants” are to be hired, there should be policies and safeguards to ensure that they are not working on behalf of any councillor’s political campaign. Otherwise, this proposal will have the effect of using taxpayer dollars to support the political campaigns of incumbent councillors. In fact, maybe it’s time to consider a similar disqualification for staff in the Mayor’s Office. A founding principle of Plan E government is the elimination of political patronage in favor of responsible, professional government. Some of us still believe in this ideal. At the very least, strong guidelines should be established for what is and is not permissible.

5. The existence of this proposal within the budget of the Mayor’s Office is very strange indeed since it involves personnel for councillors, not the mayor. Should we not infer from this that the consensus of the councillors is that the City Council staff is not up to the task? If the job of councillor has changed so much, should there not be some discussion of revamping the Office of the City Council to better match the needs of the councillors? Why are these tasks being outsourced?

6. Some councillors have recently stated that the filing of City Council orders requesting information through the City Manager is not enough and that councillors would be better served by having their own staff to get this information. This strikes me as contrary to the intent of the Plan E Charter which dictates that all matters involving City personnel be directed through the Manager. One can easily imagine a scenario where each councillor has his or her personal staff contact City department heads for information rather than filing an Order as a body to get a common response. If the consensus is that the City Manager is being obstructive or extraordinarily slow in responding, shouldn’t the City Council take more forceful action in holding the Manager accountable?

7. If the term “research assistant” is meant to be factual, then perhaps these RAs should be topic-specific so that we can have people who have some background or aptitude for the tasks at hand. If, for example, research in energy-related matters is what is needed, then someone with that knowledge would be ideal. Is any such protocol being discussed to ensure that the councillors and the taxpayers will get the best quality research for their tax dollars? I would hope that matters like scheduling and event planning will be handled by the City Council Office rather than by “research assistants.”

8. Several councillors have complained that e-mail has had a dramatic effect on the responsibilities of a city councillor due to the time consumption associated with responding to these messages. I don’t doubt this. However, there are efficiencies that can make such tasks much easier. For example, if each councillor receives 100 e-mail messages on a particular topic, then rather than making 100 shallow replies, I would advise responding to ALL of the issues of substance raised by residents in a single, comprehensive message sent (using blind-carbon-copy) to all of the people who sent messages. Those of us in academics have been doing this for years. It’s much more effective to craft comprehensive messages sent to the whole class rather than many nearly identical messages sent to individual students. There are MANY ways to be more effective in e-mail communication. Then again, if individual responses are seen as more valuable in securing potential votes in the next election, that’s a choice each councillor must make on his or her own - independent of taxpayer-supported staff.

In summary, I am not questioning whether or not some changes in staffing are warranted. I am, however, asking that any such changes be done in the best interest of taxpayers and that City funds are never used to either directly or indirectly support the reelection efforts of elected officials. - RW, May 3, 2006

Punching Out Your Cake and Having it Too – a chronology of the proposal for personal Council staff
(posted April 28, 2006)

Jan 1998 - The vote for who was to be mayor went on for several weeks as Ken Reeves held out until there were 4 other votes for Katherine Triantafillou, an outcome sincerely supported by at most two councillors (Reeves and Triantafillou). The would-be mayor rounded up her supporters for the coronation. A congratulatory cake was ordered. As the vote occurred and there were momentarily 5 votes on the table for Triantafillou (Born, Davis, Duehay, Reeves, Triantafillou), Councillors Galluccio and Russell changed their votes to Duehay. Councillors Born, Davis, and Duehay then changed their votes to Duehay and Mayor Duehay was elected. Councillor Galluccio was then elected vice-mayor. Meanwhile, in the room next to the Council chamber, Alice Wolf aide and Triantafillou supporter Marjorie Decker exploded in anger and punched out the cake, police were called, and a grudge began that remains to this day.

Feb 1998 - Mayor Duehay made good on the deal by hiring Galluccio campaign worker Terry Smith to work in the Mayor’s Office “to assist the mayor and vice mayor”. This marked the first time (to my knowledge) that any councillor other than the mayor received personal staff (except for a brief experiment with interns some years earlier). Resentment grew among other councillors about the special treatment one councillor received in exchange for delivering the mayor’s job.

1999 - Frank Duehay and Sheila Russell announced they would not seek reelection. Jim Braude, David Maher, and Marjorie Decker were subsequently elected to the City Council as incumbent Katherine Triantafillou was defeated, principally as a result of Marjorie Decker winning her seat.

2000 - After 1½ months without electing a mayor, Anthony Galluccio was able to secure 6 votes to become mayor (Braude, Davis, Galluccio, Maher, Sullivan, Toomey). David Maher was elected vice-mayor. Terry Smith became chief of staff of the Mayor’s Office. David Maher did not request any personal staff. Kathy Born suggested during the Budget hearings that the idea of personal staff for councillors be referred to the Government Operations Committee. Ken Reeves said at this time, “I don’t believe the vice-mayor needs the extra staffing and not us.” Note that this was a reference to the previous administration (Duehay-Galluccio).

Around this time, the Government Operations Committee met to discuss the proposal for personal staff. The estimates given for City Council staff were: (1) $390,250 for a low-level, bare bones proposal; (2) $157,450 for 8 part-time staff with no benefits; (3) $72,300 for one legislative research assistant. Deputy City Manager Rich Rossi said personal staff was tried briefly about 10 years earlier with interns. Michael Sullivan voiced concern about keeping in touch personally with his constituents and wondered how he would find enough things for this person to do. Most of the councillors spoke in support of giving themselves personal staff. Kathy Born said that if she found her job to be too much, she could hire her own staff person, only she would have to pay for it out of after-tax money, unlike an employee of a business. She suggested higher Council pay with the option of paying for a staff person out of this additional pay. The option would remain for a councillor to act as a “full-time councillor” without staff. Jim Braude said that a councillor could lend his or her campaign the money for the staff person.

One week later, the City Manager proposed a 23% pay raise for city councillors and a change in the ordinance to allow for automatic increases so that they would never again have to vote to raise their own pay. The pay raise was approved and the question of personal staff disappeared for the rest of the Council term.

2001 - Kathy Born and Jim Braude chose not to seek reelection. Brian Murphy and Denise Simmons were elected to the City Council.

2002 - Michael Sullivan was elected mayor on Inauguration Day. Henrietta Davis was elected vice-mayor. Unlike the previous term, Henrietta Davis did request and receive personal staff as vice-mayor when Garrett Simonsen, Davis’ election campaign manager, was hired to the Mayor’s Office staff as her assistant. Indications are that he served more than just the vice-mayor.

2004 - Michael Sullivan was again elected mayor, only this time Marjorie Decker was elected vice-mayor. Garrett Simonsen became chief of staff of the Mayor’s Office. Sullivan hired Kristin Franks (who had been Decker’s campaign manager) as “assistant to the mayor and vice-mayor” but the indications were that she was working almost exclusively for Decker. By summer, Franks was gone and Nicole Bukowski, another Decker campaign worker, was hired as exclusive staff to Decker. For the remainder of the Council term, Bukowski waited hand and foot on Decker - and resentment among other councillors grew for the remainder of the Council term.

Late 2005 - Craig Kelley was elected to the City Council and incumbent David Maher was defeated. Speculation immediately began about who would be the next mayor. Some councillors reported that a plan was being discussed to give certain councillors personal staff as part of the vote-trading for electing the mayor.

Early 2006 - Ken Reeves was elected mayor and Tim Toomey vice-mayor. In a surprising turn of events, Bukowski continued to serve out of the Mayor’s Office as personal staff to Councillor Decker - clearly a part of the deal to make Reeves mayor. Rumors circulated that there was a plan to assign some councillors additional committee chairs as justification for getting personal staff. When the committee chairs were announced, Councillor Decker (who, along with Councillor Galluccio, has maintained the worst record of committee attendance during her time on the Council) was surprisingly given four committees to chair. In contrast, Henrietta Davis (who has always been at or near the top in committee attendance) was given only one. This was seen by some as a way to justify Decker keeping her personal aide in exchange for her vote for mayor.

April 2006 - Ken Reeves submitted a budget for the Mayor’s Office that is 54.3% higher than the previous year. The cause for the increase is a proposal for personal staff for all the remaining councillors at a recurring annual cost of about a quarter-million dollars. There was no public indication of any kind that such an extravagant plan was in the works. An order is on the May 1 City Council agenda (after the budget was already submitted on April 24 including the increase) formally calling for the major staff increase. The order is co-sponsored by Reeves, Toomey, Decker, Galluccio, Sullivan, and Davis. It is expected that, like every person hired to date as staff for the vice-mayor (and most of those on the mayor’s staff), all of the new “research assistants” will be affiliated with the election campaigns of the officials they will serve. Curiously, these patronage hires will be occurring at a time when there are fewer major issues before the Council and when an unprecedented number of councillors are either serving in other elected positions or seeking election to other positions now or in the near future. - RW, April 28, 2006

Ref: April 27, 2006 Cambridge Chronicle story on the Council staff proposal
April 27, 2006 Cambridge Chronicle story on the submitted FY07 Budget

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all,
One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

The nine Nazgûl arose as Sauron’s most powerful servants in the Second Age of Middle-earth. It is said that three of the Nine were originally “Great Lords” of Númenor. They were all powerful mortal Men to whom Sauron each gave nine Rings of Power. These proved to be their undoing:

“Those who used the Nine Rings became mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old. They obtained glory and great wealth, yet it turned to their undoing. They had, as it seemed, unending life, yet life became unendurable to them. They could walk, if they would, unseen by all eyes in this world beneath the sun, and they could see things in worlds invisible to mortal men; but too often they beheld only the phantoms and delusions of Sauron. And one by one, sooner or later, according to their native strength and to the good or evil of their wills in the beginning, they fell under the thralldom of the ring that they bore and of the domination of the One which was Sauron’s. And they became forever invisible save to him that wore the Ruling Ring, and they entered into the realm of shadows. The Nazgûl were they, the Ringwraiths, the Enemy’s most terrible servants; darkness went with them, and they cried with the voices of death” (The Silmarillion: “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age”, 289).

The corrupting effect of the rings caused their bodily forms to fade over time until they had become wraiths entirely. Given visible form only through their attire, their original form was completely invisible to mortal eyes. The red reflection in their eyes could be plainly distinguished even in daylight, and in a rage they appeared in a hellish fire. They had many weapons, which included long swords of steel and flame, daggers with magical venomous properties and black maces of great strength.

City Council Committee meetings chaired and attended (2024-2025) through reports of Mar 9, 2026
Councillor	Chaired	Attended
Sobr.-Wheeler	14	124
Siddiqui	16	117
Wilson	19	116
Nolan	34	110
McGovern	39	104
Zusy	14	83
Toner	38	78
Azeem	12	78
Simmons	1	68
Pickett *	11	30

2024-25 Sequence Number Matching Key Mgr = City Manager Agenda Items AP = Applications & Petitions PO = Policy Orders COF = Communications from City Officers * denotes Special or Roundtable Meeting
Date	Mgr	AP	PO	COF
1/1/24	-	-	-	-
1/8/24	1-4	1-2	1-2	1-3
1/22/24	5-7	-	3-8	5
1/29/24	8-10	3-4	9-13	7
2/5/24*	-	-	-	-
2/5/24*	-	-	-	-
2/12/24	11-22	5	14-19	11,14
2/13/24*	-	-	-	-
2/26/24	23-27	6	20-25	17-18
3/4/24	28-37	7	26-30	22
3/18/24	38-49	8-9	31-41	26-28
3/25/24	50-64	10-11	42-46	34
4/1/24	65-66	13	47-48	39
4/8/24	67-72	14	49-54	41
4/29/24	73-89	15	55-58	52
5/6/24	90-96	16-17	59-61	58-60
5/13/24	97-104	-	62-64	65
5/20/24	105-109	-	65-66	67
6/3/24	110-117	19-20	67-75	77
6/10/24	118-124	-	76-80	82
6/17/24	125-133	21-23	81-86	87
6/24/24	134-148	-	87-94	90
8/5/24	151-175	24-29	96-111	106-108
9/9/24	176-197	30.33	112-123	118-120
9/16/24	198-202	34	124-125	122
9/23/24	203-208	35	126-133	125
9/30/24	209-217	36	134-138	126
10/7/24	218-220	-	139	128
10/21/24	221-230	-	140-143	133-134
10/28/24*	-	-	-	-
11/4/24	231-236	37	144-147	140
11/18/24	237-249	38	148-149	142-143
11/25/24	250-254	-	150-151	147-148
12/2/24	255-257	-	152	149-150
12/9/24	258-264	-	153-155	153-154
12/10/24*	-	-	-	-
12/16/24	265-267	-	157-160	159
12/23/24	268	39-40	161-162	161
Date	Mgr	AP	PO	COF
1/6/25	1-8	1	1-2	1-2
1/13/25*	-	-	-	3
1/27/25	12-21	2-5	3-8	12-13
2/3/25	9-11,22-25	6	9-10	16
2/10/25	26	7	11-16	18
2/24/25*	-	-	-	-
3/3/25	27-32,34	8-10	17-30	36
3/17/25	33,35-53	11-14	31-35	41-42
3/24/25	54-66	15-17	36-40	45
3/31/25	67-75	-	41-48	56
4/7/25	76-79	-	49-52	57-58
4/14/25	80-90	-	53-58	61-62,64
4/28/25	91-108	18	59-63	68
5/5/25	109-117	19	64-70	73
5/12/25	118	-	71-74	79
5/19/25	119-131	20-22	75-78	83
6/2/25	132-139	-	79-83	91
6/9/25	140-153	23-24	84-87	94
6/16/25	154-159	-	88-93	95
6/23/25	160-176	-	94-99	99
6/30/25	177-184	25-27	100-105	100
7/21/25*	188-189	-	-	102
7/23/25*	186-187	-	-	101
8/4/25	190-214	28-31	106-113	104-106
9/8/25	215-223	32-35	114-124	113-115
9/15/25	224-236	36	125-129	120-121
9/29/25	237-241	37-38	130-137	124
10/6/25	242-250	-	138-143	126
10/20/25	251-259	39	144-152	131
10/27/25	260-266	-	153-156	133-134
11/3/25	267-272	40	157-158	140
11/10/25*	-	-	-	-
11/17/25	273-278	-	159	144
11/24/25	279-281	41-42	160-161	145
12/8/25	282-290	-	162-169	152-154
12/15/25	291-304	43	170-171	159
12/17/25*	-	-	-	-
12/22/25	305-311	44	172-173	164-165

2026-27 Sequence Number Matching Key Mgr = City Manager Agenda Items AP = Applications & Petitions PO = Policy Orders COF = Communications from City Officers * denotes Special or Roundtable Meeting
Date	Mgr	AP	PO	COF
1/5/26	-	-	-	-
1/12/26	1-6	1-2	1-6	1-4
new system implemented
1/26/26	4-15	1,3,5	8,16-17,19-25,27	1,2,4,5
2/9/26	20-30,32	7,9	28-36	9-12
3/2/26	33-39,41-42	13	37-40,42-50	19-20
3/9/26	44,46,49-51	-	52-53	21-23
3/16/26	52-58	-	56	27,29
3/23/26	60-67	-	57-59,61-62	30-31
3/30/26	69-72,74-77	-	65-71	45-47
4/6/26*	-	-	-	54
4/13/26	78-80,82-89	-	72-77	58-60
4/27/26	91-114,117	-	78-82	62
5/4/26	118-123	-	93,95-96	70
5/11/26	128,136-138	-	94,97-102	72-74
5/18/26	141,146-154,156	-	103,105	76-78
6/1/26	160-167, 169-170	29,31	108-118	80-83
6/8/26	171-177, 179-182	PET#2	119-123	85-86