Cambridge Council Postpones Choice of New City Manager

In contrast to Thursday's stormy session, last night's meeting of the Cambridge City Council was relatively subdued, with the divisive City Manager issue receiving scant attention.

At the very end of the meeting, Mayor Barbara Ackermann announced to those in the audience who had been waiting for some mention of the search for a new City Manager that the Council had not yet received "an important phone call," and thus the matter would be postponed for at least another week.

After the Council adjourned. Councillor Henry F. Owens III disclosed that a telephone call was momentarily expected from James Johnson, the black deputy city manager of Kansas City, Mo, Owens has apparently succeeded in forcing three of his liberal colleagues on the Council--Ackermann, Francis H. Duehay '55 and Robert Moncreiff--to reconsider Johnson for the City Manager job.

Interviews

According to Owans and Duehay. Johnson will probably fly to Cambridge for interviews on Saturday with the Council and with a panel of community leaders.

Johnson was interviewed by the liberal councillors on April 2 but he did not participate in the citizen interviews. Owens has charged that Duehay. Moncreiff and Ackermann told him they were "locked in" to voting for Howard C. "Neil" Peterson, former city administrator of New Brunswick, N.J. Peterson, only 28 years old, is the favorite for the job.

In action at the Council meeting last night, a motion appropriating an extra $3000 to the Mayor's account for the "National Search for a City Manager" was passed 5-4. This sum is in addition to the $5000 already spent on the search.

Also passed was an order introduced by Councillor Alfred Vellucci: "That the Harvard and MIT Board of Overseers or Corporation be invited to the next meeting of the City Council for the purpose of discussing the taxing of all Harvard and MIT properties."

Duehay had planned to introduce his motion requesting Harvard to cease construction and abandon plans for its parking garage at the corner of Broadway and Felton Street, but the meeting adjourned before his proposal was considered.