Political Group Focuses on Taxes, TV

One night last January, four Cambridge residents decided that they didn't like the way things were going in the city, and that they were going to do something about it. So, they started an Association for a Better Cambridge (ABC).

"We want to see the city perform services that the citizens pay for," Daniel Crane, one of the four ABC directors, said this week. "We feel things have been mismanaged."

The organization's aim is focusing attention on any issue members feel is a municipal problem, including public education, crime, housing policies, economic development and cable TV, Crane added.

"Most people in Cambridge share our view, but they're just too busy to go to city council meetings and express their views," said Denise Rothschile, president of ABC.

But despite accusations to the contrary from other local political groups, including the Cambridge Civic Association, the ABC is not attacking anyone's political views, Crane said.

"We're not even endorsing any candidates in the election," Crane added.

To this end, the ABC publishes a bimonthly newsletter, and recently completed a public opinion poll to find out what people felt was wrong with the city.

In December, the group will hold a workshop for property owners who feel their holdings were unfairly appraised during the property revaluation process the city completed this year, and a general meeting for its 500 members.

Membership in ABC "cuts across neighborhood, ethnic and racial lines," said Rothschile. "We have a really broad base of support."

One of the major issues the ABC has focused on recently is the cable TV referendum that will be on the ballot tomorrow. The referendum asks voters to allow the city the option to own its own cable TV operations. ABC has come out against the referendum.

"The city has many other financial problems to deal with," Rothschile said. "They shouldn't be gambling with our money."

Another area of concern for the group is public schools. According to the poll, taken by the Community Research company, "the vast majority of the people did not know very much about their schools," said Rothschile.

But she added that only 12 percent of the people polled had children in the system, and only 21 percent had attended public schools in the city themselves.

ABC officials said that in this year's election, no candidate had really stressed the basic issues. Crane said he was surprised that none of the seven challengers for the nine seats on the council had questioned the incumbent councilors' records.

"They just haven't been kicking each other around this year," he said.

Crane attributed this lack of attention to the fact that issues like schools and public services are what he called "mundane."

"They're not sexy issues that get newspaper coverage," he said. "But they're basic to a lot of people who live in this city."

"We need people who care about filling in potholes, picking up trash and taking care of city businesses," Crane added.