Cambridge Rainbow Adds to City's Political Spectrum

Politics in the city of Cambridge function according to laws of their own.

Everybody who is anybody here--politically--is a Democrat. The last Republican to serve on the City Council retired in 1969.

But Cambridge is by no means a one-party town. For more than 40 years, the City Council has been split down the middle between candidates backed by the liberal Cambridge Civic Association (CCA) and those running as Independents.

And this year, a new progressive slate, the Working Committee for a Cambridge Rainbow, has added itself to the fray.

The Rainbow shares almost all of the CCA's goals for the next election, including strict controls on development and strong support for rent control, and every Rainbow-endorsed candidate has CCA backing as well.

Despite the two groups' seeming similarity, however, Rainbow organizers say that their long-term goals are slightly different. The CCA's stated purpose is to promote honest and efficient city government--although for many years, affordable housing and rent control have provided its core issues.

In contrast, says spokesperson Howard P. Ramseur, the Rainbow's goal is a little more basic: to bring new people into the political process.

"When you walk through Central Square," explains Ramseur, "you see people of all types and colors and economic classes. Then you go to the Rent Control Board, and last time I was there, it was all white."

"We want to get people involved in the political process who haven't been involved before," he says.

While the CCA and other political groups have been active in trying to reach new segments of the population, the Rainbow's organizers say that the efforts have not penetrated far enough. What is needed, they say, is a grass-roots movement which will reach the housing projects. The Rainbow Committee, they say, is an attempt to fill the gap.

"Certain people in the CCA have noticed that that other part has been missing, and they've been reaching out," says spokesperson Janet Murray. "A group that's more specifically grass roots-oriented will do a better job of reaching that goal."

"We'll really be trying to reach the disenfranchised, people who've been left out of the traditional political organizations," says Murray.

Council hopeful Rena Leib says that she believes the Rainbow's grass-roots approach may be better able to push for affordable housing and other benefits for the city's disenfranchised, issues which have in the past caused dissension among the CCA ranks.

Despite some of the differences in strategy and policy, Murray and Ramseur say they are not seeking confrontation with the CCA. Instead, they say they see it and the Rainbow playing complementary roles.

Indeed, it would be impossible for the two groups to compete in the upcoming election--all six of the Rainbow's council candidates are also on the CCA's nine-member slate.

"Everybody's got to face political reality," acknowledges Ramseur.

And CCA officials downplay any differences of opinion between the two groups. CCA Executive Director Noah M. Berger '89 says that he believes there will be plenty of room for progressives of all stripes in the upcoming election.

"The issues in this election are so broad that everyone sees a need to get involved in it," says Berger. "And we welcome all of them."

Many city liberals say that the upcoming election will play a critical role in shaping the future of Cambridge politics. Two long-time CCA councillors, Saundra Graham and David E. Sullivan, have announced that they plan to retire from the council after the current term expires, leaving the CCA locked in an uphill battle simply to retain its four-seat minority.

And in addition, Independent Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci, who has functioned as a political party unto himself for the last 38 years, has also decided not to seek re-election. While Vellucci supports a progressive, pro-tenant agenda, CCA councillors quickly learn that it is never safe to count on his vote.

The city is also deeply divided over a binding ballot referendum that would drastically reform the city's rent control laws.

The ballot question, known as Proposition 1-2-3, would allow tenants who have lived in rentcontrolled apartments for more than two years to buy them as condominiums--thus reducing the city's stock of affordable housing. Sponsors of 1-2-3 argue that the referendum would benefit the city by allowing more city residents to own their own homes, but opponents charge that such a change would deal a death-blow to the rent-control system.

"It's both a challenge and an opportunity," says Murray. "The timing of having an organization like the Rainbow Committee is critical."

Thus the Rainbow's goals are quite clear for the short run: defeat 1-2-3 and win a "progressive" majority on the council.

Like the CCA, the Rainbow committee also supports placing stricter limits on new development and forcing builders to contribute more to the city. And like the CCA, it advocates strengthening the city's supply of affordable housing.

But the Rainbow Platform also includes some more far-reaching proposals. It calls for direct elections to the rent control, planning and zoning boards, which currently are appointed by the city manager. It calls for revoking the controversial "buyout" clause in the new contract of City Manager Robert W. Healy, the city's chief executive, and recommends a critical review of Healy's performance.

What this adds up to, says Ramseur, is a vigorous shakeup of the city's Plan E form of government, which was instituted in the 1940s to curb corruption and political patronage. It was these reform efforts that led to the creation of the CCA.

Under Plan E, the city has a "weak-mayor" form of government, in which almost all executive power is vested in a city manager. The mayor, elected by the city council from its own ranks, plays a mostly ceremonial role, and while the council ultimately shapes city policy, councillors are prohibited from interfering with city employees.

However, many city residents have criticized the role of the city manager, saying that he is no longer accountable to the people. During several controversial debates this year, the charge was made that Healy had not made an effort to inform adequately the council or the city of his actions.

And for many, the last straw was the buyout clause, which forces the council to pay Healy the balance of his salary even if he is removed from his post. Such a contract, they say, deprives the city of it's most basic power--the right to fire the city manager.

"Many people are asking if this is a form of government that's workable," says Ramseur.

And whatever the outcome of the November election, Rainbow organizers say they expect the new group will eventually make its impact on the city political scene.

"We're in this for the long haul," says Ramseur. "We're going to be around after the election."