Our Picks For City Council

As has been our yearly tradition, it is our pleasure to endorse nine candidates for the Cambridge City Council election. Among them, we again endorse Kenneth E. Reeves '72 as mayor of Cambridge.

Reeves has shown a strong commitment to town-gown cooperation throughout his terms as mayor. He is well-known to University officials and is an active participant in community events that take advantage of the University's resources, such as this summer's senior citizens' day. We also applaud Reeves' efforts to improve math and science curricula in Cambridge's public schools.

Francis H. Duehay '55 has also been an effective liaison between the University and the city. We were especially impressed by his canvassing appearance in the Harvard houses last week, which emphasized the fact that many students see themselves as citizens of Cambridge. Anthony D. Galluccio, who is running for a full term for the first time, has also visited the houses. We also appreciate the conciliatory attitude he's taken while the rest of the council has pressured Harvard to sell hundreds of rent-controlled apartment units.

Three candidates besides Reeves have also shown strong commitments to Cambridge's school system. Foremost among these is Henrietta A. Davis, who has served eight productive years on the School Committee. Incumbent Katherine Triantafillou has promised to increase parents' involvement in their children's education. Triantafillou also led the effort to create a Domestic Violence Free Zone in Cambridge, one of the first such initiatives in the nation.

Lester P. Lee Jr. has focused on the role of youth centers in Cambridge in conjunction with the school system. Lee, Triantafillou, Kathleen L. Born and Sheila T. Russell would bring respect for Cambridge's historical buildings as well as an understanding of the city's infrastructure.

In addition, we were impressed by Born's work to increase the scope of federally-funded summer food programs in Cambridge. This initiative is especially important in a city with a large homeless population.

Our last endorsement is of Robert Winters, a math preceptor at Harvard. To have a City Council member within the University could encourage students and faculty alike to voice concerns about community affairs. Moreover, we'd like to see at least one teacher as a councillor when it comes time to select the new superintendent of schools. We hope Winters will be able to bring town-gown cooperation to a new level as a literal link between the two.