Attempt to Reconsider Mayoral Vote Fails

Tensions ran high at Monday night's Cambridge City Council meeting as newly-elected Mayor Francis H. Duehay '55 presided over the council for the first time since his controversial election at last week's meeting.

Duehay was elected in an unusual turn of events after Councillor Katherine Triantafillou won enough votes to become mayor and then lost all but one vote as her peers changed their votes in favor of Duehay.

The first order of Monday's meeting was a reconsideration of the mayoral vote filed by Councillor Timothy J. Toomey, Jr.

Upon Duehay's request, City Clerk D. Margaret Drury read a letter from City Solicitor D. M. Moschos, which stated that it was not legal for the council to take another vote.

Duehay then made a motion that due to the legal issues involved, "the matter is not a proper matter for the consideration of the council."

Toomey moved to overrule Duehay's motion, arguing that despite what Moschos wrote, the council had the power to make its own rules. "We are the legislative body which governs itself," he said. "We decide the rules. We rule ourselves."

Councillor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 went even further, suggesting that the city needs a new system for conducting mayoral elections.

Reeves' main concern, however, lay with the honesty of his fellow councilors, whom he accused of telling Triantafillou that they would vote for her and then switching their votes.

"The integrity questions are here," Reeves said. "It seems to me that some of us here have very high-falutin' views of ourselves."

After a few brief comments by Councillor Kathleen L. Born, the council then voted five to four in support of Duehay's motion that the mayoral election stand.

More than a dozen Cambridge residents spoke during the public comment session at the beginning of the meeting, expressing their disgust with the council's handling of the mayoral elections.

While many of the speakers were supporters of Triantafillou, others said they did not care who was mayor but were merely concerned about the issues of trust raised by the elections.

"If you can betray one of your own, how can I trust you?" resident Lisa Burke asked the council.

Newly-elected Vice-Mayor Anthony D. Galluccio later tried to switch the focus of the meeting away from any negative feelings council members might hold towards Duehay and support him.

While disagreeing with the current elective system, Galluccio nonetheless expressed support of Mayor Duehay.

"I want to go on record as proudly supporting the election of Mayor Duehay," he said. "I want to be forward thinking and I want to attempt to present a tone for the rest of the year," Galluccio added.

Galluccio then suggested that the council stop discussing the elections and get back to work.

"People are having problems paying their bills and getting housing," he said. "They don't want to hear about what went on in the back room."