How Mayor Gallucio Triumphed: Underdog to Top Dog

Anthony Galluccio, Cambridge's newest mayor, emerged victorious after a seven-and-half hour Valentine's Day meeting.

It should not have happened this way.

After needing only one more vote on the first two ballots to gain the mayor's seat, Kathleen L. Born was hoping to finally triumph. But the third vote last Monday night ended Born's ambitions as her star faded and Kenneth E. Reeves '72 thrust himself into the spotlight.

But Galluccio would be the only one smiling in the end, as councillors who had pledged their votes stood their ground during eleventh-hour appeals. And even a last-minute switch by Reeves to support Born could not stop the election of Cambridge's youngest mayor in more than half a century.

It could not have occurred any stranger.

From the Beginning

The story of Galluccio's election begins in November, shortly after the Nov. 2 City Council election.

Earlier in the year, Mayor Francis H. Duehay '55 and former mayor Sheila T. Russell had announced their impending retirements, leaving a wide-open field in the upcoming mayor's election.

In November, Galluccio topped the field for the second consecutive election, with 2,640 first place votes.

Councillors Jim Braude, Marjorie C. Decker and David P. Maher were also elected to the council for the first time.

With the election complete, councillors began maneuvering for the mayor's seat.

On the left--in Cambridge political terms--stood Cambridge Civic Association (CCA) councillors Kathleen L. Born, Henrietta Davis and Braude, as well as unaffiliated progressives Decker and Kenneth E. Reeves '72, a former two-term mayor.

On the more conservative but still left-of-center side stood Independent councillors Galluccio, Maher, Michael A. Sullivan and Timothy P. Toomey, Jr.

Born's High Hopes

Born, entering her fourth term on the council, hoped to follow in the footsteps of her self-described mentor, Duehay.

And when the council took its first mayoral vote at its Jan. 3 inauguration, Born seemed to be well on her way, as she received four votes--hers, and those of Braude, Davis and Decker.

But the crucial fifth vote eluded her, as fellow progressive Reeves, and independents Maher and Sullivan voted for Sullivan while Galluccio and Toomey voted for Galluccio.

The second round of voting took place one week later, but produced no changes. The next vote would not come for five weeks, as the council dealt with zoning matters, snow removal and the cancellation of its Feb. 7 meeting due to the death of former mayor Thomas W. Danehy.

At the time, local political analyst Glenn S. Koocher '71, host of the political television show "Cambridge Inside Out," said he had heard speculation that Decker might change her vote from Born to another candidate after a certain number of ballots.

"Marjorie Decker had genuine angst and confusion on her face," he said of her reaction when the roll call to close the mayoral voting was announced.

Tough Love

When the council finally took its next vote for mayor on Valentine's Day, things were looking much rosier for Reeves.

In the first vote of the evening at 8:30 p.m., Decker left the Born camp, aligning herself with Reeves, who changed his vote from Sullivan to himself.

The move had a domino effect on Born's chances. Before the meeting, Braude told Reeves he would support him if Born was not elected mayor on the first ballot.

"He only agreed to vote for me for one ballot," Reeves says. "It was not clear where he was headed."

Davis was wavering as well. After six weeks of voting, she desperately wanted the city to elect a mayor.

Earlier in the day, according to a Davis press release, Born essentially released Braude and Davis from their commitment to her cause, agreeing that if she did not muster the necessary five votes before the meeting they were free to vote for other candidates.

By this point, Davis had already decided that Galluccio was her second choice, even though it meant she would be crossing party lines.

"Because of firm promises he made on affordable housing, schools and citywide rezoning, I had decided that Anthony Galluccio was my second choice for mayor," Davis said. "His support for these critical issues meant the possibility of a new coalition--and a super majority of sorts."

Before the meeting, Davis and Braude told Galluccio that he would have their vote if Born failed to be elected in the first ballot.

"It was a promise of giving me a chance on the third ballot," Galluccio says.

The council first had to have a second round of voting. In the second ballot at 11 p.m., Braude followed through on his promise to acting mayor Reeves and switched his vote to him, making him the new leader with three votes.

Born, Sullivan and Galluccio remained close behind with two votes apiece.

After backing Born in the second ballot, Davis "reaffirmed" her commitment to Galluccio at this time.

"There was no hint that Kathy could be elected," she said.

Midnight Madness

Around midnight, as the council recessed to await clarification on parts of the Linear Park downzoning petition in North Cambridge--Galluccio's home neighborhood--Decker and Reeves suddenly switched allegiances again.

"After the late-night recess, I said to Decker 'I don't think I can get the votes,'" Reeves says.

Decker and Reeves then went to Born and offered her their votes.

According to Reeves, Born then went to Davis, presumably to retain her vote.

For Davis, this was an "unbelievable moment of conflict," as she had to decide whether to fulfill her promise to Galluccio.

"Were those two votes real?" she said. "Promises of votes had been used in previous ballots to prevent a majority from forming for one candidate or another. Was this just another of those ploys?"

Braude had similiar doubts.

"I thought it was an iffy proposition," he says, referring to whether Born would retain the support needed to be elected.

In the end, however, Davis decided that going back on her word "was simply too high a price."

"I felt it would contribute to a nasty atmosphere on the council, already too full of mistrust for the good of the city," she said.

"Throughout this weeks-long process, Anthony had been forthright and direct with me," Davis added. "I felt I owed him the same honorable treatment."

After returning to council business in which the Linear Park petition was passed, another recess was called at 12:50 a.m. before the final mayoral vote.

During the recess, Galluccio approached Sullivan, asking him for his vote.

"He had the votes, and he asked me for my vote," Sullivan says. Sullivan agreed to throw his support behind Galluccio as well.

"[Sullivan] handled things in a very cool and gentlemanly-like manner," Galluccio says.

Sullivan's lone supporter, Maher, told Galluccio in the second week of November that he would also support him if he amassed four votes.

"I would not prevent him from being mayor," Maher says. "I wouldn't go back on my word."

The stage was set for the final round of voting, which finally took place at 1:20 a.m.

The votes all fell in place as planned, as Braude, Davis, Maher and Sullivan switched their support to Galluccio, giving him a 6-3 victory.

As promised, Decker and Reeves voted for Born, but it was too little, too late.

Before the quick vice mayor's election of Maher--which was not based on party affiliation--City Clerk D. Margaret Drury swore in the new mayor, and Galluccio celebrated.

"I want to thank everyone who has stuck with me through thick and thin," Galluccio said in a 1:30 a.m. acceptance speech. "I will work tirelessly to make the city the best it can be."

The Young Turk

Galluccio's colleagues agree that the 32-year-old, now in his fourth term on the council, will be able to handle the responsibilities of the mayor's seat.

"He has the stamina and the nature to bring people together and resolve issues," Maher says.

Galluccio is the youngest mayor Cambridge has ever had under its Plan E form of government, adopted in 1940.

As mayor, Galluccio will chair both the council and the School Committee, as well as fulfill ceremonial functions.

Galluccio's father served on the School Committee while Galluccio himself attended the Cambridge public schools.

"He's gone through Cambridge public schools, so he'll be good leading the School Committee," Duehay says.

Galluccio's experience as a Cambridge native and his know-how of the city and its schools already seems to be paying off.

In one of his first acts as mayor, Galluccio helped to broker a solution to the longstanding standoff between the teachers' union and the school district.

The main teachers contract expired more than five months ago. Last Wednesday night, Galluccio sat down with representatives from both sides to work out an agreement.

"I want to settle this contract tonight," he says he told them.

By 7 a.m. the next morning, agreements for the financial and contractual pieces of the contract had been agreed upon.

At another marathon meeting Friday night, Galluccio and Cambridge Teachers Association President Roger O'Sullivan hammered out an agreement for the city's only public high school, Cambridge Rindge and Latin, making the negotiations complete.

"It was a pretty exciting and challenging experience for my third day on the job," Galluccio says.

A Conservative in Cambridge?

While Galluccio has shown he can ably lead the School Committee in his short time on the job, concerns still exist about his positions on other issues such as rent control and development.

In the context of exceedingly liberal Cantabrigian politics, Galluccio's anti-rent control stance makes him one of the most conservative members of the council for rent control supporters.

Rent control, which began in Cambridge in 1969, was voted out by a statewide referendum in 1994.

Robert Winters, a longtime council observer and publisher of the online Cambridge Civic Journal, says most of the complaints he has heard about Galluccio's election as mayor have come from such Cambridge residents.

"They see Anthony as this horrendous conservative because of his affiliation with anti-rent control forces," Winters says.

Galluccio, however, says he finds the conservative label often attached to him "amusing."

"I'm a liberal Democrat by any standard," he says. "I have a pro-business label because I'm willing to acknowledge the benefits of a good business climate in the city."

Galluccio says he is a strong supporter of converting commercial spaces to residential use. As for his pro-development image, he says he supports "reasonably scaled business development" in commercial sectors of the city.

At the Jan. 24 council meeting, Galluccio proposed an amendment to the Larkin petition to allow construction of two proposed telecommunications projects. Before being passed, Galluccio's amendment was amended itself to encourage development of housing of 20 or more units on the site.

In his new role as mayor, Galluccio says he must bring his colleagues together and try to find common goals.

"The councillors count on the mayor for policy initiatives and to keep things on track," he says.

During the next two years, Galluccio says he will focus on the basics: housing, schools, jobs and health care.

"That to me is what local government is all about," he says.

He says the city must tailor its funding so that working people can afford market rents.

"We missed a lot of opportunities at times when land was cheap," he says. "Now we're in an uphill struggle."

To address the housing crisis, he says the city can use creative funding strategies, home ownership programs, work with the private sector and push its universities, including Harvard, to house their own graduate students.

Galluccio prides himself on his one-on-one work with constituents, and says that being Cambridge's youngest mayor in decades will aid him in trying to improve public education for all students.

"That gives me an opportunity to connect with the young people in the city," he says.

The Road Ahead

But in the aftermath of the election, several councillors are not willing to look to the future yet--they still have qualms with the process and even each other.

"Maybe there's a little too much campaigning and behind-the-scenes [negotiating]," Maher says. "We live in a civil society, and we should be able to resolve these things quicker."

Reeves openly criticized the CCA-affiliated members of the council for not backing CCA member Born throughout the entire process.

"The real story here is how could the CCA councilors not vote for their own candidate," Reeves says. "Why do five progressives have to have two conservatives for mayor and vice mayor?"

Braude deflects such criticism, saying he was committed to putting a new mayor in place, even if it meant crossing party lines.

"I was committed to not leaving City Hall until we had a mayor," Braude says. "There was clearly a mood that the time had come to make a choice. We had to show the public we could make a decision, instead of avoiding the issue."

Criticism also falls on Reeves for his refusal to vote for Born until it was too late.

If Reeves--who voted for Sullivan in the two January ballots--had voted for Born along with the other progressives during the first six weeks of voting, she would be Cambridge's mayor today.

Instead, two Independents--Galluccio and Vice Mayor Maher--now hold the top two posts on the council.

Duehay says that Reeves' voting was "cynical."

"Ken Reeves shifted his vote after he knew it was too late," he says. "That's very sad."

Despite the contentious process, councillors believe Galluccio's support from both parties will allow him to bring the council together.

"He got votes from both sides of the aisle," he says. "He's in position to chair a coalition government."

And Galluccio is confident that the council will work well together in coming months.

With no majority on the council, he says, "the bipartisian relationships become more and more important." He says the party labels ascribed to each councillor are becoming less and less important.

"I think times have changed [from the traditional acrimony between the Independents and the CCA]," Galluccio says.

"There are good working relationships here," he says. "I think everything will fall together."