Election Ends Political Anxiety

The election of Cambridge City Councillor Anthony D. Galluccio to the Massachusetts state senate not only effectively filled a vacant seat in the State House, but also closed a gap in negotiations between Harvard planners, residents, and the political establishment over Allston development.

Galluccio, who defeated fellow Democrat Timothy R. Flaherty in the primary Tuesday, will run unopposed in October’s general election. The special election was held after the early resignation of Jarrett T. Barrios ’90 in July.

Galluccio is no stranger to Harvard expansion in Cambridge. During his tenure on the city’s University Relations Committee from 2004 to 2005, Harvard secured the go-ahead for numerous construction projects, including graduate student housing near Mather House and science buildings north of the Yard. The seven-term city councillor says that his past experience will enable him to be an advocate for the Allston-Brighton area.

“I have a long history working with the neighborhoods of Cambridge in dealing with Harvard University development issues,” he said. “I’m aware of how important these issues are to the Allston-Brighton community, and I will be an advocate and continue to work with the neighborhood.”

Galluccio’s win resolved several months of political uncertainty for the Allston-Brighton area in Boston.

With Boston City Councillor Jerry P. McDermott’s announcement in May that he would not be seeking reelection for his post this fall, and Barrios’s move to the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, the neighborhood was left without a full staff of political representatives.

“We’ve been really vulnerable for the past several months,” said Allston resident Harry Mattison. “It’s great that we’re getting back our full team of officials.”

Mattison, a member of the city-appointed Harvard Allston Task Force, says he feels as though it is a vulnerability that the University has been trying to exploit.

The University expects to receive approval for its long-anticipated science complex from the city within the next few weeks. It filed its draft project impact report, a document exceeding 1,000 pages, in June for the buildings, which will house the Harvard Stem Cell Initiative, giving the public 90 days to review the proposal.

Monday marked the official end of that comment period.

“Harvard is doing everything they can in their power to move things along as quickly as possible and look out for what they think is in Harvard’s interest,” Mattison said. “We definitely need more people in the position of power to speak up for what’s right for the neighborhood.”

Despite claims from community members that Harvard is only concerned with its own interests, the University has maintained that it is committed to forming a substantial relationship with the neighborhood and having a positive impact there.

“We really appreciate the work that everyone in the community and from the city have put into this process, and we look forward to continuing with them,” said Kevin M. McCluskey ’76, Harvard’s director of community relations for Boston.

Although the neighborhood experienced a period of political reshuffling this summer, other local officials say they have stepped up to the plate to ensure that the area does not lose negotiating power with the University.

Last Monday, Massachusetts state representative Michael J. Moran submitted a proposal that would have the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), which oversees the city’s development projects, require the University to create and partially fund a K-12 community school, among other demands, before the BRA would grant Harvard approval to begin construction.

Additionally, Boston City Councillor At-Large Felix Arroyo appealed to the BRA to give the community more time to digest Harvard’s plans, noting that the 90-day comment period has been “too short to resolve many of the complex issues raised by the Report and the project itself.”

—Staff writer Laura A. Moore can be reached at lamoore@fas.harvard.edu.