By Way of Introduction

This is a time of atonement in Cambridge--atonement for other people's alleged sins. It is the time of the voting for City Council and for the School Committee. Despite the absence of overt political recriminations, the interested observer cannot fail to note a marked stirring in heretofore inactive quarters and a superabundance of posters on lawns, cars, and telephone poles.

Lying behind what has been so far a quiet campaign is a system of election which sets Cambridge apart from the majority of American cities. The reason for the multiplicity of candidates and the absence of partisan politics and primaries in Cambridge lies in election by Proportional Representation (PR), a system instituted almost 20 years ago.

Entering the voting booth, on Nov. 7, the voter will find a ballot of 23 names for the nine man council and 16 for the six member school committee. Beside the name of his first choice he writes the numeral 1, beside his second choice the numeral 2, and so on for as many choices as he pleases.

Cambridge Young Democrats have been campaigning actively to overthrow PR in the popular referendum which will accompany the election. Claiming that the system is unfair, and much too involved, they are attempting to undo a procedure which voters have ratified in increasing majorities in three past referenda exactly resembling this year's.

Drawn up in battle against the anti-PR forces is the Cambridge Civic Association, the city's partisan answer to a non-partisan political situation. With some historical justification, the CCA can emphasize that the institution of PR contributed to the abolition of the old, corrupt machine and offered the voter a more democratic means of electing those candidates whose ideas most closely conformed to his own. Because there are no primaries, the ballot is large and the consequent selection diverse.

Proof of the effectiveness of this system has been the electoral performance of Cambridge's only municipal political organization, the Civic Association. Although the adoption of many of its programs has helped the city build one of the better and cleaner urban governments in a state where these qualities are not exactly widespread, the CCA has never been able to elect more than four of the nine Councilors. These seats correspond roughly to the influence of the Harvard-Brattle-St.-M.I.T. district and the influence of the rest of Cambridge. Give or take a seat, it is a healthy balance for the city.

This year, the CCA is conducting its usual pressured campaign to re-elect the four incumbents and to pick up two more seats. With all nine Councilors standing again for election, the CCA forces have a predictably rough time in securing the desired two seats.

Present CCA power resides in the Mayor, Edward A. Crane '35; and in Councilors Joseph A. DeGuglielmo '29, Cornelia B. Wheeler, and Pearl K. Wise, all Council veterans. In its attempt to secure two new seats, the CCA may very well unseat one or more of its own veterans, only to replace him with a novice.

The two CCA candidates for the novitiate are Gaspard (Don) d'Andelot Belin and Thomas Coates. Brother-in-law of McGeorge Bundy (former Dean of the College), Belin is a Yale graduate, a member of the law firm of Choate, Hall, & Stewart, and a very active participant in Cambridge projects. Coates, a lawyer with John Hancock, is a member of the NAACP and has also been very active in the community.

The basic problem facing the CCA is thus a surplus of good candidates. It is possible that Belin might unseat Mrs. Wheeler, since the strength of both will probably reside in approximately the same neighborhood. Another potential threat to the CCA is Bernard Goldberg, who ran and lost as a CCA endorsed candidate in the last election. Deliberately campaigning as a non-CCA candidate, Goldberg still retains fairly strong support in some CCA areas.

The other five incumbents strongly supported in the past, have all heard the bell and started to come out of their respective corners. Poster for poster, Councilor Walter J. Sullivan's advertising has been the most in evidence. A sign of large dimensions dominates his front lawn. Councilor Alfred E. Vellucci has displayed a marked increase in his usual close scrutiny of all issues. Most recently he has looked into the legality of the acting City Clerk and the injustice of a $5 fine for temporary parking at bus stops.

Only two of the independent candidates for the Council, Daniel J. Hayes and Manuel Rogers, appear at this time to be contenders. Rogers ran unsuccessfully in the last election, while Hayes, outspokenly anti-Harvard, has already created a stir by claiming that many students will try to vote illegally in the city election.

Only after the inauguration in January will the new Councilors elect a Mayor. Because the election may result in an extensive reshuffling of seats, it would be idle to speculate about the next Mayor at this time. The present political atmosphere, then, is one of quiet deliberation. Undoubtedly, the noise will increase in inverse proportion to the days remaining until Nov. 7.

(An article will follow concerning the candidates for the School Committee.)