Phil Shaw

If there's one person in Cambridge who has a clear understanding of the rent control situation it is Phil Shaw. Shaw has worked extensively over the past two years on rent control problems, both as a lawyer and in explaining the nuances of rent control to the public.

He has been an attorney for the Central Four Tenants Union, a volunteer for the Attorney General's Consumer Protection division, and an organizer for the Tenants Assistance Project in Cambridge. In addition to providing legal aid to tenants' struggles against landlords, he has argued for rent control several times before the city council.

Shaw feels quite strongly that the present relationship between the City of Cambridge and the universities is not a healthy one. He would limit expansion through zoning; explore the possibility of opening up university facilities in lieu of tax payments; encourage the building of further student housing in outlying areas such as Arlington; and promote a greatly increased usage by Cambridge residents of study opportunities at the universities.

Shaw said that the present Rent Control law, No. 842, is a workable one, but emphasized that some sort of definition of operating net income is necessary before the law can ever really become an effective tool for keeping rents down. And, he added, "It is imperative that we get a new city manager--a good administrator who can deal with that sort of thing; who will obey the demands of the majority of the council, not disregard them like the present city manager."

Daycare

"The daycare referendum is a good thing, though the major pitfalls appear to be involved in how it is going to be funded," he said. "It will be a good thing if it becomes something that people--all kinds of people--become concerned with. If it becomes a repository for political jobs like the school system, then it might be a better idea not to have any day care at all. It's all going to depend how it's going to be run."

"Also extremely important to me is that the city government actually publish what it is doing, let the people know what actually is taking place inside City Hall. The agenda at a Council meeting gives you absolutely no idea of what is going to be discussed at a meeting. People have no background to deal with what is going on."

"Personally, I would publish my phone number and make myself accessible for a certain amount of time each day."

Shaw is a soft-spoken, serious, yet sunny person, and though he is by no means a politician, he has demonstrated a sharp knowledge of the city's problems. He has a lawyer's feeling for facts and is an extremely able speaker. His only drawback seems to be a remoteness from the Cambridge neighborhoods.