The Cambridge Reformers Are at It Again

The reform interests in Cambridge politics, long split by factionalism, this year united to form a progressive lobby, Cambridge Convention '75, a move that could have a substantial impact on the November city council and school committee elections.

The four liberals on the Cambridge City Council--Barbara Ackermann, Francis H. Duehay, Saundra Graham and David A. Wylie--got together last May to from the new group. The candidates, except for Graham who is perhaps a bit more radical, have pretty much the same views, and have consolidated to gain a fifth seat on the nine-member council.

The Cambridge Convention is aiming for a reform majority on the city council that will back retention of rent control, no increases in taxes, and community review of development plans. The lobby is backing school committee candidates that are pledged to citizen involvement in the selection of key administrative posts.

The interest group has endorsed eight candidates for the nine-member city council, and seven candidates for the school committee. A spokesman for the Cambridge Convention '75 said the group has registered over 2000 new voters since the beginning of the summer, and expects to sign up an additional 4000 by election day. In past elections the margin of victory has been as low as 100 votes and the introduction of so many new voters--if weighed in any one direction--could upset the political balance in Cambridge.

"Eighty to 90 per cent of the new registrants will support the aims of the convention, Stuart Vidockler, chairman of the Cambridge Convention '75 Steering Committee, said earlier this month. Vidockler said that in ward four alone there are 5000 to 10,000 unregistered voters, many of whom are in the so-called "young and transient" groups likely to support the lobby.

"It is these people," Vidockler says, "that we can hopefully build into a strong coalition in future years."

According to Wylie, the most important goal of the convention-backed candidates is for the liberal coalition to "gain control of the crucial fifth seat." The current council is composed of five Independent moderates, and the four liberal members backed by the convention.

By running as a unified slate, the reform candidates plan to take advantage of the proportional representation voting system, which requires to rank the candidates in order of preference. "People will see us as a slate throughout the campaign and thus will vote the slate on election day," convention-backed school committee member Alice Wolf said.

The Cambridge Convention '75 has raised $6000 so far, and expects to come up with a total of $15,000 by election day. This money, which is over and above that amount individual candidates will spend on their own campaigns, will be spent on the voter registration effort and publicizing the reform issues the endorsed candidates are pledged to support.

But where Cambridge Convention '75 could very well have its greatest impact on the elections is by providing crucial political services. The lobby is planning to compile lists of newly registered voters, canvas 50 per cent of the city's houses, and effectively cover all 55 polling places on election day by pooling the volunteer efforts of all 15 candidates.

When asked if the liberal lobby would hurt the independents this fall, Cambridge Mayor Walter J. Sullivan, himself an independent, confidently replied "Of course it won't. The independents are as strong as ever."

But if the unregistered voters of past elections have been Cambridge's liberal "silent majority," then the independents could face some losses this fall.