An edited version of this was published in the May 7, edition of The Cambridge Cchronicle headlined
The Bob Healy Conundrum

Has Cambridge had enough of Bob Healy? He has been City Manager for going on thirty years. During that time he has handled city finances in a reasonable manner. He has had a staff of budget and finance professionals to make that happen.

What he has not done is run our city to the benefit of the citizens. For decades he has appointed every member of every board and commission in city government. He has made it his mission to see that things are run as he sees fit. In the Healy administration you do not rock the boat. You don’t even get on the boat without His blessing. As we’ve seen recently,it can be tough if you don’t go along.

Do not interpret this to mean that I have contempt for city employees. I know many of them that are proud to do excellent work for us in many departments and I appreciate their service. The problem is not with the vast majority of our city staff, it’s with management.

It would be easier to deal with good old fashioned graft, but we have something else. In my judgment no less corrupt. It is a culture within the powers that be that what matters is the city’s bond rating, doing what He wants, and not much else. Make no mistake, fiscal health is important, but there is supposed to be more to the job than that.

One result of this is that if you are a big developer, property owner, or employer (or even claim that you might be someday), every effort will be made to approve your plans, overlook details, and accommodate you at every turn. If, on the other hand, you are a mere resident or home owner, you have a much harder time getting anything. Heaven forbid that you object to something that He is for. Short of legal action, if you can establish standing, you don’t stand much chance.

I have seen the worst of it in the Board of Zoning Appeals, Inspectional Services, the Planning Board, the Law Department, Traffic and Parking, and the Police Review and Advisory Board, but I have heard similar complaints regarding other departments as well.

The other area where this is expressed is in the disrespect and willful ignoring of policies, directives, and even ordinances passed by the City Council. It seems incredible that this could be the case. Yet anyone with the opinion that city government should work for its citizens and follow the will of the voters as expressed through the actions of their elected representatives will soon realize that that this is often not the case if you pay attention for a while. How can this be? How can the City Council sit by and watch themselves be disrespected so? You would think they’d put a stop to the embarrassment. In fact if most of the voters paid close attention, they would be a laughingstock and it would stop overnight. But alas...

Having watched and wondered for years, I think I can tell you why. You’ve probably heard of Plan E. That’s the name given to our form of government by the state law that controls it. Under this charter, a city manager is responsible for all administration of government. The City Council enacts ordinances and sets policy, and the manager carries them out. It looks good on paper. It looked great when it was adopted in response to rampant graft and patronage. That was before the days of miniaturized surveillance equipment, though. So, not only does the manager do the hiring and implementation of the law, it is a felony for a councilor to intervene in any way except to replace the manager. In effect the only direct power the Council has is to approve curb cuts.

This being the situation, as long as the city isn’t falling apart, a Council seat can be the perfect spot from which to sound good in public without having any real responsibility or having to do the real work that such responsibility would demand. And you get $60,000 plus a year and benefits, an expense account, and a full time aid. For a part time job. You can respond to voters’ concerns quickly by putting forth an order and even getting it passed. You look great, constituents go away happy. You get re-elected. But nine times out of ten nothing happens. The sound and the fury.

If the City Council demanded proper job performance from the manager, Plan E could work as intended. As has become obvious by last month’s ruling in the Monteiro discrimination case and the examples cited above, they do not.

Keeping Mr. Healy as manager not only has prevented citizens from getting the city government that they deserve, it has meant discrimination and retribution against employees. By the city at the forefront of civil rights advocacy and run by such outspoken advocates of equal rights for everyone. Not only has such reprehensible behavior been tolerated, it looks like it’s about to cost us almost seven million dollars.

Let’s see, if my property taxes are about four thousand dollars a year, it would take about 1600 households to pay that bill. That’s enough voters to elect at least one or two Councilors.

I know we have at least one Councilor who does his homework and votes his conscience. Lets get more!