2010-2011 City Council Sworn in today at City Hall
2010-2011 City Council Sworn in today at City Hall
OK, we have a new City Council, but no mayor until at least the Council meets on January 11th. No big changes, we have one new face. That is Leland Cheung of 101 Hampshire Street. Mr. Cheung is the first Asian American and the first student (he is in graduate degree programs at Harvard’s Kennedy School and MIT’s Sloan) to be elected to the council. He has held an executive position in a private aerospace (civilian) and in tech oriented venture capital firms. This is not his first political venture. In 2005, he ran for the Virginia State House as a Republican under the name of B.(Benjamin?) Leland Cheung. He lost that race to Democrat Bob Hull 28% to 69%. In his first vote as a Cambridge City Councillor, he cast a vote for Marjorie Decker as mayor. Very interesting that he would throw his first vote to the real estate interests of our fair city. He is obviously a pretty bright fellow and definitely one to watch (closely, like all the rest). Ms. Decker cast the other vote she received. For mayor it was Davis (self) 1, Decker 2, Reeves 2, Maher 3, and Simmons (self) 1. Of this list, my vote would go to Ken Reeves, who has shown himself to be the brightest bulb on the tree on various occasions. But I don’t get to vote for mayor, do I.
Another thing that I noticed from my seat in the peanut gallery (balcony), was the difference between the activities carried out between the two just below me, Kelley and Decker. While both were surrounded by children and other family members, Mr. Kelley filled several pages of a journal with notes, and Ms. Decker glanced at the program. Pretty much the same as a regular Council meeting. Ms. Decker was the only one to forget to say “present” during the roll call portion of the ceremony. One more Decker tid-bit. This stalwart supporter of all things union, crossed a picket line by the local carpenters at the Meridien Hotel where the reception was held. I did too, along with the rest of the Council guests and city staff. The food and conversation was not to be missed.
So life goes on in our fair city. The first meeting of the new council will be on Monday Jan. 11. We should get a new Mayor and Vice as well as committee appointments then.
Meanwhile, I’m sure I’ll see the usual suspects at the Planning Board meeting tomorrow night where they will be considering exempting the owners of One Canal Park (First Street next to the mall) from their agreement to accommodate retail businesses on the first floor. Life goes on...
- Mark Jaquith's blog
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I'm soooo glad that a member of the Cambridge Democratic City Committee voted for this guy:
http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/homepage/x1090816435/Ex-Cambridge-C...
I guess your support of Reeves does make more sense now.
We'll have to agree to disagree about whether the free condo lady (courtesy of the aforementioned Bill Walsh, Muireann Glenmullen and Raymond Bandar) is the most corrupt of the bunch; she certainly gets my vote for that, if for nothing else. What Ken Reeves, out of the councillors who have expressed interest in being mayor (the important distinction here, since none of the announced candidates would be my choice if I got to pick from among all nine), has going for him is the five percent of the time he decides to show up prepared and interested, and I thought he did a far better job on the School Committee than his successor. He's not worth a plugged nickel the other 95 percent of the time, but that five percent keeps me watching, hoping the issues I'm especially interested in will corral his interest as well. I've rarely seen even a glimmer of that from the other expressed candidates. Personally, I think the real estate interests overpaid for most of them; for example, how have Sam Seidel's relatively "pure" votes (if you don't count the reward of being made vice mayor and co-chair of the Ordinance Committee in his first term) differed from the obviously bought-and-paid-for councillors'?
Heather Hoffman
Just because someone received votes for Mayor on Monday, doesn't mean they have a chance to be elected just as not receiving any votes Monday means you don't ultimately have a chance to become Mayor. Why not support Craig Kelley whom you consistently praise?
And if you must choose between the 4 who received votes Monday, why not support Henrietta Davis has received little in the way of developer money (which you have noted over and over again is a corrupting influence) and who has topped the ticket the past 2 years showing suport throughout the City.
We've all seen what Ken Reeves has done when he has been Mayor and it isn't pretty. Remember the Chronicle weekly headlines about his excessive spending of public money on "entertainment" and his "mistake" in taking extra salary, etc. That's what you and Craig Kelley support?
I'm not holding it against him at all, merely stating a fact that doesn't seem to be very well known. I even voted for a republican in our recent Council race. More of this indeed.
Interesting how people hold Mr. Cheung's former Republicanism against him like a scarlet letter. As far as I'm concerned, the more Republicans we convert, the better. You don't win by refusing to engage Republicans- Obama won by stealing millions of former Bush voters. More of this, please.
Given the votes already cast, whom would you pick form this crop? Maher? Decker? You must not know them very well. If you check some of my previous posts you will see that I have extensively examined the OCPF data. If you have been paying attention to the One Kendall zoning issue for any amount of time, you would know where I stand on that and what contributions I have made to the groups trying to protect their neighborhood. Take a breath and do a little research.
I'll agree that choosing among this group can be compared to choosing to swallow arsenic or cyanide. You're screwed either way. But we don't get to choose do we? At least Mr. Reeves has the odd good day when he's on top of things and takes the high road. The other two are much more consistent. That is not a compliment.
Furthermore, I don't despise Alexandria. They are exactly what they claim to be. A giant corporation out to maximize their bottom line. What I despise is a City Council (8 out of 9 anyway) that gives them half a billion dollars worth of extra development rights for such a small return to the citizens. And who would agree to do their bidding in the first place.
We're all human, but if you expect to get any respect, Sign your real name to the invective that you hurl so maybe some conversation can follow.
You're supporting the same Ken Reeves who has received $1,750 from the Alexandria Group whom you despise (among the highest amounts given to any Council member). The same Ken Reeves who has received contributions from the Beals who are trying to ram down our throats zoning changes at One Kendall Sq. And how about all the other developer & real estate money he's received the past few years - check it out on the state's Office of Campiagn and Political Fiannce web site. The only reason you and Craig Kelley are supporting him is that he, like you & Craig Kelley, has no use for Bob Healy (because he can't control him). Next time you opine about development issues in Cambridge, we can now view them as the sanctimonious & hypocritical opinions that they are.
Ken Reeves may be the brightest bulb but he's also the most ethically-challenged. Margie Decker is Mother Teresa compared to Ken Reeves. And both are manipulated by convicted felon, Bill Wash. I thought Craig Kelley had more sense than to toss his lot in with the like of Ken Reeves and disappointed in his vote.