Many of my female friends have called me “brave” to run. They don’t say it aloud, yet I know what they’re thinking, so I laugh and say it for them: “Yes, I know, I must be out of my mind, right?” But I wonder if they would think the same thing about a guy friend who decided to run? I’m running, in part, to prove it’s not crazy or even especially brave for anyone, female or male, to take the leap and become a “politician” long enough to win the honor of public service. Of the nine current councillors only one is a woman, Denise Simmons. Denise is also one of only five women to have been named mayor by her fellow (always mostly male) councillors. There has never been female city manager! How can this be, in Cambridge of all places?
On Monday night I brought my two young staffers, Nora Bent and Olivia Gomez, to a benefit for State Rep. Marjorie Decker, a former councillor. Alice Wolf, Cambridge mayor in 1990-91 and subsequently a state rep for 17 years, was there to speak on Marjorie’s behalf along with Attorney General Maura Healy. A few days later I enjoyed a glass of wine with Alice. She graciously let me pick her brain about her experience running for office, and I hope that if I am elected we can continue our conversation about universal early childhood education and other family-friendly policies.
On Tuesday night I attended a “flash seminar” on gentrification, which brought together about 40 residents, many of them younger people of color who fear becoming the next wave of lifelong residents squeezed out by rising rents. Question of the night: How can we better ensure that a rising economic tide lifts all boats instead of casting so many adrift?
On Wednesday morning I attended a breakfast discussion at Lori Lander’s house on effective strategies for combatting homelessness. I learned that since 2007 two police officers have been assigned to work with the city’s homeless population of just under 300 on a case manager basis. (Boston only has one officer assigned to homeless outreach with a caseload over 20 times higher.) One takeway: supportive services and maintaining relationships in the community remain critical even after an individual secures stable housing.
Wednesday evening I attended a benefit for Mount Auburn Cemetery, which took place in the historic Asa Gray house on Garden Street. Gray, the nation’s foremost 19th century botanist and an early champion of Darwinism, is buried at Mount Auburn. In a city as dense as ours, we are fortunate that Mount Auburn is prioritizing habitat restoration in its horticultural and landscaping projects – and that its 175 acres will always remain public open space.
On Thursday evening I attended the Cambridge Historical Society’s 110th anniversary celebration, which was held at the Cambridge Boat Club (itself formed 106 years ago). Consider this: one hundred and ten years ago American women had not yet won the right to vote in elections, but two of the 13 founding directors of the CHS were women (Alice Longfellow and Mary Isabella Gozzaldi). Women have always recognized “the importance of saving stuff,” as feminist biographer and historian Susan Ware noted in her remarks. On the same night the Board of Zoning Appeal held a public hearing about whether to protect the Reservoir Hill neighborhood of West Cambridge, and a study is now underway to consider either enlarging the Old Cambridge Historic District or creating a new conservation district.
Saturday’s Cambridge Arts River Festival was, for the second year, held on Mass Ave and Sidney St rather than along the banks of the Charles. The intention is for River Fest to return to its littoral roots next year when the Harvard Bridge reconstruction is completed, but I think the event should remain in Central Square, where there’s more room for the thousands of attendees to roam and where the stores and restaurants gain additional foot traffic and visibility.
On Sunday afternoon Community Charter School of Cambridge, where I’ve worked for the past 3 years, graduated its 7th class. I’ll be leaving CCSC in a couple of weeks, so as I watched the seniors walk across the stage at MIT Kresge I also was saying goodbye to a community I’ve grown very fond of. The members of CCSC’s Class of 2015 are the ones who truly deserve to be called “brave.”
Who’s brave? This guy. Yacer Lisieux ’15 with his parents at CCSC graduation.
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