City Council's Deadlock Holds Fast; Trodden Changes Choice Five Times

After completing the sixth ballot in its attempt to elect a Mayor, the Cambridge City Council acknowledged its stalemate, as Councilor Edward A. Crane '35 held his four votes and various independents split up the other five. The Council then adjourned until next Monday.

The four Cambridge Civic Association Councillors stood with Crane through all of last night's five ballots, as they had done on the first ballot Monday. His four votes are one short of election.

The key to the independent voting was newly elected Andrew T. Trodden, who voted in succession for Walter J. Sullivan, Thomas M. McNamara, Alfred Velucci, John D. Lynch, and himself. In Monday's first ballot, he had also voted for himself.

It is known Trodden is the independent closest to the CCA bloc. When he first ran for the City Council in 1953, the Association endorsed his candidacy, through not in last fall's campaign.

By passing his vote around to each independent, Trodden merely reinforced the stone wall the Council is now hitting, for at no time did his vote bring any independent significnatly close to election.

Lynch and Sullivan Together

Throughout the balloting, Councillors Lynch and Sullivan voted for Sullivan, who received two votes except when Trodden's ballot gave him three.

Incumbent Mayor McNamara voted to re-elect himself on all but the last ballot, when he chose Velucci. The latter voted for himself each time, and upon receiving Trodden's endorsement on the fourth ballot, jokingly declared: "It's the first time I even got two votes."

After the sixth ballot, Councillor Velucci moved adjournment, which carried by the usual 5-4, independent-CCA split.

Between now and Monday, pressure to convince and independent to switch his vote to Crane will probably continue. There is also the possibility the CCA bloc will settle on a compromise independent, or, with enough maneuvering, the independents might get together themselves.