Fight Over City Manager Splits Cambridge Council

The fight over Cambridge's City Manager turned increasingly personal and bitter last night.

The City Council met in special session to allow five members, who want to replace John J. Curry '19 with Joseph A. DeGuglielmo '29 to present reasons for the dismissal.

But as the debate proceeded, Councillors Edward A. Crane '35, the former mayor and a Curry supporter, and Bernard Goldberg, a DeGuglielmo backer, exchanged perhaps the bitterest words of the entire dispute.

Crane, in proposing an amendment to the official reasons for dismissing Curry, suggested that one reason was that Goldberg's father, Mosier B. Goldberg, had not been appointed City Solicitor (Cambridge's chief legal officer). The elder Goldberg, after serving many years as assistant solicitor, became acting city solicitor last year, but Curry did make the appointment permanent. Goldberg subsequently retired.

After Crane finished, Councillor Goldberg stood momentarily, and then in a loud, deeply angry voice he began shouting across the chamber at the ex-mayor

"When someone brings into the public record the name of a man (Goldberg's father) more revered than the proponent of this amendment," Goldberg declared. "And when that man has served the City of Cambridge 100 per cent without reward, then I think I have something to say." There was clapping from an audience of more than 100.

Goldberg admitted that he had asked City Manager Curry to make his father City Solicitor. But the permanent appointment, Goldberg insisted, was deserved, and as a city councillor, he had every right to request it.

'Dllly-Dallying'

There was more clapping as Goldberg said that he had received "dilly-dallying" from Curry and then demanded a public apology from Crane.

Crane, in turn, declared that he would make no apology, "I'll stack my record against Councillor Goldberg's anytime," he said. There was clapping.

The reasons for his suggested amendment, which was voted down 5-4, would become plain, he said, as the dispute proceeded.

Later the ex-mayor implied that he would seek to link his action with a section of the City's charter which reads in part: "Neither the city council nor any of its committees or members shall direct or request the appointment of any person to, or his removal from office by the city manager ..."

He did not elaborate further.