City Councilor Will Initiate 'Political War'

Known for leading an investigation of the Cambridge Housing Administration (CHA) and free of obligations to any organized political groups, Lawrence W. Frisoli, one of four new city councilors, says he will use his popular support to enact his ambitious policies.

"Cambridge will see the biggest political war in its history when I ask to see the records of the corrupt CHA," Frisoli said yesterday.

Last spring Frisoli investigated CHA for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. During the investigation CHA filed a formal complaint against Frisoli's license to practice law

The Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers conducted an investigation into Frisoli's action and dismissed CHA's complaint for lack of substance.

In this month's city elections Frisoli placed seventh among the nine city councilors and received more votes than Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci in their common ward, East Cambridge.

Frisoli plans to drum up backing for his policies by going on speaking tours of East Cambridge, the hub of his popular support.

This is the second article in a series of profiles of the four newly-elected Cambridge City Council members.

Frisoli ran for the position as city councilor because of an interest in politics he developed while growing up in a family, that has established a political heritage in the 100 years it's been in Cambridge.

Frisoli's father, Frank J. Frisoli '35, was superintendent of schools from 1969 until 1972 and his uncle, Joseph A. De Guglielmo '34, was mayor of Cambridge in the 50's and is currently a judge of the Boston Municipal Court.

An independent auditor should review the cashflow in each city office to ensure that taxpayers' money is getting used correctly, Frisoli said.

Frisoli promises to enforce health and zoning laws, establish an effective program for park and recreational development, and encourage city development through tax abatements.

Harvard is beneficial to Cambridge, Frisoli said, but it must realize it has an obligation to help solve the problems Cambridge faces.

If Harvard built student housing instead of buildings like the Observatory Hill Athletic Building, more city apartments would be free and Cambridge's housing crisis could be eliminated, Frisoli said.

Harvard should show the city council its development plans for the next 20 years, pay taxes for the land they own, and stop the recombinant DNA research that endangers Cambridge citizens, Frizoli said.

Frisoli said he hopes to "make city hall work for the people of Cambridge rather than for politicians and bureaucrats.