Council Candidates Hustle Between Forums Tonight

Candidates for the Cambridge City Council will be scrambling tonight as two groups have scheduled well-publicized candidate forums.

Because of poor communications, the forums, one organized by the Cambridge League of Women Voters at the Kennedy School of Government and the other by the Phillips Brooks House's (PBH) youth enrichment committee at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School are both scheduled for tonight--the first at 7:30 p.m. and the other at 8 p.m.

Miriam Shifrin, president of Cambridge League of Women Voters, said she expects the group's forum to draw 13 of the 16 announced candidates set to meet in the November 8 election. Only incumbents Thomas A. Danehy, Leonard J. Russell, and Walter J. Sullivan will not attend, she said.

PBH officials said that they received definite commitments from three candidates--incumbents Saundra Graham, David E. Sullivan, and Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci, who are all also expected at the league's event. They added that an unspecified number of remaining candidates said they would either make the half-mile trek from Boylston St. to Broadway after the K-School event or send a campaign worker as a proxy.

Candidates contacted yesterday said they made the decision to attend the K-School forum after receiving notices in September.

Shifrin said she asked PBH to co-sponsor the K-School forum, but the group refused. "The confusing forums will create some tension and unease on the part of the candidates who want to go to both events," she said, adding, "PBH is putting the squeeze on them."

"I thought it was unfortunate, too; we would have liked to combine the forums but we had already extensively publicized our location, and notices had gone out to other PBH committees," said PBH President Jay MacLeod '84.