Civic Association to Hold Open Candidate Forum

Candidates for Cambridge municipal offices will speak tonight in a public forum at the Holy Trinity Armenian Church in an effort to gain endorsements from the liberal Cambridge Civic Association (CCA) for the 1987 city elections.

During the forum, 14 city council and school committee candidates will have five minutes each to discuss their election platforms, and entertain a 10-minute question and answer session.

The Forum is sponsored by the 42-year-old CCA, "the oldest political grassroots organization of its type in the country," said Jack Martinelli, president of the CCA.

The political organization will choose its final endorsees in the comming weeks, said Jim Marzilli, executive director of the CCA. Candidates will only be chosen if their policies agree with the CCA platform, Marzilli said.

"One of the chief issues on our platform is housing and development," Marzilli said. He added that "in Cambridge there is a great housing shortage along with a building boom, which is unfortunately all commercial. This reduces the housing that is available."

The CCA also supports more politically charged issues such as rent control, Marzilli said.

The CCA will give its 900 member constituency, all of which either live or work in Cambridge, "the opportunity to come and hear what local candidates have to say," Martinelli said.

Tonight's speakers will include the councilors presently endorsed by the CCA, who are Saundra Graham, Frank Duehay '55, David Sullivan, and Alice Wolf.

"I think that this forum is very important, for there is a large group of people that the CCA looks out for," Duehay said. He added, "The CCA is the only organization in the city committed to progressive growth."

The other candidates could not be reached for comment.

The CCA screening committees has already interviewed three of the 14 candidates in order to determine whom it will recommend to the 44-member board of directors for endorsement.

According to Martinelli, even though the interview proceedures are private, there is nothing to prevent any CCA member from having an input on the endorsement process.

"Any member is perfectly free to write or speak to the screening committee and express their support or their reservations," Martinelli said.

Duehay is confident that he will be given his 13th consecutive CCA endorsement.

"I would be very surprised if I weren't endorsed," Duehay said.

The councilman's platform acknowledges and is very sympathetic to the concerns of the CCA.

One central theme Duehay said he concerns himself with is the quality of neighborhood life. He said he works carefully with "the local municipal environmental review, to ensure that new development does not have an adverse reaction," Duehay said.