Thompson Pledges Accessibilty

"The issue here is accessibility and availability," says Democratic nominee for state representative Alvin E. Thompson, arguing that his opponent, incumbent Saundra M. Graham, has too many other obligations to properly fill that post. "She couldn't serve two masters," he says, referring to her jobs as City Councillor and state representative.

Graham lost September's Democratic primary to Thompson by 49 votes. Her district, the 28th Middlesex, covers central Cambridge, including Peabody Terrace, Mather, Dunster, Adams and Leverett Houses, and the freshman Union dorms.

Although Graham has said she does not plan to seek re-election to the City Council next year, Thompson contends that there is "no question" that she will.

His behavior as a state representative will be "almost the same, but I will go to work and do the job," Thompson says.

Thompson now works as a safety specialist in the Cambridge school department. Graham press secretary Michael J. Albano also says Thompson works for the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority affirmative action office at night.

Lester P. Lee '76, chair of Thompson's campaign, says "the man has always held two jobs," although he adds, "I don't know if he still does."

Though Thompson won the Democratic primary in September, Alice K. Wolf, a city councillor and member of the Democratic state committee, and the Ward Five Democratic committee have endorsed Graham.

Holway, who chairs the Ward Nine committee, called this a violation of the Massachussets Democratic party charter, which states that party officers must support the Democratic nominee.

Holway said Wolf and Ward Five committee members should "follow the charter or get off the committees." He added that Cambridge Democrats have spent "a great deal of time on a divisive [state representative] campaign, when we should be seeing that Mike Dukakis wins his home state."

Lee says Graham's campaign accuses Thompson of being "in the pocket of developers" and against rent control. Albano charges that Thompson supports Proposition 1-2-3, a 1989 municipal ballot question that would make it easier to take apartments off of rent control. But Thompson said he has oppossed the measure since he heard of it in September.

Sponsor Fred Meyer, owner of University Real Estate, says he has "never discussed 1-2-3 with Thompson," so he has no idea whether he will support it. He adds that he "will vote for Thompson" because he finds Graham "unaccessible, based on personal experience."

In any case, Thompson says the controversy is irrelevant because "there's no function for the state representative in terms of rent control." He says Graham wants to "cloud the issue of the state representative's function" by emphasizing her stands on rent control, he says, adding that rent control is not as big an issue as it once was.

Thompson said he worries that most of the developers in the Cambridge real estate market want to build commercial projects and condominiums, not apartments subject to rent control.

"No one's even talking about moderate-income housing here anymore," he said, adding that it is politically necessary for any Cambridge candidate to support rent control because of high rents and the housing shortage.

Thompson ran for City Council in 1979 with an endorsement from the Cambridge Civic Association (CCA). At that time, he told the Cambridge Chronicle, "I favor rent control and I'm against condominium conversion." But he qualified his position, adding, "I will seek to reform the procedures of the rent control board."

That year he placed 11th in the race for nine Council seats. Thompson ran again in 1981, but the CCA refused him an endorsement, calling his stands on rent control ambiguous. He came in 12th.

Frances Cooper, a CCA school committee member, says she supports Graham for her experience. "I don't want to make a negative comment on Al Thompson," she says, but adds that he "has no elected experience that I know of." Cooper adds, "I'm having a hard time seeing how he could jump in [the race] without that experience."

Albano argues that Thompson has no political accomplishments or clear platform issues, calling him "nebulous on rent control" and insincere on gay rights. "The only thing he's done is come out and attack us," he adds.

But Thompson rejects Albano's charges, and asserts that he has years of community experience stemming from his candidacy in the 1964 Democratic primary race for state representative. He came in 5th at the age of 24.

His platform in the '64 race was "Save the Sycamores," referring to a line of trees along Memorial Drive.

Thompson adds that he "showed Saundra Graham how to read the Budget Book when she became a City Councillor in 1971." He says he took her to the library and explained it to her.

"I was there helping her all along," Thompson says, and, in 1979, "she told me I'd make a good candidate for state representative."

"She said she'd support me," he added.

Albano labels this simply "more rhetoric," and says Graham "would have never said that to him." He adds, "Saundra Graham and Alvin Thompson do not sit on the same side of the street in this town."

In 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Thompson says he chaired the Cambridge Black Citizens Committee (CBC) that formed to fight local racism. At that time, he says, "Blacks were not allowed to ride in police cars," and Thompson worked with James Vaughnberg of the CCA to integrate police cars.

Thompson also says he has worked with Graham since 1970, when they cooperated in an effort to calm the race rioting in April through June and September through November of that year. He also worked with her from 1970 to 1982 as assistant to the city manager for community relations, he said.

In that post, Thompson says, he "was involved with" minority hiring of teachers, police, nurses. He adds, "There have been five superintendents of schools since 1970...I have always been on the screening committees."

Although Thompson has had a lot of experience with civil rights and minority issues, he says his "concern will be the district's needs." The 28th Middlesex district is 97 percent white, Thompson says, and mostly "middle-class, blue-collar, and students."

Since Graham lost the Democratic primary, she has been running a sticker campaign against Thompson because her name no longer appears on the ballot. The nominee says he has hired a lawyer "because we think there will be some legal problems."

The lawyer, Thompson says, told his campaign staff how to deal with a possible "challenge on ballots." His main concerns are the incorrect use of stickers and "violence at the polls," he says. Thompson says he wants to know whether a vote will count if the Graham sticker is on, but the ballot is also punched next to his name, or if the sticker is falling off. Thompson asks, "is that a good ballot?"

Albano accuses Thompson of a conflict of interest in having city employees working on his campaign. Thompson does not deny that some of his campaign workers are city employees, but on the conflict of interest charge, he says, "If she's going to challenge me, at least mine are all laborers."

Thompson adds that James T. McDavitt, chair of the city license commission, campaigns for Graham "after work."

"If anyone's going to be brought up on charges it should be him," Thompson says, adding, "the city manager should slap his hand."

In response to the charge, McDavitt says, "I'm voting for [Graham]...and I went to one of her press conferences to show my support." But he adds, it is "a blatant falsehood to even suggest" that that constitutes a conflict of interest.

McDavitt says he "had a feeling this might come up," so he sent a memo to the city manager telling him he was going to Graham's event during his lunch hour. "I take a great deal of pride in my integrity," he adds.

Asked about conflict of interest complaints from either campaign, city managerRobert H. Healy said, "There's been no claimverbally or in writing of any city employeeworking on company time for either campaign."

Graham's campaign asserts that Thompsonaccepted campaign money from anti-rent controldevelopers. "The only measure of the man is whocontributes to his campaign," Albano says.

Thompson's campaign finance report showscontributions from Peter Sheinfeld, an opponent ofrent control and advocate of Proposition 1-2-3.

Asked about Sheinfeld's donations, Thompsonsaid, "I didn't know that--that shows you how muchI know about what's going on."

"Peter Sheinfeld works for me," McDavitt said,adding, "he's free to work for Alvin Thompson."McDavitt described Sheinfeld as "part of[Thompson's] brain trust." He added, "He's one ofAlvin Thompson's primary operatives...[and] a biganti-rent control person."

But, McDavitt said, there's "no questionthere's no conflict of interest with PeterSheinfeld."

Thompson says he has "no plans yet" for actionhe would take if elected. He adds, "This has beena 19-hour-a-day campaign...I plan to take a coupleof days off next week to clear my head."

The nominee says he was born in Cambridge in1939 and has lived here ever since. He says hedoesn't like the derisiveness that has pervadedthis campaign because "I grew up with SaundraGraham...we all played in the same sandbox."

Thompson is separated from his wife and hasthree children, Alvin B., Hilton, and Hillary.They are all "involved in the campaign," Thompsonadds