CCA, Independents Split School Board

An unofficial tally of "number one" votes cast in Tuesday's city election suggests the six people elected to the Cambridge School Committee will be evenly split between progressive candidates endorsed by the Cambridge Civic Association (CCA) and more conservative Independents.

Having a balance of elected representatives means that the political leanings of the mayor, who chairs the committee, become more important to the group. "Since the mayor is the seventh party of the School Committee, that decides the flavor of the committee," said CCA President R. Philip Dowds.

Last term, the School Committee also had three Independent representatives and three endorsed by the CCA. Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72, who is endorsed by the CCA, chaired the committee. The new School Committee will be chaired by the next mayor, who will be chosen by the new City Council when it assumes office on January 3.

It will not be clear until late tonight who will serve on the next City Council, though. As of last night, Reeves was the only candidate who had met the vote quota required under proportional representation, the form of balloting used in Cambridge.

Proportional representation allows citizens to rank their choice of candidates. Initially, each person's vote is counted towards the first choice candidate on his or her ballot.

Once a candidate surpasses the quota of votes needed to be elected--a figure derived by mathematical formula and based on the numbers of candidates and votes cast--that candidate's excess votes are transferred to the second choices listed on randomly selected ballots. The votes of candidates at the bottom of the heap are transferred in much the same way.

The transfer of Reeves' surplus votes last night helped a wide variety of candidates, but it was not concentrated enough to help any particular candidate and did not assure anyone else a seat on the council.

The transfer did help Katherine Triantafillou edge out Kathy Born. Triantafillou, who garnered 76 transfer votes from Reeves, now has a total of 1,367. Born, who only received 33 of Reeves's transfer votes, has a total of 1,281.

The two CCA-endorsed women had essentially beencompeting for the votes that would have gone toCCA-endorsed Alice K. Wolf if she had run forreelection.

The candidate most closely trailing Reeves isIndependent Michael A. Sullivan, who received 34transfer votes from Reeves and now has 2,073votes. Quota for the City Council election isabout 2,200.

CCA-endorsed incumbent Francis H. Duehay '55 isstill third in line with 1,985 votes, while theIndependent incumbent Sheila T. Russell maintainsfourth place with 1,916 votes.

Once the City Council is elected, the officialvotes for the next School Committee will betallied, and announced by Tuesday. Unofficialcounts suggest the new School Committee willclosely resemble the current one--and party linesaren't the only reason.

The first tally of number one votes placesincumbents in the top four spots. Henrietta Davisand David P. Maher are guaranteed seats whileDenise Simmons and Alfred B. Fantini are trailingclosely behind.

New candidate Joseph G. Grassi is also veryclose to reaching the quota of 3,000 votes neededto be assured a seat on the committee in thiselection.

Henrietta Davis, 48, is a six-year veteran ofthe School Committee endorsed by the CCA. Thepreschool administrator garnered 3,860votes--about 800 more than she needs. She was alsothe top vote-getter last year.

Independent incumbent David P. Maher amassed3,171 votes. His surplus of more than 100 voteswill also be transferred to second choices listedon those ballots.

Voters tend to vote by "slate," for eitherprogressive or conservative candidates, observerssay. Maher's surplus will probably help theIndependent Fantini, who has garnered 2,924 votes.

The surplus from Davis will likely benefit theCCA-endorsed Simmons, who has amassed 2,992votes--just a handful short of the quota. It willalso help Henry J. Lukas and Robin A. Harris, bothof whom are endorsed by the CCA.

"I expect that it will chiefly help Lukas andHarris, but I don't know in what proportion,"Davis said.

the sixth seat will likely be filled by eitherLukas or Harris, both of whom have significantlymore votes than their remaining opponents.

Grassi, 26, is endorsed by the Alliance forChange. He has collected 2,660 number one votesand will need about 400 transfers to gain a seaton the committee

The two CCA-endorsed women had essentially beencompeting for the votes that would have gone toCCA-endorsed Alice K. Wolf if she had run forreelection.

The candidate most closely trailing Reeves isIndependent Michael A. Sullivan, who received 34transfer votes from Reeves and now has 2,073votes. Quota for the City Council election isabout 2,200.

CCA-endorsed incumbent Francis H. Duehay '55 isstill third in line with 1,985 votes, while theIndependent incumbent Sheila T. Russell maintainsfourth place with 1,916 votes.

Once the City Council is elected, the officialvotes for the next School Committee will betallied, and announced by Tuesday. Unofficialcounts suggest the new School Committee willclosely resemble the current one--and party linesaren't the only reason.

The first tally of number one votes placesincumbents in the top four spots. Henrietta Davisand David P. Maher are guaranteed seats whileDenise Simmons and Alfred B. Fantini are trailingclosely behind.

New candidate Joseph G. Grassi is also veryclose to reaching the quota of 3,000 votes neededto be assured a seat on the committee in thiselection.

Henrietta Davis, 48, is a six-year veteran ofthe School Committee endorsed by the CCA. Thepreschool administrator garnered 3,860votes--about 800 more than she needs. She was alsothe top vote-getter last year.

Independent incumbent David P. Maher amassed3,171 votes. His surplus of more than 100 voteswill also be transferred to second choices listedon those ballots.

Voters tend to vote by "slate," for eitherprogressive or conservative candidates, observerssay. Maher's surplus will probably help theIndependent Fantini, who has garnered 2,924 votes.

The surplus from Davis will likely benefit theCCA-endorsed Simmons, who has amassed 2,992votes--just a handful short of the quota. It willalso help Henry J. Lukas and Robin A. Harris, bothof whom are endorsed by the CCA.

"I expect that it will chiefly help Lukas andHarris, but I don't know in what proportion,"Davis said.

the sixth seat will likely be filled by eitherLukas or Harris, both of whom have significantlymore votes than their remaining opponents.

Grassi, 26, is endorsed by the Alliance forChange. He has collected 2,660 number one votesand will need about 400 transfers to gain a seaton the committee