Civic Association Troubled, Divided

The Cambridge Civic Association (CCA), the progressive civic group formed decades ago to champion "good government" in Cambridge, has been having a few administrative troubles of its own lately.

The CCA has staunchly opposed the awarding of a contract for the position of city manager. However, in March, CCA-endorsed Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 and Councillor Edward N. Cyr broke with the association's platform, joining with the more conservative Independents to grant Robert W. Healy a new contract last March.

And the schism created by the two councillors may be spreading through the ranks of the organization. Shortly after the contract renewal, several members of the CCA left the group and joined the Cambridge Alliance, a group of centrist Cantabrigians disappointed with the current state of the city's political scene, according to alliance President William J. Zamparelli.

The CCA currently has a five to four majority on the City Council, where it attempts to promote neighborhood interests despite the more development-oriented stance of the city manager and the Independents. However, it is unclear how long the group will be able to keep its majority.

CCA President R. Philip Dowds refuses to say whether Reeves and Cyr have requested or will receive the CCA's endorsement in this fall's elections. "The CCA is having endorsement interviews with a variety of incumbents and other candidates," Dowds says.

In addition, Councillor Alice K. Wolf's April announcement that she would not seek re-election has left the CCA without its strongest candidate and opened a seat in an election which incumbents usually win.

Wolf received the highest number of votes in the last city council election, with about 18 percent of the "number one" votes, according to David R. Leslie '69, executive director of the CCA. These votes, which are very important under Cambridge's proportional representation system, are now up for grabs.

And while the Cambridge Alliance defines itself as an educational organization, "there's no question" that people affiliated with the alliance will form a political action committee to endorse candidates in the next city council election, Zamparelli says.

There is also a strong feeling among some that the CCA has grown apart from the people it is supposed to represent. And some claim the CCA's leadership, particularly Dowds, attempts a stranglehold on its members. For example, the organization's platform dictates that its members must act in consensus on the issue of the city manager--a plank which Cyr and Reeves disregarded.

Robert Winters, a member of last year's board of directors of the CCA, says he was asked not to return to his post because of ideological differences with the organization's leadership. "I was asked not to return because of my vocal position about the city manager," he said in April.

Dowds says he doesn't know of people leaving the CCA to join the alliance. The CCA has kept a constant membership of about 600 households for some time, Dowds says, and he intends to raise that number since "8,000 households or so vote CCA." The alliance, which started out with 80 members, has increased its membership over the last several months.

But the "good government" party may have to struggle to keep its ranks in line as the fall elections loom

There is also a strong feeling among some that the CCA has grown apart from the people it is supposed to represent. And some claim the CCA's leadership, particularly Dowds, attempts a stranglehold on its members. For example, the organization's platform dictates that its members must act in consensus on the issue of the city manager--a plank which Cyr and Reeves disregarded.

Robert Winters, a member of last year's board of directors of the CCA, says he was asked not to return to his post because of ideological differences with the organization's leadership. "I was asked not to return because of my vocal position about the city manager," he said in April.

Dowds says he doesn't know of people leaving the CCA to join the alliance. The CCA has kept a constant membership of about 600 households for some time, Dowds says, and he intends to raise that number since "8,000 households or so vote CCA." The alliance, which started out with 80 members, has increased its membership over the last several months.

But the "good government" party may have to struggle to keep its ranks in line as the fall elections loom