Conservative Group Forms

A local chapter of the Christian Coalition, a church-based grassroots organization, is gearing up to elect candidates to the Cambridge School Committee who support the group's conservative political agenda.

Elections of the six member school committee will be held in city-wide elections on November 7.

Nearly 20 area residents attended an inaugural seminar last Thursday at the group's headquarters on Elm Street, where they were trained in the basics of political lobbying, voter registration and neighborhood organizing.

The active membership of the Christian Coalition of Greater Boston is made up of 150 Cambridge residents, according to Ronald W. Potvin, state field director and a Cambridge resident.

Although the group cannot officially endorse candidates because of its tax-exempt status, Potvin says the coalition will work to publicize the views of school committee candidates. The group will also target city council andidates, but feels that its family values platform would be better accepted at a school board level, Potvin says.

"We're going to be circulating voter guides which highlight candidates' stands on pro-family issues facing us," Potvin says, adding that the group is dedicated to ending the distribution of birth control devices at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School.

Currently, the Teen Health Center, an on site branch of the Cambridge Hospital, offers 1,000 free condoms each month, as well as contraceptive devices such as the birth control pill and Norplant.

Members of the coalition said the program undermines the relationship between parents and their children.

"Planned Parenthood doesn't have any place in public schools," says Paul Nagy, New England coordinator for the coalition. "If you believe in the sanctity of life, you're promoting the killing of innocent children."

The coalition also opposes the establishment of a national school curriculum, supports repeal of Roe V. Wade, and calls for a halt to any sex education courses which "preach homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle," Nagy says.

Members also say they support candidates who will combat liberal attitudes towards family issues and religion.

"The decline in social values is a mirror reflection of the increased liberal attitudes of society," Nagy says.

Although the fledgling group's membership is smaller than other established Cambridge political organizations, such as the Cambridge Civic Association or the Cambridge Alliance, coalition leaders say they are hopeful that their efforts will lead to the election of several pro-family candidates.

Members hope to galvanize their supporters by speaking at churches, and by contacting friends and family members.

"A difference of 100 or 200 voters will change the entire political spectrum," Nagy says. And State Director of the Christian Coalition Marilyn Scola says the group has the potential to become a major power broker in the city elections.

Liberal candidates have remained in office because apathy has kept many citizens from going to the polls, Potvin says.

The Christian Coalition is the fastest growing organization in America, boasting over 2,000 chapters and 1.7 million members nationwide, according to Scola.

"We are definitely the majority," she says. "We now want to have our rightful place at the table."