Councillor Born Will Not Seek Reelection

In an surprise announcement at last night's City Council meeting, Councillor Kathleen L. Born told her colleagues that she will not run for reelection this fall.

"Tonight I am announcing that I will not seek reelection," said Born, adding that having a blank slate before her as she approaches her 55th birthday and her 35th anniversary is "exhilarating."

"This is a sad day for the City Council," said Mayor Anthony D. Galluccio immediately after the announcement. "I'm not looking forward to coming into these chambers when you're not here," he said to Born.

Born, an MIT graduate and an urban planner by trade, frequently brought open space, zoning and affordable housing issues before the council.

Since she was elected in 1993 by a mere 12 votes, she has finished solidly in council elections in 1995, 1997 and 1999, and last year made a bid for the mayor's seat which fell just short.

With her impending retirement from the council, the Cambridge Civic Association (CCA) will suffer another major blow in its leadership.

One of Cambridge's two longtime political parties, the CCA traditionally fielded a slew of candidates in city elections, usually electing four or five to the City Council.

But after a series of divisive mayoral elections in the 1990s--in which both Reeves and former Councillor Katherine Triantafillou left the party--and first-term Councillor Marjorie C. Decker's refusal to join the CCA during the 1999 election, the CCA found itself with only three members on the current council.

Of those three--Born, Jim Braude and Henrietta Davis--Born, who followed loosely in the footsteps of longtime CCA standard-bearer Francis H. Duehay '55, was the most visible CCA leader on the council.

And now, only Braude and Davis are expected to run for reelection this fall.

After Born's sudden announcement, council members thanked the four-term councillor for her work, each making remarks before calling an impromptu recess.

According to the spontaneous warm remarks of all the other councillors last night, Born has been a diplomat in the council's often contentious meetings.

"Your most stellar quality is your relationship with people," said Braude.

All of the councillors said they were surprised by Born's unforeseen announcement.

"How the heck did she pull that one off on all of us?" asked David P. Maher, who has co-chaired the ordinance committee with Born during the current council term. "She never let anything on in the meeting we were in this afternoon."

Born and Maher each said they hoped for more accomplishments before the end of Born's term at the end of this year. In particular, they said they hope to rezone East Cambridge, which was left out of the the major citywide zoning plan that they co-sponsored last month.

Last night, others were already discussing Born's legacy.

"I hope that the council will continue in the path you have set," said Councillor Kenneth E. Reeves '72.

And first-term Councillor Marjorie C. Decker, saying that she looked to Born as a mentor, said that she believes Born will continue to contribute to Cambridge--as a citizen.

"What a classy way to leave this business," Decker said.

"It's amazing, the wonderful speeches that can be given in this room when no one knows about the topic," Born said.

--Staff writer Lauren R. Dorgan can be reached at dorgan@fas.harvard.edu.