New Councillor Seeks Own Niche

At 10 a.m. on a Friday morning, City Councillor Larry W. Ward walks into Au Bon Pain wearing a sweatshirt, workout pants, and Crocs. He’s already been to the gym and had a cup of coffee, so he orders a peach iced tea and strikes up a conversation with the cashier, a young man he recognizes.

“It’s good to see you working,” he says, “This job looks good on you.”

During the 2007 election, Ward lost a bid for a council seat. But following the February resignation of Vice Mayor Brian P. Murphy ’86-’87, Ward was appointed to the Council in a special recount, becoming the nine-person body’s third black member.

Trained as a guidance counselor and having more than a decade of involvement in Cambridge Youth Soccer under his belt, Ward considers his ability to connect with people one of his primary assets.

But because he joined the Council only eight months before the upcoming November election, Ward has yet to simultaneously catch up on City governance and reignite his once-failed campaign.

In the month since he was sworn in, Ward has sponsored two resolutions and been appointed chairman of the University Relations committee, replacing Murphy. He assumes the post at a time when the Council has been repeatedly criticizing Harvard and MIT for laying off low-income employees. But despite the current relevance of that position, he has not yet carved a distinct niche for himself on the Council.

UNIVERSITY RELATIONS

Ward said that he would like to see less adversarial relationships between Cambridge and universities such as Harvard and MIT—ones that focus on the non-monetary resources the universities provide the city.

“A lot of value is added to the city from [Harvard], but often times, that is overshadowed by the fact that it is not tax-based,” Ward said.

In March, City Councillor Marjorie C. Decker proposed granting Harvard a “mini-stimulus package” that would relieve the university of a portion of its Payment in Lieu of Taxes—also known as a PILOT payment—equal to the total annual salaries of subcontracted janitorial employees who had recently been laid off. The measure, intended to shame Harvard into backing off from layoffs, has since been tabled.

Last week, Ward co-sponsored another resolution, calling on Harvard and MIT to request “concessions from employees at all levels” before laying off low-income employees, a measure that was unanimously approved.

Ward said that universities can play an important role in helping their home cities during difficult financial times. For example, he said, if cities are forced to cut library services, the universities should open their libraries to the public.

LIVE, WORK, OR PLAY

Andrew Farrar, Ward’s campaign manager and adviser, listed Ward’s accomplishments thus far: the new councillor has promoted a family-oriented focus for the city during his time on the Council.

Ward also considered proposing a bill that would protect families facing foreclosure, Farrar said. In addition, he cited Ward’s involvement in mediating parking negotiations between residents of subsidized housing and Harvard realty.

Ward has also discussed solutions for balancing the city’s goals for development and open space.

“People who live here bought property under one set of assumptions. Over time, things change but those assumptions don’t,” Ward said.

When asked whether he had any specific policy focus for his time on the council, Ward said, “My goal is, whether people live, work, or play here, they should feel good about being in Cambridge.”

Ward may already have established himself enough to inspire worry among his colleagues, according to Harvard Extension School professor and local political pundit Robert Winters, who maintains a blog about Cambridge politics.

“Marjorie Decker sees [Ward] as a threat,” Winters said.

“[The other councillors] will do everything they can to try to make him feel awkward and make him stumble,” he added.

ROAD TO CITY HALL

Ward has lived in Cambridge since 1989. Originally from Alexandria, Virginia, he played football for T.C. Williams High School under coach Herman Boone of “Remember the Titans” fame before going on to Boston University. He was the first in his family to graduate from college, and went on to earn a Masters in education from Maryland University and a Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Services from Boston University.

Before he assumed the concillor position, Ward was a guidance counselor and the owner of a business that brings computer labs to centers for the elderly, He became involved in community activities such as volunteering for Cambridge Youth Soccer soon after moving to the city.

He met Farrar when their daughters were on the same soccer team more than a decade ago. In 2006, the two men first discussed Ward’s plans to run for City Council together over coffee.

“I decided that I really wanted to be a part of helping shape the growth of the city,” Ward said in an interview. “To do that, you have to run for office, so I ran.”

Although his initial bid for a spot in 2007 on the council was unsuccessful, Ward got a second chance when Murphy vacated his seat to work for the state’s Executive Office of Transportation.

In accordance with Cambridge’s proportional representation election system, the city’s election commission reviewed the ballots that were awarded to Murphy in the 2007 election and chose as his replacement the eligible candidate who had next highest ranking.

Ward filled that vacancy, and was sworn in as a city councillor on March 3.

THE PROSPECT OF RE-ELECTION

There is little down time for the new councillor, for Ward and his advisors have already begun planning for their next campaign in November.

“After the election, there is [usually] a year-long period in which to work out a relationship with the other councillors, [but Ward] doesn’t have that advantage,” Farrar said. “Everyone is trying to carve out their territory and area of focus, so he doesn’t have an interim period in which to be acclimated.”

Winters said that in his experience observing the Council, the job performance of councillors has little to do with their chances of re-election. More important, he said, is a candidate’s ability to portray himself as the strongest representative of the interests of a particular group.

Although he called Ward’s approach to his first month on the council “tentative,” Winters said that he still has time to position himself as a strong presence on the Council.

“Right now, Larry’s stumbling,” Winters said, “But so did Anthony [Gallucio], and now he’s a state senator.”

—Staff writer Danella H. Debel can be reached at debel@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Sarah J. Howland can be reached at showland@fas.harvard.edu.