New police headquarters leads to question of balance of power

By Stephanie Butler

CAMBRIDGE -- Construction on the city’s new $50 million police headquarters is nearly complete, and the move-in date for police personnel is set for early November, according to the city police department website.

The development of the headquarters began on April 11, 2005, when the City Council voted unanimously to buy the empty five-story building at 125 Sixth St.

The five-story building will be named the Robert W. Healy Public Safety Facility after the sitting city manager who spearheaded the project.

In 1938, the city established a new city charter that provided for nine city councilors elected to serve a two-year term. The city councilors appoint a city manager, the chief administrative officer of the city.

At least one resident says that Cambridge has an ineffective form of government.

Peter Schweich said the first conflict came when he tried to make changes to his house, which is classified as a historic building. Schweich went to the City Council meetings and felt that they were “extremely unevenhanded.”

He created a website, cambridgeneedsreform.org, about his issues with the Historic Commission earlier this year, which he later revised to “consider more serious issues.”

Schweich cites a number of problems with the city government on his website, including city employee salaries.

“Fidel Castro could have easily existed under this form of government,” said Schweich, a former vice president of Boston University. “The city manager makes all the decisions; he makes whatever deal he wants to make.”

The city manager of Cambridge earned $242,619 in 2006, while the mayor of Boston earned $175,000, according to the Boston Herald website.

“My purpose is to force the state legislature to require Plan E to be amended so that elective officials have a supervisory role over the city manager, or to have a democratic government in Cambridge,” Schweich said.

City Councilor Henrietta Davis goes for green

By Stephanie Butler

CAMBRIDGE -- City Councilor Henrietta Davis issued a set of resolutions at this week’s City Council meeting, congratulating five people on winning election as state representatives in last week’s Democratic primary.

The only problem was these people were ran unopposed – and the general election is not until November.

Despite the occasional mix-up, Davis is generally well-respected in Cambridge. Having served on the city council since 1996, Davis has actively promoted several environmental reforms in the city.

Davis helped to adopt the Climate Protection Plan, a measure that urges the city to build environmentally friendly buildings, and to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2010.

The Massachusetts Sierra Club has endorsed Davis for the past several elections.

“Davis has made environmental issues the cornerstone of her political work,” said Phil Sego, chair of the chapter political committee of the Massachusetts Sierra Club. “Her understanding of the environmental consequences of any city action is apparent in all her work, and her desire to promote green legislation on the municipal level is perhaps without equal.”

Davis has pushed to maintain city sidewalks for those residents who travel the city by foot or bike.

Ideally, she has called on the city to increase the budget allowance for sidewalk repairs from $300,000 to $1 million.

Wireless internet access throughout the city is another priority for Davis, especially in public housing.

Wifi access was installed in Newtowne Court, a federally funded low-income housing project, more than a year ago. Despite reported problems of the access being unstable, Davis believes the project will lead to universal wifi access in public housing.

Davis did not return calls for comment.