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.