Voices of the Community

Frank Duehay grew up in Cambridge and served a total of 36 years as an elected official there: eight years on the school committee, 28 years on the city council, and 3 times as mayor. Recently he has been a trustee and board chair of the Cambridge Health Alliance, a regional health and hospital system. Frank was a teacher and administrator at Harvard and Tufts and a Fellow of the Institute of Politics at Harvard's Kennedy School. He has helped govern many Cambridge non-profits including Harvard's Phillips Brooks House Association which organizes 1800 undergraduate volunteers annually in Cambridge and Boston. What makes Cambridge special? In a phrase: its diversity, its economy, its culture, its history, its universities, its businesses, its non-profits, its public and private schools, its governance and management, and its public transit. In the latter part of the 19th century and first half of the twentieth, Cambridge was a vibrant manufacturing city known also for its colleges. During and after World War II manufacturing declined steeply, but the colleges expanded into renowned research universities setting the stage for the economic revitalization of the last 25 years. Worldwide biotech, pharmaceutical, and software firms have located in Cambridge drawn by the proximity to research excellence. Companies specializing in genetic engineering, computer and control systems and information technology abound. Universities, and the businesses they attracted and spawned, became the staple in the new knowledge-based economy and the major source of jobs in the 21st century. This dynamic has also greatly affected the residential community. In addition to being a destination community for business, Cambridge, a compact community of 103,000 spread over 61/2 square miles, has become a fashionable location for upscale residents pushing up the cost of housing. Those considering Cambridge as a place to live find a socially diverse community, vibrant neighborhoods, good public and private schools, excellent public services, perhaps the soundest tax base in the Commonwealth (Cambridge has a triple A municipal bond rating), and proximity to the Boston business and cultural community. Nationally the city's environmental and clean energy initiatives are recognized. Immigrants still find lower cost housing and Cambridge, as a matter of public policy, regularly develops affordable units. Cambridge is a gateway city; public high school students come from families where 66 languages are spoken at home. 40,000 adults take courses annually at the Harvard Division of Continuing Education and the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, both located in Harvard Sq. The Cambridge Community Foundation lists an extraordinary 180 non-profits serving children and adult social needs. The Italian, Portuguese, and Caribbean communities enrich the city with annual festivals. Youth and adult sports leagues play enthusiastically on well-maintained fields. There are more than 60 communities of faith. Cambridge is governed by a nine-member city council elected every two years at large by proportional representation voting. The council elects a mayor who chairs the council and also serves as seventh member and chair of the school committee. Arguably the council's most important job is the appointment of a city manager that runs the city on a day-to-day basis. Many, this writer included, feel that the stability and professionalism provided by the current city manager has been a key factor in the city's success. Certainly there are strains that many feel as the city has gentrified, but overall the future is bright.