Alliance for Change
The Alliance for Change has been formed to help elect open-minded individuals to the Cambridge City Council and School Committee - individuals who will serve in elective office with the best interests of all Cantabrigians in mind.
We are committed to endorsing and electing a slate of candidates who will move our City beyond the divisiveness and factionalism that has marked its politics and, indeed, its government, in recent years.
Our name, Alliance for Change, reflects our search for an alternative to the status quo. Our committee's aim is to find new solutions to the City's civic and political problems. The Alliance for Change hopes to break the gridlock at City Hall by supporting candidates with a tolerance for alternative policy perspectives and a commitment to addressing the concerns of our entire community.
We support inclusionary government, fiscal responsibility, and equitable rep resentation for all the people of Cambridge. The Alliance is convinced that a variety of special interest groups have profited from the division within our city government; profit gained at the great expense of many of our community members. We further believe that the political gridlock created by these interest groups has denied full and fair representation to large segments of our community and has prevented our elected officials from making timely and informed policy decisions based on the legitimate needs of all who contribute to the quality of life in Cambridge.
We will support policies that benefit the many, not the few. We will not support policies that benefit some segments of the population at the expense of others. Nor do we believe in a single "correct' solution to all public problems. Instead, we will support policies that are in the best interests of all citizens, even those who have different backgrounds and points of view.
Candidates seeking endorsement by the Alliance for Change will be evaluated in terms of their openness to compromise for the benefit of all, not in terms of their allegiance to predetermined dogma. Candidates should be willing to actively engage in open discussion of divisive issues and to act toward resolution of such issues.
The Alliance is committed to seeking the common ground - indeed, a higher ground -where the interests of the City of Cambridge can be served in an open and honest fashion. Candidates endorsed by the Alliance will be held to that commitment.
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The Alliance for Change was formed in 1993 for the purpose of challenging the Cambridge Civic Association's control of municipal government and creating an alternative to CCA-style politics. In particular, the Alliance was established in opposition to the CCA's elitist and dictatorial approach to policymaking - policymaking which began in the CCA boardroom and was then handed down to the general public by the elected CCA officials.
An integral part of the Alliance for Change's approach to Cambridge politics in 1993 was its pledge not to tell its candidates how to vote or where to stand on any particular issue. Indeed, rather than dictating policy positions and making its candidates conform thereto, the Alliance sought to be defined more by its parts - the endorsed candidates and their positions on issues - rather than by a typical platform of positions on issues.
Even without a so-called "platform" of positions on issues, however, the Alliance's slate campaign was an important factor in the increased consistency and number of transfers to and from Alliance-endorsed candidates in the 1993 election's vote distribution. To build upon its successes to date, the Alliance is now working to inform and educate the voting public regarding its slate of endorsed candidates and what the Alliance as a group stands for.
A key to this effort is the presentation of a unified message - a slate agenda - under which Alliance-endorsed candidates will campaign and govern. It is not a message created in a vacuum, however. It is a reflection of what the Alliance has always been - a product of its candidates and their views on the issues of the day. This message shows the voters of Cambridge where we as a group have found common ground and, having done so, the direction in which we propose to lead the city in the years to come
The 1995 Alliance for Change Action Agenda focuses on the following issues:
- Working with law enforcement entities to ensure that Cambridge streets belong to Cambridge citizens, not criminals - the safety of our neighborhoods is the highest priority of the Alliance for Change candidates; it always has been and always will be. We want to continue to build upon the police department's community policing efforts to increase the visibility of our officers on the street and to increase the security of Cambridge residents wherever they are in our city. We want to facilitate communication between citizens and the police and to encourage the participation of both residents and businesses in community crime watch efforts;
- Job-creation and revenue-enhancement through responsible economic development which encourages businesses to locate and grow in Cambridge in concert with - and not at odds with - our neighborhoods and their residents;
- Scrutiny of the city's budget with an eye toward reducing taxes by eliminating waste and duplication while ensuring that necessary city services are delivered and the needs of our senior citizens, our financially-strapped neighbors, and our youth are met;
- The development of programs which will provide housing opportunities for Cambridge residents in the rental market and with regard to home-ownership - we want to invest in people who want to invest in Cambridge;
- An examination of all of our schools to ensure that equal access is available to all parents and students and that there is an appropriate distribution of resources to ensure that "school choice" is a real choice and that all of our students are given an equal opportunity to maximize their potential and excel academically in all our schools - we want to invest in the future of all Cambridge youth by supporting and encouraging focus school initiatives and promoting the concept of schools and families in partnership;
- A recruitment and hiring process in city government under which all Cambridge residents, from all races, sexes, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds, are encouraged to apply and are provided with an opportunity to serve our city to the best of their ability and under which no individual or group feels that they are being denied the opportunity to work at any level of government because of the color of their skin, their gender, their sexual preference, their nationality, or their political affiliation;
- Increasing and promoting citizen access to government through a sustained education effort relative to services available to the public as well as with regard to the functions, duties, and responsibilities of the various city departments and officials - we believe each Cambridge citizen should be treated as a "valued customer" - every department in the city should be accessible and accountable to the citizens of Cambridge - every policymaking effort should involve citizen participation and be based more on common sense and less on pie-in-the-sky theory;
- Ensuring that our local regulatory schemes make sense in terms of promoting and protecting the health, safety, and well-being of our citizens while at the same time allowing reasonable business growth and opportunity - local regulation should focus more on outcomes and less on process;
- An external audit of the school department administration to ensure that Cambridge is getting the kind of education it is paying for - that resources are being allocated so that the administration supports student learning and not vice-versa - that the multitude of special programs launched over the years are meeting our expectations and not just drifting along in a sea of malaise; and
- Leading the fight to ensure that all of the people of Cambridge have a say in how their local government is run and how their lives and their futures are affected by the policies enacted by the City Council and the School Committee. For too long the self-appointed few in Cambridge have sought to control the direction and future of the City of Cambridge by deeming their views as right and just while at the same time labelling the views of their opponents and, indeed, their opponents themselves, as misguided and corrupt. The time has come to take the initiative in local government and chart a course for the future of Cambridge which respects the needs and views of all of its citizens, businesses, and institutions - there should be less right vs. wrong and more common ground - the Alliance is committed to finding that common ground and building the future of Cambridge upon it.
Membership in the Alliance for Change is open to all individuals who live and work in Cambridge. While there is no set membership fee or dues, members are encouraged to make an annual contribution to the Alliance of at least $15.00 (members are valued more for their contribution of ideas and energy rather than their money). Alliance working meetings are usually held on a bi-monthly basis at various locations throughout Cambridge. Social events are held periodically during the year.
- Alliance Leadership
- Chair: Edward J. O'Connell
- 392 Cambridge Street
- East Cambridge, MA 02141
- Vice-Chair: Alan Steinert, Jr.
- 32 Ash Street
- Cambridge, MA 02138
- Treasurer: Wallace Sherwood
- 19 Trowbridge Street
- Cambridge, MA 02138
- Secretary: Albert "Ted" Darling
- 43 Lee Street
- Cambridge, MA 02139
- City Council
Vote the entire slate in order of your preference
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8
- Anthony D. Galluccio
- Paul T. Kearns
- James J. McSweeney
- Barbara J. Pilgrim
- Sheila T. Russell
- Jonathan T. Spampinato
- Michael A. Sullivan
- Timothy J. Toomey, Jr.
- School Committee
Vote the entire slate in order of your preference
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6
- Christine Arruda
- Alfred Fantini
- Joseph Grassi
- David Maher
- Jon Maddox
- Charles Stead
- Persons interested in joining the Alliance or obtaining more information about the group may call at
- (617) 547-2449
- or write to
- Edward J. O'Connell
- 392 Cambridge Street
- Cambridge, MA 02141.
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