1. General.
2. Henrietta Davis.
3. Leland Cheung.
4. Prior Reports.
1. General.
The situation in Cambridge, MA, USA is outrageous.
Environmental destruction and heartless animal abuse by government on the Charles River is bizarre and getting worse.
The city and its friends in the state are preparing to destroy the last virgin forest, the core Alewife reservation, for flood storage that is patently silly. They are protecting against a two year flood in an area that has seen two 50 year floods in the last 20 years. Directly across the street from their destruction is a massive parking lot that can handle a multiple of the flooding. It is impossible to call the explanation serious.
Informed analyses by non-insiders have a tendency to communicate shock.
Judge, jury and appeals court panel have evaluated Cambridge’s treatment of a black, Cape Verdean department head with extreme displeasure. They have found that the Cambridge City Manager destroyed her life in retaliation for her filing a civil rights complaint.
The jury spoke with $1.1 million real damages and $3.5 million penal damages. The judge reaffirmed the jury in an opinion which quoted the Cambridge City Manager’s testimony extensively. She called him “reprehensible.” The appeals court panel reacted to Cambridge’s appeal with disgust, refusing to honor the appeal with a full fledged opinion. They commented that there was “ample evidence [of] outrageous misbehavior.
The cost of the case paid by Cambridge to the plaintiff is $8.3 million. Estimates are frequently presented that total cost will approach or exceed $10 million.
The Cambridge Chronicle’s editorial, posted on August 18, 2011, at: http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/opinions/x1852620823/Editorial-A-multimillion-dollar-gamble#axzz1VBaL41vk, seems to go both ways on whether the City Manager should leave.
My personal opinion is that the binding judicial decision seems to indicate that the Cambridge City Manager should be fired without his golden parachute and probably without pension. The latter would be an extension of existing law, but the case is ideal to extend the law. I think the courts have reached an excellent opinion.
The election season is here.
The Cambridge Chronicle is asking candidates: “Do you think it is time for a new City Manger?”
I am reporting on the answers with links to the complete comments.
2. Henrietta Davis.
Henrietta Davis was quoted in the September 22, 2011 edition on page 14. Her comments are posted at: http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x789274658/Cambridge-Election-2011-Meet-the-Candidates-Henrietta-Davis#axzz1YsTg5eOs.
Ms. Davis makes no comment on Monteiro, on the $8 to $10 million cost, or on the judicial findings and orders. She does extensively praise him, ignoring the extremely bad parts of his record.
A brief summary of her answer is: “. . . I do not feel we must have a new city manager now."
3. Leland Cheung.
Leland Cheung was quoted in the September 22, 2011 edition on page 14. His comments are posted at: http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x789274695/Cambridge-Election-2011-Meet-the-Candidates-Leland-Cheung#axzz1YsTg5eOs.
Cheung speaks favorably of the Cambridge City Manager. His answer to the question is positive. "Regardless, I do believe the time is coming for a fresh perspective in City Hall."
His response indicates lack of awareness of the Monteiro decision.
4. Prior Reports.
Tom Stohlman and Sam Seidel: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-city-manager-for-cambridge-ma-usa.html.
Tim Toomey and Minka vanBeuzekom: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-city-manager-for-cambridge-ma-usa_10.html.
Charlie Marquardt and James Williamson: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-city-manager-for-cambridge-ma-usa_18.html.
