The Cambridge Chronicle at page B3 of its October 4, 2012 edition printed an extended obituary for former Cambridge City Manager James Leo Sullivan. The current Cambridge City Manager Robert Healy was Sullivan’s Assistant City Manager and replaced him very much in the manner of the Crown being passed on to the Crown Prince.
Reading from the obituary, James Leo first served as Cambridge City Manager from 1968 to spring 1970. From fall 1970 to 1974, he served as City Manager in his home town of Lowell, MA. He returned to Cambridge in 1974 bringing along his assistant, the current Cambridge City Manager. James Leo served until 1981 when he retired and was replaced by Robert Healy. James Leo proceeded to lead the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce from then until 1991.
Continuing from the obituary, James Leo was born December 11, 1924, and grew up in Somerville, near Inman Square, Cambridge. He passed away peacefully on September 26, 2012 at a facility in New Jersey.
James Leo’s administration had friends in the first of the Cambridge Machine organizations to be created. James Leo wanted to destroy the best park in the Mid-Cambridge neighborhood and, da da, a “neighborhood association” announced its creation and proceeded to help in the destruction, including more than 23 one hundred year old trees. I obtained a preliminary injunction on appeal, next to impossible but I did it. In the trial, the judge found that magnificent park to be not a park and authorized its destruction, bragging about all the saplings which would be planted at the far end of that block. Almost all of the saplings were destroyed as part of phase II of the related projects on that site. No mention was made of phase 2 when phase 1 was destroying those excellent trees.
The Cambridge Common, which is currently under attack, is perhaps six blocks west of this destruction.
There was great bitterness at the original firing of James Leo and a bit of vindication at his return.
The Cambridge Machine has been pivotal in a lot of outrageous destruction. The participation of the Cambridge Machine in the outrages on the Charles River and at Alewife could be interpreted as the regency showing just how rotten the power structure in Cambridge, MA is.
The replacement, Robert Healy continues to serve in spite of judicial findings in the case of Malvina Monteiro that Healy destroyed the life of Malvina Monteiro in retaliation for her filing a women’s rights complaint. Monteiro is a black Cape Verdean woman who ran the Cambridge Police Review Board until her firing.
The judicial decisions clearly found malfeasance in office by Robert Healy, authorizing the Cambridge City Council to fire him without golden parachute and, possibly without pension.
The Monteiro case, if the regency was trying to prove the rottenness of the Cambridge political structure, did an excellent job of really strengthening the stench. A city council which constantly calls itself holier than thou, by not wanting to know of the real court findings have shown very real contempt for Women’s Rights at the same time as loudly proclaiming concern for Women’s Rights.
The same con applies to the Cambridge Machine’s non-stop lying of concern for the environment as well.
