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Cambridge Municipal Elections 1985 Collection
Provenance Unknown
Received for Processing, November 2007
2 inches
Processed by
Alice Dodds
November 2007
Cambridge Historical Commission
831 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
Description
This collection, of unknown provenance, was received for processing in November 2007. It contains the electioneering materials of ten City Council candidates and four candidates for the School Committee, all running in the 1985 Cambridge, Massachusetts municipal elections. These brief materials consist of brochures, fliers, and letters describing the qualifications and positions of each candidate. Four lapel buttons are also included. Brief though they are, these personal statements give insight into the issues of paramount concern to the voters at this particular juncture of the city’s history.
Scope and Content
Series I -- Cambridge City Council
Candidates for the Cambridge City Council all spoke to the single most important
issue of concern to voters at that time: rent control and housing. Most of
the candidates strongly supported rent control, increased community oversight
of real estate development, and the protection of home owners. Another issue
generic to the time was cable television. Crime, economic development, taxation
in the wake of Proposition 2½, and the delivery of municipal services
were also of general concern.
An historic first took place in this election: the candidacy of Hugh Russell for City Council, the first openly gay individual to stand for an elected city office. While mentioning many of the same issues as the other candidates, Mr. Russell’s primary thrust was in support of the gay and lesbian community: promoting several measures to assist AIDS suffers and equal rights for gays and lesbians in Cambridge.
Series II -- Cambridge School Committee
The four candidates for the School Committee shared many positions such as
quality teaching, parent participation in the decision making process, upgrading
academic standards, racial balance, accountability, and budgetary responsibility.
Folder List
Series I -- Cambridge City Council
1. Armstead, Lewis A, Jr.
2. Budryk
3. Dixon, Vincent
4. Malenfant, Geneva
5. Reeves, Kenneth
6. Russell, Hugh
7. Scott, Renae
8. Sullivan, David
9. Swain, Karen
10. Turk, Mike
Series II -- Cambridge School Committee
1. Kennedy, David P.
2. Garcia, Sara
3. Griffin, Richard
Weinstein, Larry