Council Updates: 2023 in Review

Police Shooting
It is impossible to consider the previous year without first acknowledging that the year started with a tragedy. On January 4, 2023, Cambridge Police killed Arif Sayed Faisal. There has been extensive reporting on the shooting that I encourage all who haven’t to read. An independent inquest ordered by the Massachusetts District Attorney eventually resulted in no charges being filed against the officer, but this result doesn’t do anything to change the tragic event. As a city and as a council we spent time this year reflecting on our failings and working for changes. We are moving towards more accountability and to improve our community response efforts. The council held hearings on the police budget, on police equipment, and on body cameras. The council also sent directives to the city manager to conduct an independent review of police department practices and procedures. This work was done with an eye for accountability and community safety and was done with the willing partnership and leadership of the city manager. We have a world class police department and excellent city leadership, but even that does not insulate our community from this kind of tragedy, so we, as a city, must do better. Improvements have come slowly at times, but there is a clear commitment within the council and the city administration to improve community safety.

Climate Highlights
2023 was in many ways a banner year for environmental justice in Cambridge, and I am proud of all the work I championed that led us there. In June, we passed amendments to the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) that requires large buildings to reduce their carbon emissions over time – the largest of which have to reduce to netzero by 2035. This was an extraordinary accomplishment and I am grateful to the city staff and my fellow city councillors for joining me in support of this transformational policy. Throughout the process of passing these amendments I worked to bring people along in a transparent way. I held meetings, sent out postcards, wrote several articles, and met with many stakeholders to explain the rationale and the approach, listen to concerns, and craft a policy that would eventually meet the moment while addressing reasonable concerns. That work was paired with incredible support from residents, climate advocates, and community members who were essential in showing the city that this kind of action was necessary and possible. That advocacy was remarkable and our city and the world are the better for it.

The set of BEUDO amendments was in many ways the most transformational step we took in 2023, but it was in no way the only big accomplishment. 2023 began with the council approving an update to the city’s Net Zero Action Plan (NZAP). This update, which I worked closely with CDD to implement, tracks a suite of programs and policies that will eventually lead the city to carbon neutrality. One of my main focuses in this update was to include at least some SMART (Specific Measurable Actionable Relevant Timebound) goals which had been lacking, and which will allow us to track progress and adjust actions to meet goals over time. The climate crisis is deepening and we cannot afford to waste any more time by missing deadlines or targets. Two other major accomplishments were in adopting state policies, namely, the Specialized Stretch Energy Building Code and applying for the state’s Fossil Fuel Free Demonstration Pilot Program. I worked hard not only to implement these programs in Cambridge, but also on the state-level to advocate for strong policy options for cities. These programs, if well implemented, in tandem with BEUDO, will absolutely transform the way building construction affects the climate crisis.

The climate crisis is not just decarbonization however, it’s also improving climate resiliency and public health. In 2023 the council adopted the Climate Resilience Zoning Amendment to ensure that our zoning addresses the risks associated with climate change. I also held a Health and Environment Committee meeting (more on that later) to begin to review the progress of the Urban Forest Master Plan, which seeks to utilize our natural environment and improve our urban forest to help our city become more resilient to climate change, reduce the urban heat island effect, mitigate stormwater runoff, reduce nutrient runoff, and broadly contribute to community well-being and public health. Similarly, I held a committee meeting to review and adopt the city’s Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan. In December I also led a successful effort to ban gas-powered leaf blowers over time in Cambridge. This was a community-driven effort over many years, and I am proud that we eventually got this important effort across the finish line.

This work wasn’t always easy, and we didn’t always have success. BEUDO was nearly much stronger. We lost a number of 4-5 council votes that would have led to stronger climate policies. These votes included restricting new lab construction to reach netzero by 2030 and reducing the threshold for the 2035 netzero deadline for large buildings from 100,000 sqft to 50,000 sqft, and including the largest residential apartment buildings, among others. In addition, we only won several votes by an equally slim margin, 5-4. Without each and every vote, the council may have voted for numerous other exemptions and loopholes. These close votes and near-misses are indicative of the uphill battle we have to fight, even in Cambridge, to enact transformational climate policies. I am still committed to working to change that culture and work to make our city more effective at addressing the climate crisis and achieving our goals. This work will continue in the new term.

Finance Work
As co-chair of the Finance Committee, along with Councillor Carlone, I was proud of the work we did to improve accountability and get more council input into the budget process. We held more and earlier Finance Committee meetings in order to work with the city administration to better address council priorities. We also held a very important meeting to review the police department budget – an ordinance requirement which had previously gone unmet. We also held numerous meetings to discuss ARPA funding and long-term capital planning and public investment. These meetings resulted in a far more transparent financial view of the city for the council and the public at large. This kind of transparency is essential for good government and I hope to continue these practices in the new term.

City Manager Review
Last term was, in many ways, defined by our search for and hiring of a new city manager. One of the most important decisions a city council can make in Cambridge is hiring an effective city manager. As the legislative body, it’s equally important to conduct oversight on the city manager through effective reviews. For the first time in our city’s history, the council conducted a thorough review of the city manager. As those of you who follow my work closely know, accountability and goal setting are paramount to my work on council. I am grateful to City Manager Huang for agreeing to and working to complete this review process. City Manager Huang has proven to be an excellent choice to lead our city. He has brought more accountability, transparency, caring, and empowerment to the city and city staff. I remain grateful he applied and thrilled we hired him. Our review was supplemented by City Manager Huang’s regular quarterly updates, which were greatly appreciated. There are areas that deserve more attention and concerns that need to be addressed, including how to incorporate input from all residents and make sure the input is considered – not just heard. I’m proud to be working to implement this kind of increased accountability throughout the city in the new term.

Committee Work
In the last term I was honored to co-chair the Finance Committee and chair the Health and Environment Committee and I take both of those roles very seriously. I see committee work on the council as an opportunity to work on issues in a way that is public, transparent, and collaborative. In 2023, I am proud to say that I held more committee meetings than any other councillor. Part of the interesting thing about being a city councillor is that there isn’t really a how-to guide on how to be effective. For me, a lot of my most effective work was through holding committee meetings to investigate issues and have discussions and then following up with policy proposals. I believe that when we bring people to the table in order to tackle complicated issues, we can work towards common goals together – and I think the results speak to that. In the Health and Environment Committee I held 8 hearings in 2023 on topics including: renewable energy expansion, the urban forest master plan, gas-powered leaf blowers, the public health department, the zero waste master plan, and others. Many of these hearings led to real, substantive improvements to city operations and policies and many more of them will build on existing work. In the Finance Committee, my co-chair, Councillor Carlone, and I held 8 hearings as well. In addition to the typically scheduled budget hearings which happen every year, we also held hearings on the police budget, on council budget priorities, on capital budget planning, on Participatory Budget and ARPA spending, among others. A lot of time and effort went into planning and preparing for all of these committee meetings and I am excited to continue to build on this work in 2024. As I mentioned, I see an important opportunity within committee work to work collaboratively and transparently to tackle large issues.