Thread by @johnhawkinson

Next phase of the #cambma City Manager selection is 6pm tonight. Choices: Farooq, Fisher, Huang, Khumalo.

Zoom link: cambridgema.zoom.us/s/97895847144

I will livetweet it in this thread.
Linked below is last night's.

https://twitter.com/johnhawkinson/status/1531813572313075712

It is a little hard to take this sign on the front door of Cambridge City Hall seriously. If you can even notice it amongst the others, and read it in its half folded state, would you feel STRONGLY encouraged to wear a mask?

What if there was free candy?

Meeting starts. All 9 councillors are present in the Sullivan Chamber.

We also have the acting city clerk, deputy clerk Paula Crane, sitting next to the Mayor on the dias.

Again, we have 45 minute per-candidate rounds.
This time the order is: Khumalo, Huang, [Watson] Fisher, Farooq.

We begin with SS, who requests a 2 minute introduction from Khumalo and then: How would you transition your skills as Town Manager in Hopkinton to a City Manager in Cambridge.

[There was also some confusing element about assistant town manager that confused me. ]

Apparently 22-Cityview has decided to used serifed captions. Next we'll be having snarky chyrons, I suppose. Go figure.

p.s. it seems like there are no captions tonight, neither on Zoom nor on the problematic Granicus website (cambridgema.granicus.com/player/event/2…) nor anywhere else that I know of. Weird.

I was a bit distracted by fonts, but NK said he would apply his skills collaborative and his passion for building relationships and value-for-money to transition from Town to City Manager.

BA asks about the future of transit.

"Transportation is part of securing livelihood for the community. Looking ahead,…modes that cater to the diverse needs of the community"

NK holds himself out as someone who enjoys walking.

Sustainable, built from the ground up, …

DC: #cambma is in a uniquely strong FISCAL position…many presently unmet needs…incld'ing sufficent affordable housing, universal preK, open space, environmental infra..

How would you address these needs in the short and long term? Not specifically to each but in general.

NK gives a v. generic process-oriented answer: plan, collobate w/ boards + city council, identify and use resources, bring in partners, identify the performance measures, continue to communicate.

He prefaced this answer with the assumption that there was community buy-in on those needs. I should have noted that above.

AM: Pandemic has altered the way cities+towns can provide services. Describe ways of changing the model of a traditional municipal workplace.
Telework, hybrid work, alternative work week schedule, greater use of technology?

[ Oh hey the captions started up in Zoom. Although not Granicus. Opposite of a regular city council meeting, go figure. ]

NK's response: Most managers are grappling with this question. bottom up approach, involve employees, ensure sufficient technology resources, sufficient funding, rely on the HR dept., and incorporate it into our customer service surveys.

AM is allowed to ask a followup: have you actually ever done this?

NK Yes, we implemented telework in Hopkinton during [COVID-19? or 2019? not sure what he said. The audio in this room is not awesome. ]

[ Doesn't look like the transcriptionist captured it either. Covid 1,900 fiftys indeed. I sympathize. ]

[ omg I missed the hockey chin. ]

MM: We are a tale of two cities. Many with wealth, high poverty rate. How will you address?

NK: collaboratively. involve nonprofits and local busineses. Create more units of affordable housing.
Speed up construction, eliminate roadblocks. Find interested INDIVIDUALS to invest.

A classic PN question on SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, And Time-based. Give an example of using and evaluating one?

NK's answer is on the Hopkinton performance review assessment system for town employees.

[ I didn't find this to be a great example, since it's already a pretty measurable/formalized assement process. Assessing an assessment? ]

EDS asks about Diversity Equity & Inclusion at the same time as his first hire of a new Deputy City Manager (now vacant for…years?).

She asks if he should repeat the question.
NK offers his take first: hiring the DCM is an opportunity to model DEI through hiring.

EDS likes his summary.
NK says he does agree and firmly agrees DEI/antiracism is now integral to the operations of any enterprise. Thus, the steps that he will take:
1) Consult w/ the community on profile for the DCM

2) Ensure it incorporates voices from constiuences that deal w/ DEI
3) working w/ HR, identify a source of candidates.
In this age it's difficult to recruit…there will be a clear effort to go out and reach those candidates from those sources.

[ It feels like the old days. Nobody cares about audio quality.
Despite a dozen people closer to the door than me, why is it that I am the one who has to get up and shut the door when there are noises coming from the rest of City Hall? ]

NK notes the importance in providing support to candidates who are not familiar with the hiring process.

He also says it's important to work on issues that advance DEI. In Hopkinton, they've added "belonging" to the phrase DEI. [ Feels like "ubuntu" again… ]

He mentions the importance of employees feeling safe.
Next up, PFT.

PFT asks about regional problems (climate, transit, etc.) and NK's history working with @MAPCMetroBoston

NK Trained under the British system and under that system regional planning is the driver of planning.

NK gives the example of Veterans Services that are collaborative between Medway, Hollsiton, Ashland, and Hopkinton.

He notes also the failure to consolidate fire depts with Ashland that "came very close to the finish line," but failed.

And other examples.

QZ up, asking how NK navigated conflicts where he disagreed with the governing body (here the city council).

We have a notable 5-second pause before the response.

NK highlights the importance of democracy [which is a recurring theme for him, and getting buy-in and so forth].

e.g.: Community considering accepting through the selectboard a pledge on dievesity/antiracism/inclusion/and ???
SB was divided on how to proceed.

Some members interested in adopting the pledge verbatim.
Others interested in a much-more streamlined approach.

NK realized the focus was the Police Dept.
He offered a different perspective, broadened the message to govern the entire town's departments.
Highlighting values.

Values: "One Town, One Solution."

[ If this is NK's Kobyashi Maru, well, I guess he's not really a Bill Shatner. ]

[ I don't really think this is a good example of disagreeing with the governing body; it's rather about finding a path through a divided governing body, which is not at all the same thing. ]

That's all the councillors. SS solicits additional followups.

AM: Followup on BA's transit q. What are specific metrics for success?

NK:
1: focus on utilization. If we are providing trails[?], how are they being used.
2: Assuming the goal is more sustainable transportation, reduction in use of cars?

3: Social justice/equity, if the instrastructure provided allows for neighborhoods that would not have any form of transportation.
4/Last but not least: measure the impact on public health.

[ In many ways this feels like a suburban answer. It's not like we have areas without a form of transportation. Sure, West Cambridge doesn't have the subway, but it has buses… ]

BA: followup on EDS's DEI's q. Racial gaps and achievement gaps in schools.

NK: important to be intentional and have a clear understanding of the root causes of disparity.
Learned from Oxfam it is structural and systemic.

NK :Any effort to address the achivement gap, as far as education is concerned, that does not address housing, workforce development, provision of jobs, will not work — will not be sustainable.

[ This is a depressing statement, but perhaps it says something about why we have been so unsuccessful as a city in addressing educational achievement gaps for decades in Cambridge. This is not really my area of expertise. ]

MM You'd mention unhoused & transitional housing. Other ways?

NK Celebrate what I've learned about Cambridge so far.
You have a very strong, qualfiied, professional human services Dept.
Strategy involves UNLEASHING that institution to that constituency.

NK says many efforts in the past have been piecemeal, and a holistic approach is required.

[ @eugeniaschraa notes that NK is wearing a tie tonight.

https://twitter.com/eugeniaschraa/status/1532126855276466176

]

@eugeniaschraa NK's answer to MM continues on general themes he has offered before: communication, outreach, education.

NK's closing statement is up.
Professionally, he has Always Been Curious.

He talks about the ways Cambridge has led, in housing and climate and other ways.

Now up, Yi-An Huang.
He says to pronounce it /EON/.

SS's lead question: 2 minute intro and how to transition from healthcare into city administration.

[ If someone else can find a broccoli / 007 connection for YAH, I will be pleased. ]

YIH tremendous parallels between healthcare and city government:
Complexity of operations & delivery of services
budgeting/financials: services that may not generate revenue; investing in those most vulnerable

YIH: "I've also seen how much my experience & the challenges we faced are similar to the ones I hear in the city.

Goals, accountabiltiy, work plans, timelines.
General management functions v. effective in the organization that I'm in.
Similar aspects to how you build culture.

*YAH: "I feel like I could come in and work and have an impact immediately."

SS asks him to explain his titles at BMC (Boston Medical Center).

YAH is detailing his BMC resume/history & working on central strategy, then running administrative side of operating rooms, then retail pharmacies, then population/health analytics team, restructuring how health care is paid for.

Then as Chief Transformation Officer at BMC Health Plan.
Now back at clinical operational at the BMC.

We have EDS with a followup to SS's question.

EDS asks YAH to drill down on some of the titles and roles.
YAH offers somewhat of a decoder ring.

[ I'm not sure why this merits going out of order with such limited time, but hey, not my meeting. ]

BA with the transit question, asking for specific metrics along which we'd measure success.

YAH: We should be exploring more ways for the future of our city to be centered around walking, biking, public transit. Always be a need for people to get around by car—I have 3 children—

YAH: —the more we can make it easier for people to walk, bike, take the bus, the better our transportation city will be.
Really big impact on our carbon footprint and contribution to climate change.

YAH notes his commitment to "improved communication around the rollout" of bike lanes.
He cites the importance of the MBTA free fare pilot.

YAH says we should be planning ahead so we don't end up like a particular really slow bus in NYC. [I'm not sure of the reference, sorry. ]

YAH: "Measure how efficiently the buses are running.
I took the #1 bus from Central Sq to BMC for FOUR YEARS. It was slow at times. At times I could walk faster. And sometimes I did. Important metric for us to review.

YAH: "How long is the wait time? How quickly are they able to get where they need to go."

DC is up with his omnibus question about many disparate needs short/long term.

YAH: Many interventions that don't cost a lot of money but many do.
Our affordable housing investment is commendable.
A stewardship we should continue.
"There has been a lot of talk about the bond rating. We should steward that, BUT at the same time we're in a strong position.

What are our major priorities? Are the actions we're taking sufficent to accomplish those goals?
Manager+staff's job to figure out how we can resource those.

There will be tradeoffs. There always are.

YAH again notes BMC is a "safety-net hospital" (a term he has used many times), and the budgeting problems he faces, starting every new year in the hole.

A high level of focus is really critical to find the resources we need to accomplish our goal.

YAH: "Opportunites to be more efficient."
(done)

AM's up with a slightly altered version noting a difference in how we buy services. Her core question is how do we change how we use technology, hybrid work, telework, &c.,

YAH notes at BMC he transitioned to remote work overnight, and highlights the isolation everyone has felt.
But it's shown a hybrid/telework model is effective.
"We would not be on the leading edge of exploring that at this point. The state has done this, orgs have done this."

YAH: "Better because both you're able to get the work done. Better because able to retain staff, many w/ significant commutes.
Equity aspect: families, new mothers, women especially the reality is many bear the family burden.

YAH acknowledges Cambridge has done work on this
[but he sounds like he's prepared to be more aggressive. ]

MM up w/ the same income divide / tale of two cities question.

YAH: "I think there should continue to be an incredible focus on affordable housing. Help everyone in the city thrive.
Income inequality is a really challenging issue in Cambridge.
I would talk about a couple of different important parts of our community:

YAH: "Many unhoused: more different ways to provide supports.
More work for people living on the streets during very hot summers, cold winters.
Challenge: Behavioral health conditions and substance use disorders — ultimately clinical problems.

YAH: It is not realistic to provide those services to people who are unhoused. So transitional housing is necessary.

YAH: "You say it is a tale of two cities. I think it is only becoming more pronounced.
Employees, teachers, firefighters who cannot afford to stay.
Becoming the fabric of our city.
We need to consider how the city is creating the fabric of the city for people to stay.

YAH says we need to explore more owernship models, including limited equity co-ops, below-market rates. &c.

PN up with Specific, Measurable, and Time-Based [SMART] goals question. Provide a specific example and how you held people accountable.

YAH gives the same struggle with patient wait times (booking appointments very far out) example from last night.
"We did set v. specific goals and timelines. How long our waitlist was. How quickly we'd resolve. What an acceptable wait time was. We tracked on a weekly basis.

YAH says he had a dashboard that racked all those metrics, and set milestones, and sought a steady-state and set goals for that.

"This is an example where ultimately data is what matters. Having accurate data and tracking it."
YAH points out there's some "basic math" here.

YAH: "I would desire to bring a lot of that structure to many of the initiatives I think are running well.

Important that we are not as focused on process goals or # of meetings or reports or committees."

EDS is up.
[ She has terrible microphone discipline. We need better audio monitors and feedback. ]
Her question is about DEI and the Deputy City Manager.

[ Will YAH finesse this complex question as well as NK? ]

EDS has made the question a little easier to navigate this time.

YAH: First to the deputy manager, and then more broadly about DEI.
EDS: that works
YAH: DCM is very critical to the city. Leadership in management is a team sport. Look at how things get done, it is not one person. Important to share credit.
People doing the work shaping decsions

YAH: "Balancing the skillsets across your team. Personalities really important. Looking for somebody with municipal government and experience.
I am coming fro ma strong background of organizational transformation.

YAH: "I would want to have a right-hand person who has really understood the intricacies of municipal government, where we would really compliment each other."

On DEI, his current team is 50% POC, and it makes the team better. "That would be an absolute commitment."

YAH discusses systemic racism.
More nuanced, complex conversations.
Fundamentally uncomfortable.
Needs to be a willingness to have those conversations at the top of the organization; if you can't have them at the top you can't have them at the middle.

EDS followup: Would your office put in place a DEI plan that focuses on hiring?
YAH: Yes.

Next up, PFT with the regional planning question.
YAH: I have not had personal direct experience negotiating across state entities, but I have been in an organization tied to MassHealth and the policies that played out. Seen how we advocated and been in close conversations.

YAH acknowledges housing and other issues are ultimately regional.
"The thing that gives me a bit of optimism is we are seeing the state lean in more aggressively than I think they have in the last 5 years."

YAH notes there's a very important role for leadership here.

QZ up with is question about where the candidate disagreed on policy direction or strategy and how he resolved it.

YAH: I don't think I can recall specific instances of direct conflict.
SO THEN, I think in a healthy process, there is a conversation and a journey that we should be on together. Work with staff and the community to flesh out [ideas].

YAH: If there is a disagreement, there should be conversations. Opportunity to bring expertise, data, information. Ultimately I would respect the will of the City Council.
I would not view the City Manager role as one that would overrule or supersede the majority of the Council.

SS says 1 more Q and then the closing statement.
PN gets it.

PN followup to regional question.
Can you speak to experience during COVID working with entities across the state?
How it was resolved? Lead to changes? That would influence your work?

YAH: During the early months of COVID, at the Health Plan, I volunteered. Was leading COVID response.

Asked by the Mass Sec. of HHS to support COVID response across state hospitals.
How do build relationships very quickly, get people moving.

YAH: Experiences showed we could get things done.
All the challenges are civil service in different rules.
Definitely an experience that I would draw on.

Wrap-up:
YAH: Drawn to public service throughout my whole career. That's why you can see BMC leaning in on all kinds of issues from housing and homelessness to engaging with communities to prevention. Things beyond a traditional hospital. Made me excited about this opportunity.

YAH also cites his experience with operational transitions.
Cambridge is at "this potential inflection point."
City has done many things really really well and is strong because of it. But also facing really big challenges.

YAH couple of things really excited about:
• Bringing fresh perspective
• Greater ambition and urgnency
• Greater willingness to say we can do better & constantly improve
• Greater communication and transparency
• Greater focus on data and measurable results & accountability

YAH 2nd thing: I would bring experience leading large complex organization.

repeats from last night: not a 6 month learning curve. Come in and learn very quickly. Set up clear agenda, get to work delivering results.

THIRD: Focus on culture. DEI/antiracism a v. big part.

But also: how we collaborate across departments. How we resource and support our leaders.

Conversations about a vision for Cambridge…
I would be excited about a vision for the City that is Adapting and Evolving.
A City not a afraid to learn or make mistakes.
Always Improving.

YAH is done. We're now on a restroom break.

Incidentally, apparently there were FIVE finalists initially but one of them dropped out (leaving us with four).

Next up is Cheryl Watson Fisher, who is now in the chair.

We're up.
SS: 2 minute intro. Then: How will you transform your skills as an attorney and city solicitor to become City Manager. And address what would happen to your private law practice.

CWF: As an attorney, my skills are transformable to being a manager. I have to know what is expected from clients and express what my clients want and their results. An attorney does it every day. Honesty as to whether we can win a case — a manager has to be honest with you.

CWF: An attorney is open and honest about goals and doesn't usually make promises to make goals "quicker than they can be achieved."

CWF: Private law firm, it's no secret, my partner is former mayor Anthony Galluccio (@ADGitsme). We expect to close. My private law practice has been about family law, I don't do city work or the opposite side of city work. I do people work.

CWF: We know of each others clients (because of conflict-of-interest, we need to be aware), but we don't do each others work.

CWF met Galluccio in high school in Cambridge, 2 kids from opposite sides of town.

CWF: Chelsea is also a Plan E form of government, with a strong city manager, maybe stronger than Cambridge.
Every time a Dept. Head left, you go to the City Solicitor.
Most recently the HR department.

CWF: Most recently we did not have a head of Health and Human Services, and we were in the middle of a pandemic.
I was assigned to help the Board of Health through the pandemic.

CWF: Also, the city solicitor has to know what every department does, in order to defend them.

BA on future of transit. What are the metrics of success?

CWF asks for clarity on future of transportation?
BA says the Q is future of TRANSIT, but then cites biking+walking [,so I don't even know.]

CWF: More electric. Renewable and climate friendly. Jitneys that the universities use to move people around. Renewable, not just electric.

CWF: Metrics are easy: less excise tax means less vehicle.
Unfortunately they effect our budget.
When there is less diesel gas in the air, less diseases from fossil fuel.
Cleaner air to breath.

DC on strong fiscal position, unmet needs, (affordalbe housing, universal pre-K, open space, environmental infra.), how would you address each issue in the short/long terms?

CWF favors a district-by-district approach. [neighborhood-by-neighborhood I guess.]
"I'll be honest with you, probably every districut needs universal pre-K"

[ The implication that not all need open space? I guess so, although not DC's position really. ]

CWF I also think open space is lacking in certain districts, & it's more in 1 district vs. another.

Housing: should all be affordable. But district by district. I call it working-class affordable. 2-parent home, single-parent home, single perosn. How do we get it near transit?

CWF: If you can't get to a new job, you're not going to get a working class that can continue to work and make the waes to survive.

AM with the hybrid/telework/greater use of technology question.

CWF: So the pandemic made us pivot in the way we provide municipal services. Even as a city attorney, I had to become created. We had to find ways. It's a densely populated city. It's a low-income city where Internet technology is not [how people do their work].

CWF: I believe in working from home, but sometimes the public needs a face. They want to complain about the parking ticket. You listen to what their needs are.

Still a group of residents with language skill issues.
Sometimes that has to be in person.

I do think alternative work schedule, some staff prefers to work at night.
Public transit doesn't get you to city hall by 5:30 [pm].

[ Does Chelsea city hall close at 5:30pm? Cambridge closes at 5pm Tue-Thu, 8pm Mon, noon Friday. ]

CWF: you have to go dept-by-dept. Some departments are face-to-face, others [less so].

MM with the tale-of-two-cities and income gap.
Specifically touch on finding affordable housing.

CWF has always been a tale of two cities. I don't think it's something new. What's nice is we all do meet at that public high school.

CWF mentions limited-equity co-ops and co-housing (again).
"Now everybody loves food trucks, but that's something that was going on in other counties for years.
We need to embrace the change.
Other countries…family units…a little smaller than McMansions."

[ huh. ]

PN with SMART goals: specific measurable and time-based, a specific example, and how you held people accountable.

CWF: 1 example, we have had slumlords. In the Law Dept, building dept, housing dept, city manager's office, a problem properties' task force.
2 separate set of goals. Blighted properties & unhabitable.

So mold isn't part of the sanitary code, but there's moisture, a violation.

CWF: Measured goal: the tenants are back in their homes.

OK, this block is habitable, this block is safe, this block would have housing that anyone would want to live in.
We met monthly.
We had timelines.
Inspectional Services was out there, issue that order.

CWF: Within 30 days either corrected or a fine.
My goals are to respond as timely as possible.
How long does it take my dept to draft an ordinaince.
How long does it take my dept to get a recommendation.
I believe during the pandemic I was not as quick as they would have liked.

Now up, EDS. Diversity/DEI/antiracism and Deputy City Manager (DCM).

CWF obviously I am an intersectional leader.
I am a woman and I am a black woman.
Right then and there, I am different than any other city manager.
When you hire me, you've me the goal. You've put forth your work plan.

The Deputy has to also be part of your goals.

CWF cites other kinds of diversity, not just color: disabled, age bracket, socioeconomic bracket.

diversity in thought, diversity in actions.

CWF I didn't leave my job as Asst. City Solicitor in Cambridge because I was unhappy. I left for growth. I had the opportunity to be City Solicitor.

CWF notes that in Chelsea "we had one race." [ She talks about increasing diversity in, perhaps, a different way. ]

CWF: 'We always said "bilingual required." That alienated the black residents. That alienated the white residents in that city. We had to change the way we hired. We had to pivot.'

PFT up with regional planning experience.

CWF: It's intersting in Chelsea everyone wants to help us. MAPC is probably on speed dial not just with my office but Planning and Transportation.

We also use the [UMass] Collins Center to do a lot of audits of how we perform our job.

CWF: The stongest help was during the pandemic when the city of Revere and Chelsea procured a hotel and we housed people who needed to be quarantined during the pandemic.
We learned a lot of lessons.
Easy to put people there, but we weren't being culturally sensitive.

CWF We work regionally because we are in Suffolk County with East Boston [and Boston].
Neighbors are Everett.

Tons of grants out there especially for urban settings; we have a lot of low-income residents.
DHCD, we go to them for advice. The state gives SO MUCH advice.

Now QZ, times of disagreement between her and a governing board or supervisor.

[ I'm betting CWF has a better answer than YAH and NK did! ]

CWF: One of the more recent times I did not agree with the city council. The Council was taking their time on whether we should have a DEI department.

Everyone was saying Chelsea was diverse.
"We're not diverse, I'm the only black person in City Hall. That's not diverse!"

CWF: Instead of arguing with the city council in public, I just happened to have a group of residents do that for me. The Chelsea Black Organization, we have a Youth Alliance of Color in the city who care.

[ Well, that's not really the answer I expected. ]

CWF: I don't necessarily argue with the councilor as to politics.
But I live in Chelsea. If I have an issue I go to my district counselor. But that's as a resident. As a city solicitor I have an opinion and it's usually in writing.

We're done with the first round.
SS is inviting followup questions from councillors have have not previously gotten followups/2nd questions.
14 minutes left for CWF.

QZ asks about the law partnership dissolution.
Potentially ongoing relationships with former clients.
How do you think about that and potentially resolve?

CWF: A lot of my clients could be family members of friends and I have relationships.
I don't think there would be a conflict as being a city manager.
I have to provide equal access to me for everybody who is a resident or stakeholder.
I have to mange equitably/fairly/truthfully.

CWF: Do I think my relationship with Anthony Galluccio could be a conflict?
To be honest, I don't know who all his clients are. He is full time, I'm part time.
I'm his friend. But I have a lot of friends in the city.

CWF: But I had that when I was an Assitant City Solicitor.
But I won't have a financial conflict.

…
No I don't think there was a conflict. But there are plenty of Peak Residents in #cambma that are probably a lot closer to my business partner.

CWF: Anybody who has a connection to Cambridge will know someone.

PFT up next.

PFT what's your vision?

[ How is this not the wrap-up question? I don't get it. ]

CWF: Vision: A city hall that fosters participation and transparency.
Sustainable future.

"Bodegas and grocery stores affordable that we can all walk to and buy ethnic foods that we all need, and to cook with."

CWF: Education doesn't stop. pre-K. parents need to be able to have time to spend with their kids, to help with the homework.

My vision is again, not that everyone will be happy, but everyone will know where to get the help they need.
And we will provide those services.

EDS on school committee: Explain some of your familiarity with School Committee and how that all works and what you did in Chelsea that might help you here in Cambridge.

CWF: I became transitional school counsel.
BU managed the school districts. When BU left, we had a transition.
I want to the training.
Learned a lot about school law, it was not my forté previously.

CWF: I also became the Title IX coordinator. Equity, access, elimination of discrimination.
I've learned a lot.
Schools are so advanced on how to be responsive to transgender children, unisex bathrooms, …

…how do you teach children from different culture who have different languages at home.

Schools have far more restrictions on reaching their customers than I think do cities.

BA: Where would we look to build new housing?

CWF: Use parking lots.

[ Well, K2C2 had that. The process lead by Farooq a decade ago. And yet here we are, with only Starlight Square to show for it. ]

Incentivize height in downtown, near transit.
TIF — Tax Increment Financing — agreements.

CWF: Again, our districts. District-by-district.
Some homes, in other areas that aren't as densely populated.
Could stand a unit or two more.
Or a unit in the backyard, which I think we fought for years in this city.

SS: Closing statement

CWF: I think I've demonstrated as a city attorney in a city nearby I have the skills to manage a multi-generational workforce in a city that's diverse.

"I've done it.

I'm excited to be creative.

We have to PIVOT. I'm sorry but that's my word.

CWF: "But we have to modernize and be bold.
I'm confident this is the city to do it.

We need to make sure everyone has that opportunity.

Bring to the table this excitement around housing."

[ I feel like there were a hundred spots that could have been the end of this speech, but CWF keeps going, not hitting hard on any one ending. Interesting. ]

CWF: "I didn't get a question on the unhoused," but she adds it into her wrapup. It's not just housing services that unhoused individuals need.

CWF: "I'm the person to bring it to Cambridge. I manage employees. Difficult decisions. Was at Chelsea for 2 months, and had to let go a Department Head. There are things you have to do."

CWF is done.

Iram Farooq is up.
SS with the usual introduction question.

IF: It's a pleasure to back here.
This [room] feels more familiar, and like home [versus] last night.

IF says she's going to repeat her intro from last night, and she does so.

With respect to transitions, IF talks about how she was promoted from a planner to lead Community Development, and promoted over her then-supervisor.

"I've seen a huge amount of support for my candidacy in this role" from city Department Heads, she says.

IF foundation of progressiveness and progressivism and really aligning those elements with the city's core values.
Important to transition from our current way of functioning to really centering those.

IF: The other is long-range thinking. Right now we have a financial focus. A long-range plan is 5 years.

But as an urban planner, I look at 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, even beyond.

The decisions a city manager makes have to work for future generations.

BA with his question on future of transit, and metrics to measure success.

IF regardless of whether residents or workers, we all need to get around.
There are people in Cambridge like me who don't own a car.
Who get around by walking/biking/T.

IF: There are people who really need a car. Mobility impaired, people might have a lot of kids to transfer to different functions around town.

[ Wow, way to commoditize the units of human population there! ]

IF we're growing as a city but we have not reached our peak.
The more people who are not in cars— every time someone makes a decision to not be in a car, there is a motorist that benefits from that decision.
It's to everybody's benefit.
We have to be building the infrastructure.

IF: …while making sure those that need a car are still able to do so.

Metrics for success? One could be the percentage of people using different modes of transportation. Most defining: bringing down Single Occupancy Vehicle use.
Also greenhouse emissions as a metric.

IF: How swiftly traffic flows the intersections is also a metric it would be possible to use.

[ Yeah, but isn't it a BAD metric? ]

DC with his question: «How do you do stuff, short-term-and-long-term?»

IF: "Cambridge is in an enviable financial position.
Our bond rating is really important.
It allows us to do things that other cities can't.
Allows us to borrow significant sums of money."

It's like a family. It's like a credit rating.
Important to not let that slide.
Not driver

IF: "Infrastructure—I think that's the driver—and the financial foundation is in support of meeting those needs."

IF: "We could look at Alewife. Where we are trying to create a neighborhood that really feels like a place.
I would be prioritizing building the infrastructure first.

Whether that be the bridge across the railroad tracks.
Or it be open space. Or Terminal Road."

[ Well! ]

[ This is fascinating because those are really not the way that Community Development under Farooq has really surfaced. But I think, also, Farooq/CDD have been operating under serious constraints from the City Manager's Office.
Perhaps that's her point, but he isn't being direct]

IF says we do a good job with our streets-and-sidewalks plan (e.g. DPW capital budget), but we don't for other things. She references the need to invest in city hall.

AM's q about future-of-work.

IF "There's a real concern where staff is feeling undervalued. The pandemic has brought that into sharper focus more than ever before."

IF: "I also think that there's been a lot of learning during COVID. The fact that we were able to go remote and still meet all of the service needs of the community.

Why would we NOT do that?
To my mind — I wish we had a telework policy already.

IF: "I'm hopeful that would happen before the next City Manager comes on board, but if not that would be one of my first orders of business to transition us to telework."

IF is the first to mention George Floyd.
There's a lot of trauma. There's a workplace responsibility to support people in managing that trauma.
I tried to do that at CDD to have sessions to get together during the workday.

IF: Similarly the last 2 instances, Buffalo and Uvalde, we will be meeting next week — no, actually tomorrow.

It's important to learn to handle trauma in the workplace.

EDS tries to interrupt with a followup and SS tells her to wait. EDS ignores her and continues speaking, and SS quietly but firmly says we have to move on for now.

MM on tail of two cities.

*tale, even.

IF: housing, this is near and dear to my heart.
And we have such incredible services. Access to libraries, services.
But if you don't have housing, you're not in Cambridge, you have no access to those resources.

IF: It's really critical for us to double-down on all of our focus and investment in affordable housing.

[ Is this a commitment to double the Manager's budget contribution for Affordable Housing? I doubt it, but maybe? ]

IF says the other part of this is workforce training.
And I would want to work with [School Superintendent] Dr. Greer to figure out how to amplify this.

IF: We do need to broaden our focus.
We've tried an experiment, we've looked at a portion of inclusionary housing, in one building, to add supportive services. It's not a model that can easily be deployed broadly.

IF cites 116 Norfolk St. as a place where CDD will be trying a similar model of supportive services.

IF: "We need to make sure we don't lose focus."

PN: Smart goals.

IF: Let me give you two examples.

IF: 1) Goals developed through Envision Cambridge.
Two examples because it's early.
Goals to measure so we can figure out how to manage.

2) Another example, in a harsh way.
Had a staff member who was underperforming.
One of the most challenging things to do.
To establish a performance plan.
Sadly in that instance the person was not able to meet the indicators for success. I wish I had a more positive example.

EDS: DEI/Diversity/anti-racism and Deputy City Manager.

IF: I'll start with the broader question of DEI/antiracism in the workplace. You're all aware the City has creatined the Cambridge anti-racism inclusion[?] initiative.
Focused on leadership, hasn't been a good transition to the whole workforce.

IF: 2 years ago at Community Development we took the leadership principals form that process an designed a process to deploy those from top-to-bottom.
Started w/ an educational component, had consulting help.

IF: "The thing I've learned there is a lot of work to understand our own biases. To find comfort in our own identity, understand our privileges."

Then we translated that into actions.
And done work to create a community engagement piece.

IF talks about partnering with DHSP's community engagement manager to improve CDD's community engagement in a racially and socially sensitive way.

If: DCM is a critical hire.
I've benefited from 2 wonderful relationships.
Being the deputy under Brian Murphy, and then hiring Sandra Clarke.
She started off not being the typical candidate I would have expected. I framed it to match my strengths.

IF: Not a person we would have had at CDD.
"I wanted a person who would complement my skillset."

Now PFT on regional challenges and regional organizations like MAPC.

IF says she worked for the Franklin [County] Regional Council in Western Mass when she was a young planner.
IF: CDD is the department that works most closely with MAPC and the City's representative to MAPC is a CDD planner.

IF also talks about forming regional partnerships [with other municipalities].

QZ on conflicts with leadership.
[ I think IF does not have a dearth of these. ]

IF: I think maybe every single of the former City Managers at some point in time has referred to me as a "troublemaker."

IF: People have to be able to bring their best ideas to work.
Sometimes you have agreed with me, sometimes not.
E.g. green roofs, BEUDO.
That is the richness of working together, collaboration.

IF: I need to feel confident having honest conversations
so you can make the best decisions with with all of the information in front of you.

EDS's long-ago followup. It's regarding telework.
"How are you going to ensure equity?"
So it doesn't advantage upper management, middle-management. Other levels of workforce don't get that same opportunity.

IF "I actually really appreciate that question. It's something I didn't think about initially.
Because CDD is very-much a white collar environment.
But there are folks who have to show up to run an after-school program or trim trees. They have to show up."

IF: There is a difference between equality and equity. You know this. Some people work in an office behind a computer, others have to pick up garbage. Our jobs are not equal.
More flexibility than just remote work.

IF: Flexibility for somebody who has a job like mine means I can take a first call and then come into the office. Or maybe a day that I work remotely.

I would want to work with the departments who have staff who cannot work remotely to figure out what flexibility means for them.

IF: "We have to keep the full spectrum in mind, that policy needs to work for everybody."

SS invites IF's final statement.

IF: This is not something that I ever imagined as a career goal.

[ How can you be an Department Head or Assistant City Manager and not consider such a possibility? Huh? ]

IF: "What kind of city do we want to be? I feel strongly.
And from the profile, we need to be a city that is sustainable, livable, equitable, just, and resilient.

There are very few people who have devoted their careers and their lives,"

IF: "If you want somebody who is going to maintain the policies and practices of the past, then please don't pick me.

If you want someone who is going to completely disregard [them] and start from scratch, then please don't pick me."

IF: "But if you want someone who is going to build on the strong financial foundation that we have and the strong work that we have done across many disciplines, … then I am ready for that challenge."

Now we have Randi Frank who is asked to present the results of her reference checks.

Apparently one candidate had a speeding ticket "a long time ago."

Here's Randi Frank.
She's summarizing the comments from talking to references, beginning with Khumalo.

[ I'm not going to transcribe most of her comments. ]

"His biggest negative is that he doesn't take enough vacation."

Frank shifts to Huang, and his strategic leadership and his ability to synthesize information, move action to organization plans, knows how to measure success. Great listener. Very self-aware. Learns v. quickly. Always gone into new places and done wonderful.

[ No negatives! ]

Frank moves to Cheryl Watson Fisher, calls her "Cheryl."
Very practical, gets things done, amazing grasp of systems, holds people accountable, very forthright, plans projects. Approachable. Listens. project management skills are excellent.

More RF on CWF: Didn't have as much financial, but she's a quick study.
Wants to do everything herself.
Less prudent than she ever was, much bolder because of COVID.
She's very direct and will not sugar-coat.

RF now on IF: Professional, competent.
very collaborate.
Time spread thin.
Time mgmt is a problem when she needs time to carve out for thinking.
Not used to promoting herself.
Shouldn't be underestimated.
Force to be reckoned with.
No experience in public safety.

SS now invites questions.
EDS asks if the references were provided?

RF these were all ones that they gave us. Plus we did four more. I think we got 6 for everybody. [I'm not sure I understood that answer. ]

RF also notes that she did not do a CORI check, the HR department would have to do that.

Ms. Frank will also be in City Hall tomorrow and invites councillors to meet with her for one-on-ones. Not sure how that works w/r/t the open meeting law, etc.

Adjourned.