Marc McGovern has been caring for community and should be reelected to council in November
I met Marc McGovern several years ago at a political gathering. As I was chatting with him, I mentioned that I was having issues with my landlord. I had been without heat for two days in 13-degree weather in December, and it was a Friday and had been told it wouldn’t be fixed until Tuesday. Marc jumped into problem-solving mode, and it was a great relief that he did. He gave me several city resources to deal with both the heat and the landlord situation, and then said, “here’s my personal cell number – if you need help over the weekend anytime, please call.” I couldn’t believe that a city councilor was willing to help me at a moment’s notice on a Friday night.
But that is Marc McGovern. He is a social worker by trade and by heart. During this past year and a half he has been taking care of the most vulnerable people in our community: the unhoused, those getting evicted because they can’t pay rent, those who are experiencing food insecurity and those who were in financial crisis because of losing a loved one to Covid.
Marc is the only mental health care worker on the Cambridge City Council and these past 18 months have shown us how much we need and rely on the health care workers in our community to get us through. I urge you to vote for Marc #1 on Nov. 2nd.
Elizabeth Baldwin, Massachusetts Avenue
It is good when City Councillors go the extra mile, and I understand why you support Marc McGovern. However, the way he talks and writes about people who disagree with him helps to divide Cambridge, not unite us. For example, more than 600 people signed a petition about not constructing a 9-story building at the corner of Walden and Massachusetts Avenue, a height well above what is allowed by the Affordable Housing Overlay. Marc McGovern’s response was to call all of us who differed with him “unconscionable,” meaning unjust or without a conscience. That is not the way public officials should talk about reasonable people with a different point of view. Others feel the same way as I do about this; for example, see this letter in Cambridge Day: https://www.cambridgeday.com/2020/12/21/for-the-best-project-at-2072-massachusetts-ave-sides-need-to-respect-each-other-communicate/
…yep…o.k….he’s a good guy….:-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc0_Xnvl3t4
Nobody is all bad, but nobody is all good, either.
The problem many have with McGovern is that once you disagree with his opinion, he absolutely becomes divisive and then accuses all who differ with his aspect on any subject are immediately labeled as “unconscionable”.
The 9-story building proposal at Walden and Mass. Ave. is a perfect example of this.
Another example was the original Affordable Housing Overlay. Anyone who objected to having their zoning rights negated and changed in the name of an “affordable housing” project bordering on their property, was immediately labeled a “NIMBY” and against all affordable housing.
The fact that many property owners were NOT against affordable housing, but rather in favor of sensible and appropriate affordable housing that also took into consideration green space, parking, structures that were similar to the housing already on the street and neighborhood, public transportation, floodplain concerns, power availability and sewage concerns, did not matter to McGovern.
If it’s up to McGovern, it’s his way or the highway. These are, unfortunately, the trademarks of a bully, and not of compassionate and bold leadership.
You are one of the lucky ones McGovern has helped over the years, even finding housing for a purported staff member before those waiting in line. The points made above I can attest to. If you are not with him, you are against him. he and his supporters are masters at branding opponents as racists, elitists, exclusionary, NIMBYS. He is fast-talking and clever, knows how to use social media and yes… is divisive. He knows how to work the system and the city manager.
You are one of the lucky ones McGovern has supported favorably behind the scene, but the points made above can’t be ignored. A politician represents ALL RESIDENTS not just favorable voters, something McGovern often forgets when he is pushing his agendas. It is true that if you are not with him, you are against him and as a master of gamesmanship and manipulation, he can incite his supporters into doing his divisive work for him. Thus, opponents get branded on twitter as racists, elitists, exclusionary, homophobic NIMBYS on line with a “like” from particular councilors. This is shameful representation.
Fear-baiting rears its ugly head when it comes to much needed housing and he is in a lofty position on the Ordinance committee, which he co-chairs with Dennis Carlone, a real city planner and architect. The Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO), which McGovern proudly sponsored, was one of the most divisive and vitriolic policies ever enacted. Now, many of the holes are now being plugged with additional petitions coming from his supporters. One (the Crowe Petition) calls for the elimination of conservation districts so vintage houses can be torn down for tall incongruous residences. No design, planning board or citizen review with teeth. The original AHO respected those historic areas which use guidelines for building and renovation. He touts the number of new affordable units created by the AHO a year after it was passed when there is no mechanism to measure such a claim- and most of the housing units were already in the pipe line before AHO passed. Beware, a new petition calling for a do-over by raising stories in neighborhoods from 4 stories to 6 stories, and buildings on the travel corridors from 8 stories to 13 (re-writing the ordinance) to force an unpopular tower on the corner of Mass Ave and Walden Sts. Is one against affordable housing if a nine-story building has only having ONE ELEVATOR? Or is built on a flood plain in other areas? Does safety matter as long as it’s housing? This is supported by the McGovern-championing political PAC ABC, who advocates build-baby-build at any cost. But I digress….
Councilor McGovern intimidates and subtly threatens, he favors particular groups and seems to have long-range plans without considering current consequences of his play book. Anyone but him in office.