I recently received a mailer from the Cambridge Citizens Coalition profiling its 11 endorsed candidates for election for the Cambridge City Council this fall. To be a well-informed voter, I decided to research each candidate independently to see if I would be interested in voting for them, and if I could trust the recommendations of this organization. While several of the endorsed candidates seemed like they may be reasonable neighbors, even if I didn’t agree with every one of their policy decisions, the words and actions of others were so off-putting that it would be very hard for me to consider voting for any of the candidates on the list.
The CCC has endorsed Robert Winters as a “civic leader,” but his history is troubling to say the least. His Twitter account is a compendium of far-right ideology. None of this is a mistake, he’s liked and tweeted hundreds of racist, transphobic, anti-immigrant, anti-abortion and other vile posts over the years. (I don’t have links to every post because he seems to have scrubbed his Twitter account of some tweets.) He says he’s a registered Democrat but proudly supported Charlie Baker.
He doesn’t much seem to like other Democrats. Or women in general. He called Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a “fascist-in-training” and Cambridge’s federal representatives Ayanna Pressley an “embarrassment” and is unhappy with Katherine Clark. He liked a tweet calling Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the first black woman to hold the position, the “dumbest” in history. It’s clear he has a problem with women in power, especially women of color. And religious diversity? He’s said that “Islam and democracy rarely mix well” and that he’d rather have a military takeover than Islam in power. It must be hard for him to live in Cambridge given that our mayor, Sumbul Siddiqui, is Muslim.
In 2022, he added a local drag queen event at the Cambridge Public Library to an online right-wing list, which caused the Cambridge police to have to use resources to keep Cambridge residents safe. He has interacted regularly with far-right groups online such as Libs of Tiktok. He’s even defended out-of-state far-right groups staging events such as the “straight pride parade” in Boston. His online presence puts him to the right of Ron DeSantis.
Yet the Cambridge Citizens Coalition is happy to endorse him as a “Cambridge civic leader.”
Others on the list aren’t much better. Take Carrie Pasquarello, whom the CCC endorsed for her “international work” (it’s unclear what this work is or how it is relevant to the city). Her online presence may not be as long, but where she does show up, it’s just as vile. She’s retweeted accounts called “Neo-Aryan” and liked many anti-LGBTQ tweets and anti-Muslim tweets, interacting with many pro-Trump, far-right online users. In a city where just 6.4 percent of people voted for Trump, the CCC is glad to endorse someone who almost certainly did.
Cathy Zusy has stayed quieter online, but she’s hardly in line with Cambridge values. While she may be a registered Democrat today, it was not long ago that she was on the other side of the aisle; she was a registered Republican in 2013 (and perhaps more recently). CCC seems happy with a slate with multiple right-wingers, which is not at all representative of the Cambridge I live in.
The other eight candidates? It’s hard to know. Do they hold similar views but just have quieter online presences? Are they going to work with our state and federal representation, or antagonize them? Or will they renounce their endorsement on this list and the CCC’s slate in general? I’m all ears.
The CCC advertised an event to meet this “remarkable group of candidates.” While I don’t know the political leanings of all of them, in the case of Winters, Zusy and Pasquarello, their views certainly are “remarkable” for Cambridge, or really anywhere within a civil society. I would urge the CCC to look closely at the candidates they have chosen to endorse, and consider the company they keep.
I, for one, will be looking at other candidates to represent me on the City Council.
Ari Ofsevit, Arcadia Street
A stronger
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Last election the group endorsed homophobes (and engaged in homophobic online abuse as a group: https://lorencrowe.com/part-3-a-fair-but-partial-account-of-the-cambridge-citizens-coalitions-activities-since-2019-6a312bd85455 ).
This election they are endorsing several bigots on several axes: Transphobia, homophobia, islamophobia, sexism, and racism.
Zusy also said of the Faisel killing that he should have stayed inside and “I think it was appropriate for the police to respond.”
Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that a group which represents the interests of wealthy property owners skews extremely reactionary?
I would find it hard to believe that the CCC didn’t know about Winter’s values before endorsing him as they have been called out for it before. I’ll take that as them having no issue with his thoughts. Any other Cambridge organization would have dropped him a long time ago.
On her YouTube channel Carrie Pasquarello interviews Sherrif Tom Hodgson, who she describes as “an amazing man… making the world a better place” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2KDFu6B4YU
That’s this person: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_M._Hodgson
Just as an example, he’s an advisor and vocal supporter of an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a hate group (he is in fact named in this article: https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/09/04/tied-tightly-trump-anti-immigration-group-fair-takes-capital-%E2%80%94-and-airwaves-%E2%80%94-once-again)
Truly saddening. Endorsing hatred and bigotry in our community. The accusations levied here are freely and publicly verifiable and irrefutable.
Congratulations to CCC on becoming the MAGA party of Cambridge.
@Ari Ofsevit, I am a candidate, one of CCC’s endorsees, and I am proud of their endorsement. Surprised by an orchestrated smear campaign against CCC and its candidates, your letter here, plus other non-productive activities, I am responding to you first and foremost that I am for a Cambridge that is inclusive and diversified. We run our campaign on issues relevant to Cambridge citizens, not for political correctness.
Cambridge is a vibrant city with many of us from international origins; therefore, slighting candidates for their international background is inappropriate. We are an inclusive city. Even if one candidate used to support a different political view in the past, s/he can work for the general public in Cambridge today and adopt a different perspective. I have not known Cathie Zusy for long, but from an in-person meeting with her, I can see she is a dedicated neighborhood leader who speaks elegantly on behalf of her supporters. You are welcome to meet with me and help me understand your view, but a call to ignore the issues our residents care about in an election is not a voice of reason.
Cambridgeresident, Itamar, Slaw- these attacks against CCC candidates look all the world like the kind of Trumpster MAGA vitriol being shoved at the world – hate spewing, misinformation, and misdirection. This kind of vile gaslighting in lieu of a real policy agenda is intended to veer people away from addressing the core policy issues at play in this election. The crazy Loren Crowe 2021 campaign hit job looks like an equally ludicrous fact-deficient move. I wonder if Cambridge Day isn’t also subject to some legal concerns if they are willing to publish libelous attacks such as this (many anonymously) and want to remain the newspaper of record.
I too found the individuals endorsed by this document distasteful, especially the one gentlemen pointed out. Additionally, some of the anti-bike rhetoric from these folks is absolutely astounding.
Makes me want to vote against everyone on this document.
“therefore, slighting candidates for their international background is inappropriate.”
No one did this. The criticism is for platforming fascists and outright bigotry. That is also not a “smear” it is publicly available information and the examples are cited.
“Even if one candidate used to support a different political view in the past”
This isn’t in the past. She retweeted Neo-aryan in august. These are very clearly beliefs she still holds.
“but a call to ignore the issues our residents care about in an election is not a voice of reason.”
That’s literally what you are doing right now over residents concern about bigots and fascists running for local office.
“Trumpster MAGA”
Incredibly ironic you are defending people against criticism of among other things sharing and supporting MAGA accounts by calling the people opposed to that “Trumpeter MAGA” Truly shameless.
“hate spewing, misinformation, and misdirection”
That is a far more accurate description of what CCC does than the critics. the only “gaslighting” here are those responding to documented evidence of extreme bigotry by pretending it just isn’t true.
“libelous attacks”
For something to be libel it has to be false. All the claims here are sourced and therefore easily proven to be true. Criticizing people seeking public office for things they have done publicly will never ever pass muster in a libel suit.
@Slaw, I recognize you. You are the person who wants to end Fresh Pond Golf Course, depriving 4,000 Cambridge resident golfers of their only golf course and claiming it would not displace anyone. I challenge you to use your real name and debate with me if you are a candidate. Inclusion means we should not tolerate hatred, yet your way of addressing it is more hatred. The article smears a slate of candidates passionate about top issues such as housing, bike safety, neighborhood preservation, education, and good government, yet you are using one point to throw mud at 11 candidates. If it isn’t smearing, I don’t know what is. Again, I challenge you to use your real name and debate me if you are a candidate.
“these attacks against CCC candidates look all the world like the kind of Trumpster MAGA vitriol being shoved at the world”
If we weren’t talking about stoking hate and putting people in danger, that sort of projection would be hilarious.
This letter makes me very sad. Aren’t we better than this in Cambridge? Some candidates, and very organized single-issue groups, are running scared and are seeking out dirt to bring down other candidates.
Robert Winters may be more moderate than many local candidates but he has done far more than all of them to advance Cambridge. He started our recycling and composting programs, is the longtime publisher of the online Cambridge Civic Journal, produces the Candidates Pages, the weekly show Inside/Out (about Cambridge goings on). He is our local expert who provides an historical perspective on Cambridge government—most recently about our City Charter—and, along with Cambridge Day, is our source for local news. Like CD editor Marc Levy, he does this as a volunteer. Robert is a thoughtful, highly informed person who would serve us well on City Council.
I have just met Carrie Pasquarello and don’t know her work intimately, but she has explained to me that her security work requires her to make social media connections with alternative groups. She needs to know what they’re saying and how they’re communicating. I know that she comes from a long line of local firefighters and policemen who have put their lives on the line to protect Cantabrigians. To write her off for her work is really wrong.
How strange to accuse me of not having Cambridge values. For twelve years, I’ve led the biggest park revitalization effort in the city at Magazine Beach Park. This has been an environmental justice project. My five years of work furthering the exterior restoration of St. Augustine’s, a Black church in Cambridgeport, has been a social justice project. I have befriended local treasures and artists Jeff Gardner and Peter Valentine and others, too, making sure that they had the services they needed. I have served on boards to support quality arts programming in our afterschools and, at Afterworks, an afterschool program that mostly served the children of new immigrants. And I have done much more. And because I work collaboratively, considering all stakeholders’ points of view, I get results.
I come from a family that for three generations has included partners who were Democrats and Republicans; and each generation has been very civically engaged. Dinner conversations were always civil and informed. They are, perhaps, what has kept me from politics all of these years.
I am interested in problem solving and advancing conversations: not in taking one stance or another. That is where we’re getting stuck locally and nationally.
I welcome a more civil discourse and City Council. Our challenges as a city, state and nation are too big for us to discourage strong, informed, civic-minded candidates for running for public office. Robert, Carrie and I are three of them and I know that, if you elect us, that we will do great things for Cambridge.
In Cambridge we should be able to look beyond differences and solve our problems together.
Note: I only know Ari Ofsevit as an avid cyclist and as the inventor of a novel solution for “the throat” at I-90, where the Grand Junction railroad veers off from the main line, complicating I-90’s rebuilding. I’m surprised and disappointed by his submission.
Cathie Zusy
http://www.votezusy.org
“You are the person who wants to end Fresh Pond Golf Course, depriving 4,000 Cambridge resident golfers of their only golf course and claiming it would not displace anyone.” I mentioned the idea once. I am not “the person” there are many people who would like that. see this article from a couple years ago: https://www.cambridgeday.com/2021/06/01/transform-a-golf-course-into-a-peoples-park/
I challenge you to explain how eliminating a golf course to add actual park space, and potentially some much needed housing (it is possible to do both there) would displace anyone.
“I challenge you to use your real name and debate with me if you are a candidate.”
I am not a candidate and I am not about to give you my name so your group can funnel hatred at me as your group has done in the past.
“Inclusion means we should not tolerate hatred, yet your way of addressing it is more hatred”
What hatred have I spread here? I have criticized specific things your group has done in public. These are relevant political issues in an era of rising reaction, trans antagonism, and white nationalism. If this is off limits of criticism you seek to silence public debate. You are the real opponent of free speech.
“candidates passionate about top issues such as housing, bike safety”
*Passionate about opposing housing and bike safety
fixed that for you.
“yet you are using one point to throw mud at 11 candidates.”
Notably it isn’t one point though it’s a documented pattern of tolerating and platforming bigotry from your organization. It’s a worn out pattern at this point not “one point.” If you will not distance yourself from people spreading nazi propaganda yes you deserve criticism.
No one in your group seems at all committed to honesty and you lash out at anyone who criticizes you. You should all be ashamed.
Cathie Zusy your defense of these candidates, depiction of regularly sharing fascist propaganda from libs of Tik Tok as “more moderate than many local candidates” and refusal to distance yourself from these public statements they have made illustrates that you support them. If your group cannot explicitly reject outright nazi propaganda you are absolutely not fit for public office.
“she has explained to me that her security work requires her to make social media connections with alternative groups” is a bullshit defense of retweeting literal nazi accounts. I know you don’t actually believe it yourself but I’m amazed you think that will convince anyone.
Your group lacks any shame. I look forward to you being roundly rejected by Cambridge voters in November.
Winters set up queer people in Cambridge to potentially become targets of violence, he has no place in office. If you don’t agree with that, neither do you.
How difficult is it to just denounce his bigoted statements? Why are CCC endorsed candidates defending him instead?
I wasn’t going to vote for Zusy anyway because of her policy positions and lack of knowledge about housing, but before reading her comments here I wouldn’t have put her in the same category as Winters and Pasquarello. Now I do.
Nothing in Pasquarello job made her *like* tweets from the various hate accounts she follows. Nothing in her job made her tweet, in her own words, warning about “illegals” looking to kill cops.
As for Winters, his twitter activity, including tweets and replies he’s made himself, go far beyond political “moderation.” Read them; they’re mean and, yes, hateful. The worst is offering up a Cambridge library event for children to Libs of Tik Tok. That was way way way over the line. Do you know who they are? They’re an actual, honest-to-goodness antiqueer hate group who have sic’ed hateful and physically aggressive anti-LGBTQ mobs on peaceful queer events across the country. The library needed a police presence to make sure kids were safe. I repeat: WINTERS PUT A TARGET ON THE BACKS OF CHILDREN ATTENDING A DRAG STORY TIME EVENT. That’s not hyperbole. That is a thing that he did.
Cathie, maybe you didn’t know that before, but know you do. It’s not in dispute – the tweets are there for all to see. Now that you do know, how can you be okay with that? It’s unconscionable.
I don’t put you in the same category because you used to be a Republican. That’s not disqualifying. I put you in the same category because you’re now defending hate and bigotry. That is disqualifying.
Cathie Zusy was a Republican as recently as 2013? Is the rest of the CCC slate supposed to distance themselves from her over that?
My non-Cambridge parents were Republicans in that era, although they switched after Jan 6. So, I’m having a bit of trouble summoning much outrage.
And a question: why is anyone taking the time to look into a candidate’s voter registration from a decade ago?
The fact that she was a registered Republican in 2013 seems a lot less relevant than the fact that she is going out of her way to defend those sharing outright nazi propaganda right now.
It certainly seems like these candidates need to explain their past statements which the letter writer suggests are pretty vile.
But that doesn’t change that I’ll vote for some of the other CCC endorsed candidates and a mix of others too.
To many of us in the LGBT community, bigotry directed at us is a core issue of the utmost importance when selecting a candidate.
Those of you saying this is a non issue should be ashamed of yourselves, but this behavior from CCC people doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.
Kudos to Winters for standing by his views, the real enemies of sensible people here are Williard, Wang and Zusy for not bothering to even read the letter and just ignoring the facts in front of them. Winters is proud of where he stands and you guys feel like he has to be defended against people pointing out his own beliefs?? That’s spineless behavior. We don’t need more politicians on City Council who live in their own made-up realities…
@cathzusy, on first reading this, I had the same reaction others had. I recognized that the other two candidates are incredibly out of the mainstream, but I said ‘so what’ that you were a registered Republican. Sure, it’s outside of the mainstream of Cambridge, and certainly shows your privilege, but it’s not disqualifying. I also think highly of your volunteer work.
But I am absolutely stunned to see you defend this obviously hateful behavior, and with such detail. Robert’s posts are not political ‘moderation’ and Carrie’s behavior is not corporate research. You are far too smart to believe either of those things. It’s depressing to see politics keep you from standing up for the right thing. Those with capacity and privilege have an even greater responsibility to be steadfast in defending the least among us. By instead speaking up to defend this hateful bigotry, you’ve lost my vote. I hope others will also take note of this disqualifying behavior.
@Slaw Since you are not a candidate, I completely understand that you want to remain anonymous. Whether I am a councilor or not, I want any of our residents to feel safe expressing their views and living in Cambridge. I hope you feel safe whether you disclose your identity or not.
For the issue you care about the most, “CCC stands with the LGBTQIA+ community’s fight for equality. We are committed to ending anti-LGBTQIA+ violence, bullying, and discrimination and to ensuring that LGBTQIA+ individuals are treated with dignity and respect in their communities, their workplaces, and their schools.” This is prominently written on the CCC’s home page. All candidates that I know support LGBTQIA+ communities. If we do not do enough, please suggest friendly ways for us to work together for it.
I applaud the peaceful demonstration yesterday near the successful event CCC hosted. We heard your voice, and all of us are for LGBTQIA+ communities.
Feel free to contact me or any of us about what we don’t know. All councilors must work with and work for you for Cambridge to be an inclusive city. For Cambridge to be an inclusive city, anyone can rise above any controversial comments or mistakes we make and feel we can still belong to our city and public service.
God bless us all.
Hao Wang for Cambridge City Council
https://haoforcambridge.com
If you all actually “ support LGBTQIA+ communities” you would be the first to disavow Winters and Pasquarello for their comments, call on CCC to rescind its endorsements of them, and call on them to apologize and make amends.
Instead you are here defending them from criticism and positioning this openly stated bigotry as “controversial comments or mistakes” to be risen above, despite neither even acknowledging the problem.
Again, if you cannot agree that this is disqualifying for public office you have no place in it either.
Hao Wang stop trying to indoctrinate Winters with your own “political correctness” listen to yourself and let him express his views, he does not support the LGBT++++ agenda that has become popular in Cambridge. Not all of us want to be “progressive” and he is not afraid to say it. Geez, the author is right that the CCC candidates aren’t looking closely at their fellow endorsees, didn’t think I’d ever say that, lol
I also saw evidence that your supposedly favored candidates said/tweeted things that might be regretful to many of you. However, I still want to include your candidates as well. Should they be elected, I look forward to working with them, too. You sound like a political activist, so you don’t have to vote for me if I cannot settle you down now. God bless you, too.
@Hao Wang present that evidence or don’t mention it. I’m sure whatever it is, assuming you actually have anything at all pales in comparison to setting up Cambridge children, librarians, and queer people to become targets of violence and sharing outright nazi propaganda. Those aren’t things that “might be regretful” they are completely disqualifying from public office.
And which candidates are you even speaking about? I’ve given no indication of my preferred candidates only that your slate cannot be allowed to hold power. You have done nothing to change my mind on that.
No. I will not share it so someone can stoke more hatred. I believe that as an inclusive city, Cambridge allows second chances for anyone to come back and serve, even if there were questionable communications in the past. Please vote for people you believe in, as I respect your right to do so. This is the end of my comments on this. :-)
So you are lying. If you had it you would present it, if you didn’t want to “stoke more hatred” you wouldn’t be making vague and unsubstantiated allegations.
:-)
I support everyone’s right to vote for whom they want, but I don’t support them sharing with others why they oppose certain candidates. Also other candidates are just as bad but I won’t say who or why. And we should forgive people who said and bad things because people can change, even if those people say they did nothing wrong and aren’t sorry. God bless you. :-)
Did I get that right?
@Jess. I remember you from our housing discussion. Thanks but no, you didn’t get it right. Please feel free to share with others who you oppose or support. Gandhi is my hero. He once said “An eye for an eye, the whole world will be blind.” Let all of us rise above the individual mistakes, true or false, and tackle our collective issues at hands.
Hao Wang for Cambridge
https://haoforcambridge.com
To the other CCC candidates who commented above: the bigotry displayed by Winters and Pasquarello doesn’t necessarily reflect on CCC and you guys — yet. But now that you’ve been presented with the evidence, your actions going forward matter. And so far, all I’m seeing is a defensive closing of the ranks that amounts to tacit acceptance of said bigotry.
Ms. Zusy, I do appreciate that you actually went and asked Carrie Pasquarello directly about this, but it is deeply disappointing that you seem to have accepted her flimsy explanation. Yes, following certain accounts to keep tabs on them is plausible. But did you even bother checking the evidence for yourself? Pasquarello didn’t just follow those accounts: she liked, replied to, and boosted their content in a way that clearly indicated she had no issue with their views, and in fact often agreed with them.
Pasquarello has deleted several offending tweets in the last day or so, so she’s clearly aware that her coziness with the MAGA crowd will not be well-received in Cambridge. Robert Winters on the other hand has just doubled down; notably, in his blog post yesterday, he does not deny that he made/liked the tweets in question, he just thinks they weren’t controversial, which is truly mind-boggling.
I’d like to remind you that there are very few bigots out there that would admit to their bigotry, or even consider themselves as such. Do you believe the people who sent transphobia-driven bomb threats to Boston Children’s Hospital (https://www.boston.com/news/crime/2022/11/16/boston-childrens-hospital-bomb-threat-gems-program-gender-multiservices-anti-trans/) thought they did anything wrong? No! By dehumanizing those they target, such as equating trans people to pedophiles (as one of Winters’ Twitter likes very literally and unambiguously did: https://web.archive.org/web/20230927163922im_/https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fj8SO-9XkAYdMab?format=jpg&name=large), they also cast themselves as being completely justified in all their hateful actions.
Finally, your longstanding acquaintance with Robert Winters prior to being informed of his Twitter activity does not automatically mean you are tainted by association, but at the same time, it also doesn’t serve as any kind of proof of his innocence. Same with your more limited acquaintance with Carrie Pasquarello. I doubt that you have had in-depth discussions with them on any topics that would have revealed their problematic views to you, because the context and scope of your interactions of them would be narrowly limited to the issues that the CCC is focused on. And of course they are perfectly normal and polite when interacting with you, because you are not part of the groups they are prejudiced against! This is when you need to step back and listen to those affected, instead of assuming your own experiences are universal.
If you become part of city council, you’ll have to weigh in on various issues where multiple sides will all be trying to convince you to see things their way, and all presenting themselves in the best possible light. Will you accept everything you are told at face value? Will you just side with whoever seems the most personable and nice to you? Or perhaps whoever your friends say you should? I would really like to see more critical thinking and principled action on your part.
“ Let all of us rise above the individual mistakes, true or false, and tackle our collective issues at hands.”
Transphobia, Islamophobia, and racism are collective issues at hand. As is rising fascism in this country and the world. The way you and others in your slate continue to downplay these important issues so you can focus on opposing housing and bike lanes is disgusting. You have absolutely no sense of priorities and are blinded by your own privilege.
You are not living up to Gandhis legacy by misusing his quotes to oppose the fight against injustice. Gandhi did not hesitate to call our British imperialism because criticizing oppression isn’t at all equivalent to enacting it (as you repeatedly imply). Those criticizing winters are not directing violence at children, librarians, and queer people the way he did. There is no equivalent at all between these things. No “eye for an eye” at all. If anything the criticism has been incredibly tame by comparison and at the protest on Sunday only CCC members had to be escorted away by the police for placing their hands on people.
You are doing to Gandhi what the white moderate has done to King. You are misusing his legacy to undermine the people actually upholding it. As king said: “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice”
By condemning the criticism of these actions but notably not the actions themselves you are doing the exact same thing.