The Cambridge City Council passed a policy order adding a provision to Cambridge’s Municipal Code explicitly restricting the use of tear gas in the city, while also voting down an order that would reinstate capacity restrictions for indoor dining in restaurants.
Following a tense debate at last week’s council meeting, Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler presented new ordinance language explicitly banning the use of tear gas and other chemical agents by Cambridge government entities including the Cambridge Police Department. Other cities including Berkeley, Calif. and Philadelphia already passed tear gas bans, and Boston and Somerville, Mass. are set to do so as well in the coming weeks, according to Sobrinho-Wheeler.
Several Cambridge city councilors said they were frustrated with the delayed response from the cityâs legal department regarding a total tear gas ban at a Monday meeting.
The Council discussed draft ordinance language surrounding the prohibition of tear gas use by the Cambridge Police Department. Though CPD has not used tear gas since 1972, its use is not explicitly banned.
Police Commissioner Branville G. Bard, Jr. said at the meeting he is currently pursuing a tear gas ban via the implementation of an official department policy.
âWe found some tear gas in our inventory and destroyed it,â Bard said. âWe have no tear gas on hand, we don t authorize the use of it, and I have no problem with totally supporting a ban on using tear gas.â
Cambridge City Councilors voiced their frustration over a months-long delay in addressing two amendments to campaign finance regulations at an Ordinance Committee meeting Monday.
The first proposed amendment originated as a policy order in October 2020 and sought to restrict campaign donations by people “seeking to enter into a contract, seeking approval for a special permit or up-zoning, seeking to acquire real estate from the city, or seeking financial assistance from the city.”
This ordinance amendment was based off of Somerville’s campaign contribution ordinance “Pay to Play” and also includes language from similar ordinances passed in New Jersey.
The second proposed amendment would restrict annual donations to any individual candidate to $200 per person and was referred to the Ordinance Committee in November.
UPDATED: Jan. 20, 2021 at 5:40 p.m.
During a tumultuous four years under the administration of Donald Trump, local leaders have dealt with the fallout of how its policies trickled down into the lives of Cambridge residents. While Covid-19 and economic fallout raged nationally, the cityâs top issues â small business erosion, food insecurity, and homelessness â have all been exacerbated.
Now, as President-elect Joe Biden is set to take office, he has proposed lengthy plans to tackle the nationâs crises. Looking ahead, Cambridge leaders said they have both hopes and demands for renewed local support under a Biden administration.
Under Trump, the Cambridge Community Foundation, a public charity that funds nonprofits around the city, transitioned to devoting its funding to combat the effects of the administrationâs âregressive policies,â according to its president, Geeta K. Pradhan.