Dan Totten2023 Candidate for Cambridge City Council
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1. Experience with Cambridge nonprofits. Do you have work or volunteer experience with Cambridge nonprofits?
Yes. Personally, I am proud to serve on the Solutions at Work advisory board. Solutions at Work is a nonprofit dedicated to breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty; they are most widely known for developing the Green Street Shelter which has become an indispensable space where unhoused residents can live in a low-threshold environment while receiving extensive wraparound services and care. It is a wonderful model and I am excited to be able to work with the team at Solutions on the prospect of expanding this model to an additional facility.
Over six years as the aide to Councilor Zondervan, I had the privilege of working with countless nonprofits across the city in a range of ways. For example, Quinton and I were pivotal in arranging some of the early conversations that led to the preservation of 99 Bishop Allen Drive as a home for community non-profits such as Cambridge Camping and BARCC.
During discussions about how ARPA money would be allocated, Quinton and I demanded that the city fund the various non-profits that had applied including Cambridge Community Center, Transition House, Food for Free, and Green Cambridge. I was essential in securing these commitments behind the scenes, and I am very proud of the tangible improvements that the money will deliver for our community: facilities improvements and expanded programming for our most vulnerable residents.
Finally, Quinton and I worked deeply with community non-profits on policy development. For example, the amendments to the affordable housing overlay were carefully crafted with non-profits like Just-A-Start and HRI at the table. These amendments will increase the number of low income people who can live in our city - an absolutely life changing endeavor.
Over six years as the aide to Councilor Zondervan, I had the privilege of working with countless nonprofits across the city in a range of ways. For example, Quinton and I were pivotal in arranging some of the early conversations that led to the preservation of 99 Bishop Allen Drive as a home for community non-profits such as Cambridge Camping and BARCC.
During discussions about how ARPA money would be allocated, Quinton and I demanded that the city fund the various non-profits that had applied including Cambridge Community Center, Transition House, Food for Free, and Green Cambridge. I was essential in securing these commitments behind the scenes, and I am very proud of the tangible improvements that the money will deliver for our community: facilities improvements and expanded programming for our most vulnerable residents.
Finally, Quinton and I worked deeply with community non-profits on policy development. For example, the amendments to the affordable housing overlay were carefully crafted with non-profits like Just-A-Start and HRI at the table. These amendments will increase the number of low income people who can live in our city - an absolutely life changing endeavor.
2. Valuing nonprofit expertise. Cambridge nonprofits deliver programs and services across a wide range of missions, from early education and youth development, to affordable housing production and management, arts and culture exposure and education, food security, environmental preservation, civic engagement (or community involvement), and much more. As a result, nonprofit leaders and staff are often well positioned to advise the City on program policies related to their clients and consumers. Will you use your position on the City Council to ensure that the City incorporates the voice and expertise of nonprofit leaders into planning around current City priorities?
Yes. I think the city is so deferential to for-profit corporations that it often disregards the on-the-ground expertise impacted community members bring to the table. Of course, nonprofit leaders are typically amazing advocates for these impacted community members, and so I firmly believe that the the best policymaking happens when nonprofit leaders are at the table and taken seriously.
I completely understand why you are asking this question because I have witnessed firsthand how this too often goes wrong. The Mayor’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Homelessness met for an entire year and produced a report that contained perspectives of CNC-affiliated organizations (CASPAR and MAAP, for example). However, almost two years after those recommendations were released, the city manager has yet to act on them and some councillors are now calling for an entirely new task force as if the first one never even happened. I am really frustrated by this and my #1 priority is to demand that the city manager implement these recommendations by expanding low threshold emergency shelter, hiring wraparound case managers, establishing permanent supportive housing, opening a day shelter/drop-in center, and creating a municipal voucher program that expands on Section 8. We need to value the expertise of the impacted community members, CNC-affiliated nonprofits, and other experts by moving forward with local tax dollars.
In terms of more generally increasing access to affordable housing, I am very proud to have played a major role in drafting the recent amendments to the Affordable Housing Overlay in close partnership with affordable housing providers including CNC-affiliated Just a Start and HRI. These amendments will increase the number of low income people who can afford to live in the city - truly a gamechanging proposition for those of us who value racial, economic, and ethic diversity. I know that at least one of your member organizations (CCC) has deep concerns with this proposal, and I hope you will encourage them to try and see things from the perspective of someone who cannot afford to live in the city.
I strongly support universal afterschool and see this policy as essential to addressing racial and economic injustice in our schools. Last year the city turned away 500 families who requested an afterschool slot, including almost 100 low income families. This is a huge burden for those families financially and otherwise. I see universal afterschool as a necessary companion to universal pre-school, which is at long last going to happen. We have the resources, let’s get it done!
I completely understand why you are asking this question because I have witnessed firsthand how this too often goes wrong. The Mayor’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Homelessness met for an entire year and produced a report that contained perspectives of CNC-affiliated organizations (CASPAR and MAAP, for example). However, almost two years after those recommendations were released, the city manager has yet to act on them and some councillors are now calling for an entirely new task force as if the first one never even happened. I am really frustrated by this and my #1 priority is to demand that the city manager implement these recommendations by expanding low threshold emergency shelter, hiring wraparound case managers, establishing permanent supportive housing, opening a day shelter/drop-in center, and creating a municipal voucher program that expands on Section 8. We need to value the expertise of the impacted community members, CNC-affiliated nonprofits, and other experts by moving forward with local tax dollars.
In terms of more generally increasing access to affordable housing, I am very proud to have played a major role in drafting the recent amendments to the Affordable Housing Overlay in close partnership with affordable housing providers including CNC-affiliated Just a Start and HRI. These amendments will increase the number of low income people who can afford to live in the city - truly a gamechanging proposition for those of us who value racial, economic, and ethic diversity. I know that at least one of your member organizations (CCC) has deep concerns with this proposal, and I hope you will encourage them to try and see things from the perspective of someone who cannot afford to live in the city.
I strongly support universal afterschool and see this policy as essential to addressing racial and economic injustice in our schools. Last year the city turned away 500 families who requested an afterschool slot, including almost 100 low income families. This is a huge burden for those families financially and otherwise. I see universal afterschool as a necessary companion to universal pre-school, which is at long last going to happen. We have the resources, let’s get it done!
3. Limiting application of Anti-Aid Amendment. With the exception of contracts for services, the Anti-Aid Amendment of the MA Constitution prohibits municipalities from directly distributing funds raised through taxation to nonprofits. While the City provides financial support to nonprofits through contracting, this approach increased administrative burdens, can cause cash-flow issues due to payment delays, and limits creativity in developing new funding opportunities. It also can create an incentive for the City to start new initiatives rather than invest in programs already well established in the community. Will you use your position on the City Council to limit the application of the Anti-Aid Amendment to tax generated revenue only, in order to maximize the resources available to Cambridge nonprofits?
Yes. Of course I would insist that the city refrain from applying the Anti-Aid Amendment to revenue streams that are not subject to the state constitution. I am not a lawyer, however I believe that the longtime city solicitor had held a more conservative interpretation of the law than other nearby municipalities had been relying on…so it will be interesting to see where the new city solicitor comes down on this, but in the meantime we continue to have to point to examples from other cities where they were able to move past the Anti Aid Amendment on something that we are told is unconstitutional. For example, Boston has begun spending approximately 10 million of local tax dollars on a municipal voucher program. It has been hinted, though not specifically opined, that such an endeavor could not be found to be unconstitutional in Cambridge. Often we have to think creatively about solutions to the crises and injustices of our time, and that must involve eg a more liberal interpretation of the Anti-Aid Amendment. Finally, I think that whenever money not subject to AAA falls into our lap (such as ARPA), priority should be given specifically to desired initiatives and programs that are decidedly not allowed under AAA. That’s why I was so excited about the $22 million spent on a guaranteed income program through ARPA. And countless nonprofits benefitted or will benefit from allocated ARPA money as well, of course.
4. Attending to nonprofit workforce challenges. According to CNC's December 2022 survey of Cambridge nonprofits, (70%) reported open positions and over a third (36%) said they lacked the funding to fill them, comprising their ability to meet service demands. Do you believe the City Council can play a role in helping nonprofits recruit and retain high quality staff?
Yes. I think positions aren’t being filled often because the wage isn’t competitive enough. For example, it is widely known that CASPAR shelter workers at 240 Albany receive the minimum wage - a starvation wage in Cambridge - for doing some of the most challenging work in the city. The council has repeatedly called on the city manager to work with CASPAR to raise those wages so that it will be easier to attract high quality staff. Because CASPAR has struggled to find a qualified pool of applicants, they often are forced to keep staffers who they might otherwise be tempted to let go - for example there was one situation in which a Black shelter resident reported that a staff member had used the N-word to her face…but the staff member was retained because there was nobody else to do the work.
In fact, I support raising the minimum wage for city employees, including people employed through contracts for services with nonprofits, to $25/hour. There are also other jobs that are slightly above the minimum wage but that also deserve an increase. I don’t think the city’s Living Wage Ordinance has kept up with inflation and the city’s exorbitant cost of living. We need to do more to encourage careers in public service, including at various non-profits engaged in contracts for services with the city, and that starts by raising wages.
In fact, I support raising the minimum wage for city employees, including people employed through contracts for services with nonprofits, to $25/hour. There are also other jobs that are slightly above the minimum wage but that also deserve an increase. I don’t think the city’s Living Wage Ordinance has kept up with inflation and the city’s exorbitant cost of living. We need to do more to encourage careers in public service, including at various non-profits engaged in contracts for services with the city, and that starts by raising wages.
5. ARPA investments in nonprofits. While Cambridge nonprofits are grateful for the City committing millions of ARPA dollars to local organizations, concerns have been raised both about the slow pace of releasing funds into the community and a lack of information being shared broadly regarding their progress. Will you use your position on the City Council to expedite this process and ensure there is greater transparency going forward?
Yes. I think it is unacceptable that one year into the tenure of City Manager Huang, we have received basically no updates on who has/hasn’t received funds and how the final dollars will be allocated. Is this just happening in secret behind our back? There is a lot of money that is unaccounted for. I think the current co-chairs of the Finance Committee should be encouraged to hold a committee meeting to receive such an update from the city. But ultimately, this one is squarely on Yi-An…who has been extremely opaque in his dealings around ARPA. I also think that not enough of the money has been allocated towards homelessness, for example MAAP and other advocates submitted an ARPA proposal that was not funded. If the CNC ends up receiving discretionary funding as part of this, I hope that they will strongly consider using their discretionary funding to advance the MAAP et al. proposal that was largely ignored in 2021-2022.