Somerville Mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay announced early this month that she intends to run for a second term in office this fall. Although only a handful of Tufts students will vote in the election, its outcome will affect the University, as Somerville politics have a great impact on the interactions between Tufts and its surrounding community.
Kelly Gay received much praise from University administrators during her first year as mayor, though her December decision not to allow the Boston Breakers women's soccer team to play at Tufts created some tension. The Breakers offered a generous package to the city and a vast majority of Somerville residents approved of the proposal, but Kelly Gay decided against the plan because of concerns over bureaucratic costs and the short duration of the team's stay in the city.
Kelly Gay, an Irish immigrant, came into office with an ambitious platform in May of 1999 and has worked toward many of her goals during her first year in office. To date, she is the only person running for the mayoral post.
Because members of the Tufts community spend significant amounts of time and money in Somerville, town-gown relations play an influential role in local politics. "It's the nature of colleges," Provost Sol Gittleman said. "Relations with the community always range through a whole spectrum, but they are as good now as they've ever been."
The last mayor of Somerville served five consecutive terms, so it early to evaluate Kelly Gay's relationship with Tufts. Kelly Gay spent much of her first term dealing with town issues that did not relate directly to the University, according to Tufts Community Relations Director Barbara Rubel.
"We had a lot more time to develop a relationship with them, so it's not possible, and probably unfair, to try and make a comparison [to the previous mayors] at this point," she said.
Even though Boston Breakers games would have benefited Tufts by providing an opportunity to upgrade facilities at Ellis Oval, Rubel said the matter was not critical to the University.
However, there are important Tufts-Somerville issues currently being discussed. One important matter under negotiation is an agreement wherein Tufts will lease room in the Tufts Administrative Building (TAB) on Holland Avenue to the city.
"We have responded positively to her about the lease at the TAB and hope that our responsiveness will be reciprocated," Rubel said.
Besides legislative matters, Kelly Gay has had contact with the University's student population, particularly with the Tufts Democrats group. The group is working with the Mayor's Office and the Board of Aldermen to plan an open forum where student involvement in local issues would be discussed.
"I have felt that the relationship has been much less strained with Mayor Kelly Gay than it was with Mayor Capuano," Tufts Democrats President Greg Propper said.
The purpose of the forum is to increase student participation in local politics by making students aware of the impact the community has on Tufts. "I would place a portion of the blame over what happened with the soccer stadium on Tufts students. We are not nearly as involved or active in local politics as we should be," Propper said.
Although the consensus among both students and administrators is that Kelly Gay has dealt fairly and openly with the University, there are some local politicians who have expressed discontent with her decisions and leadership style.
"Kelly Gay has a cut-down and dictatorial management style," Somerville Alderman at Large Denise Provost said.
Provost was displeased with the selection of various government officials for the town. In her estimation, Kelly Gay has chosen unwisely, specifically in the cases of the new Chief of Information Officer and the replacement for the dismissed Director of Youth Services.
Members of the Mayor's Office were not available for comment.
