Cambridge City Council moves into executive session to strategize on city manager negotiations

On Jan. 27, 2025, the Cambridge City Council voted 6–0, with three members recorded as absent, to enter an executive session "for the purpose of conducting a strategy session in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel, specifically the city manager."

The session was called during a special meeting convened by the council’s presiding officer under authorization in Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2023 adopted by the Massachusetts General Court and approved by the governor, which permits remote participation. The council opened briefly for public comment, heard that no members of the public had signed up, and then voted to close the public-comment portion before moving into closed session.

Councilor Toner made the motion to go into executive session; the motion passed on a roll-call vote of six in favor with three members absent. The council announced that it would not reconvene in open session afterward. Outside counsel Elizabeth Valero, City Clerk Diane LeBlanc, Deputy City Clerk Paula Crane and Special Assistant to the City Council Naomi Svan were listed as attending the executive session with the council.

No substantive discussion of the negotiations occurred in open session, and the council took no further public action on the record before adjourning to the closed meeting. The council did not provide additional details about negotiating positions or timelines during the public portion of the special meeting.