Gates case puts focus on city’s leadership

Until this week, Simmons had been the only public voice rising from City Hall over the Gates case, where even outspoken City Council members have kept their silence as accusations raged.

But behind the scenes, it was Cambridge’s longtime city manager, Robert W. Healy, who teamed with the police commissioner and prosecutors to get a charge against Gates dropped, convene a review panel, and call a news conference to release the 911 tapes.

Cambridge’s public handling of the Gates controversy has put a spotlight on the city’s political system in which the city manager runs Cambridge’s administration and oversees its personnel, and the mayor serves as a political and ceremonial figurehead.

The government, which effectively has two leaders, is intended to keep politics out of the operations of government. But critics say it can also create a political vacuum and confusion when a crisis arises.

“We have no elected executive who can be easily identified as the source of direction,’’ said Richard D. Clarey, a Cambridge lawyer. “If this had happened in Boston, everyone would call the mayor. We don’t have an elected mayor here.’’

Peter Schweich, whose Cambridge Coalition for Representative Government has been urging an overhaul of the political system, said the current government system emboldens the city manager and renders the mayor - and the City Council she chairs - powerless.

“The mayor has no authority whatsoever,’’ Schweich said. “I think Denise is sensitive to race relations, and I think she really in some way calmed the situation. And I actually applaud her for making a statement. But the fact is the city manager is the conservator of the peace.’’

Some Cantabrigians say few elected officials in their city were prepared to stand the national heat over the Gates affair, though not Simmons, who is African-American and openly gay. When the news broke, Simmons appeared on CNN, CBS, and in major newspapers, urging calm and dialogue about race relations and the police.

“Nobody [else] was really ready for prime time,’’ said Priscilla McMillan, historian, writer, and Cambridge activist.

But by this week, Simmons - who had called Gates and Sergeant James Crowley to try to resolve the matter - seemed to fade from the limelight as Healy, took command.

Neither the mayor nor the City Council were part of Healy’s behind-the-scenes efforts - a development that irked some council members who pressed Healy at a council meeting Monday on why they were kept in the dark.

Neither Healy nor members of the City Council responded to calls for comment.

Some fault council members for not speaking out on the issue.

“The City Council, not the city manager, is elected to lead Cambridge,’’ said Charles Marquardt, a City Council candidate, “They have not.’’

In an interview in her office parlor this week, Simmons said she and Healy get along fine, though they don’t always agree.

“We both care about Cambridge,’’ she said.

Simmons said she serves as an advocate for the city and doesn’t feel slighted because she was left out of the discussions between Healy and Commissioner Robert C. Haas.

“This is a city where we all work together,’’ she said. “That’s how I would explain it.’’

The mayor also defended Cambridge’s government structure, which she said has been effective for more than 50 years. She said the City Council exerts its power by issuing legislative directives to the city manager, who carries them through.

“The city manager does not develop policy,’’ Simmons said. “The City Council does that.’’

Unlike in Boston, the City Council elects the mayor - a $105,000-per year post - from among its ranks. The mayor chairs the school committee and the council. The members of the council earn $70,329 annually and are elected under Cambridge’s proportional representation government. Under this system, voters can pick as many of the nine candidates they choose to and must rank their preferences.

The council also appoints the city manager. Healy makes $299,334 annually.

The only other Massachusetts cities that have mayor-city-manager system are Lowell and Worcester, said Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

Rachael Cobb, a political science professor at Suffolk University, said the proportional representation government encourages niche voting, which silences the majority.

Cobb, vice chairwoman of the Cambridge Democratic City Committee, is advocating for a two-party system of government that she says empowers voters and holds council members accountable to the public.

But Cambridge political commentator Robert Winters said criticisms against Cambridge’s government are unwarranted. He said the city’s leaders are well aware of their roles, and he hailed Simmons and Healy for how they navigated the Gates issue.

“We don’t generally get big national attention. . .,’’ said Winters, who runs the online Cambridge Civic Journal, which chronicles the city’s political activity. “When big news happens here, the twin towers - the city manager and the mayor - are the ones the people are going go to.’’

As the Gates issue fades after the president hosted Gates and Crowley at the White House Thursday, Simmons said there is other work to be done in Cambridge. For example, she’s moving full steam ahead to get a monument built in honor of Prince Hall, the nation’s first black freemason. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve as the mayor of the city that I’ve grown up in,’’ Simmons said.

Meghan E. Irons can be reached at mirons@cambridge.com.

Correction: Because of a reporting error, this story mischaracterized the stance of Rachael Cobb, a political science professor at Suffolk University and vice chairwoman of the Cambridge Democratic City Committee. While she recognizes the benefits of political parties, she is not an advocate for a two-party system in Cambridge.