It's really important for the next City Manager to have a regional outlook. Cambridge is tightly integrated with its neighbors in many ways, and the CM can't treat the city as an island.

Finding the balance of creating enough housing options to stabilize the rental and property markets while managing the "growing pains" that any city in this situation will inevitably feel.

Housing costs, childcare costs for kids 0-3, pedestrian safety, public transportation.

The City Manager needs to think about current city residents, as well as the people who would like to be city residents, but can't current afford it. As a world-class center for education and employment, Cambridge has a dynamic economy that's well-positioned to expand in the coming years, but the costs of housing and childcare have made it untenable for young families to move here. My spouse and I are in our 30's, have graduate degrees, and make a household income above the state average, but we're only able to afford a small one-bedroom apartment to raise our son in (which costs us $2600 to rent, and would cost us $600,000+ to purchase). If people in our relatively privileged position are still struggling to pay the basic bills required to maintain residence in this city, how many thousands of other hard-working, enthusiastic young people is the city shutting its doors to? How many people could make great contributions to the city, but won't even imagine ever being able to live here in the first place? What's the opportunity cost to the city for all of that lost potential? The City Manager needs to have a vision that includes these concerns, which extend beyond the city itself.

Commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the workplace

Identifying and implementing needed organizational change