Robert Eckstut
He/Him
- Currently
- Consultant, former poker player
- Election history
- 1st time running
He/Him
Housing policy questions
Housing policy questions
A few years after leaving professional poker, Eckstut said he worked on Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign, and later began consulting for progressive political campaigns in Connecticut and Massachusetts, focusing on state-level politics. He said he hopes to bring the progressive, anti-establishment politics espoused by Sanders to Cambridge, where he feels the city council is unresponsive to the sentiments of Cambridge residents.
Eckstut cited the council’s failure to pass municipal broadband internet despite broad support, and said they did not stand up to the city manager in order to push it through.
Oct. 29, 2021 — Muskaan Arshad, Elias J. SchisgallA few years after leaving professional poker, Eckstut said he worked on Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign, and later began consulting for progressive political campaigns in Connecticut and Massachusetts, focusing on state-level politics. He said he hopes to bring the progressive, anti-establishment politics espoused by Sanders to Cambridge, where he feels the city council is unresponsive to the sentiments of Cambridge residents.
Eckstut cited the council’s failure to pass municipal broadband internet despite broad support, and said they did not stand up to the city manager in order to push it through.
Some candidates, such as Robert Eckstut, said they are concerned about what they see as lack of accountability for the city manager. In the past, city council legislation has been blocked by the city manager, as with the council’s municipal broadband feasibility study in May.
"The city council can make recommendations, they can cut budgets in certain cases, they can make different petitions, but they’re actually quite weak," Eckstut said. "[The city manager] is the one who really has the power in the city."
Oct. 27, 2021Some candidates, such as Robert Eckstut, said they are concerned about what they see as lack of accountability for the city manager. In the past, city council legislation has been blocked by the city manager, as with the council’s municipal broadband feasibility study in May.
"The city council can make recommendations, they can cut budgets in certain cases, they can make different petitions, but they’re actually quite weak," Eckstut said. "[The city manager] is the one who really has the power in the city."
My number one priority in office stems from how our system of governance has functioned. We have a city manager who is chosen by the council and has full-scale authority over the city. This city manager has no legitimate checks to his power. What this means is that even popular policies — such as municipal broadband — have just died on his desk. In order to make any popular, positive, good-for-the-collective policies possible, we need to change into a mayor-council system, so that the council is empowered to do the work.
Oct. 21, 2021 — Community ContentMy number one priority in office stems from how our system of governance has functioned. We have a city manager who is chosen by the council and has full-scale authority over the city. This city manager has no legitimate checks to his power. What this means is that even popular policies — such as municipal broadband — have just died on his desk. In order to make any popular, positive, good-for-the-collective policies possible, we need to change into a mayor-council system, so that the council is empowered to do the work.