Announcement of the fifteen members of the Charter Review Committee, which should begin its work in August

Fifteen members of a charter review panel were announced by an ad hoc selection committee on Friday: Kaleb Abebe, Jessica Dejesus Acevedo, Mosammat Faria Afreen, Kathleen Born, chair of the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority board, Harvard professor and former associate planning council member Nikolas Bowie, Kevin Chen, Max Clermont, Jennifer Gilbert, Kai Long, manager of Atwood’s Tavern and chairman of the East Cambridge Business Association Patrick Magee, Mina Makarious, former deputy city manager Lisa Peterson, Ellen Shachter of Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services, Susan Shell and Jim Stockard.
After passing ballot initiatives that won a majority of votes in November, the committee is expected to take up to a year to review the city’s Plan E charter, hold community forums and gather feedback before recommending changes to the City Council which they “believe will improve and modernize the structure and governance of Cambridge”, the selection committee said. The first meeting will take place at the beginning of August.
Any recommendation accepted by City Council will be put to the voters in a municipal election before it is adopted.
All members of the charter review committee are registered Cambridge voters, as required by the charter, and “reflect the diversity of Cambridge”, the selection committee said.