In the last round, only two minority finalistsemerged out of eight finalists and 176 totalapplicants. One minority of 11 was a finalist, outof 93 total applicants, for the post of trafficdirector. And no minorities were among the eightfinalists, picked from 43 total applicants, forassistant city manager for community development.

Recruiting and Residency

Cambridge's second "Affirmative Action Plan forCity Employment," drafted in 1991, calls foraggressive outreach and recruitment of minoritiesfor top administrative jobs.

"Meaningful recruitment is more than passiveadvertising in a newspaper or a public affairscable channel," the plan reads. "It is especiallyimportant to seek persons whose interests rest inpublic service or those who seek career pathswhere their skills...will be appreciated."

Yet minority residents interviewed said theydid not think the city's efforts to find qualifiedminorities are adequate.

"There are a lot of qualified minorities outthere and they just who is a Republican. "Whenpositions are being posted in the city, theyshould be posted in the minority community so wecan know they are available."

Asked to describe the range of recruitmentefforts the personnel uses, however, Gardner didnot cite very many. "We advertise in all the localpress and press that has significant minorityreadership," he says. "We send out notices tocommunity agencies announcing significantpositions."

"We encourage departments to do the samething," Gardner continues.

In addition, the affirmative action officewrites "letters to various city councillors" andmaintains a resource list more than 100 employmentand training agencies. Gomes says he is updatingand expanding the list to include more than 400.

Recruitment is often made difficult by thetechnical knowledge required for jobs such aswater or public works. In such departments,wide-spread advertising is sometimes impracticalbecause only minorities with specialized know-howcan apply.

"Some of these jobs are very specialized interms of the mix of experience and educationneeded for them," Gardner says.

Critics are calling for more aggressivetactics.

"They have to look at home-grown talent," saysOgletree, who spoke at the City Council meeting onMay 1 when the NAACP presented its demands.

"Students...have not found meaningfulemployment opportunities," he adds. "[Cityemployment officials] should be at the high schoolevery day and at area colleges, encouraging localtalent to stay here and take up localopportunities."

Thompson agrees, saying the personneldepartment's efforts have been at best onlyhalf-hearted.