Casola, director of the Fresh Pond Tenants Association. “Mr. Hall is the type of candidate that would bring

a lot to the community. We need a candidate that is sensitive not only to the

diversity of community but the different issues that arise.”

The Common Man

Hall, 51, graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Boston in 1983.

Running for the council for a second time, Hall is campaigning as a member of the Republican Party, the party he says “offers the message of everyday men and women.”

From the T-shirt and New York Fire Department baseball cap he sometimes wears, to the name of his local television show, “Common Perspective,” Hall’s campaign embodies that philosophy. Hall describes his run for the council as a grassroots campaign, one not affiliated with traditional political associations. For that reason, Hall has not sought political endorsements.

Now a business consultant and event organizer, Hall says he hopes to convince more businesses to set up shop in Cambridge.

“There’s a lot of talented business folk in these apartments,” he says. “But there isn’t enough business for them in Cambridge.”

A former employee of the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Development, which oversaw development in the North Shore area, Hall says he is a “fiscal conservative.”

“I want to prioritize money where it’s supposed to go—make sure it’s

being spent right,” he says.

Hall also says he wants to see a greater link with local universities.

“I want Harvard University and MIT professors to share with the community and give up time” by meeting with local cultural associations, he says. “It only takes 20, 30 minutes to talk to people, and then I could record it and show it on my TV show.”

But while Hall faces an uphill fight against more established candidates such as Brian Murphy ’86-’87 and Simmons—the two challengers considered the most likely to be elected to the council—Hall says his campaign will have been worthwhile in any case, because political representation for Rindge residents does not seem so far away now.

“Even if I don’t get a seat, I’ve already won,” he says. “Whether we win or lose, we know we’re in the game now.”