The Decisive Votes

Councillor Tim Toomey and Mayor Michael A. Sullivan, who could not be reached for this article, have said they don’t support the ban because they fear it would cause negative economic repercussions.

The two decisive votes—Simmons and Galluccio—have more complicated concerns.

Although the two other members of her party—the liberal Cambridge Civic Association—have signed on as ban supporters, Simmons has said that she would only support the ban if it were modified to include clear rules for implementation.

Unless punishments or fines are clearly stipulated, small businesses could be hurt, Councillor Simmons says.

“Will businesses be cited or penalized or fined if there is loitering outside their establishment? Will they be cited or penalized or fined if there is rubbish outside their establishment? I don’t want businesses to call me and tell me they’ve got a $150 fine because of noise,” she says.

She says she’s worried that restauranteurs might face a double hit: the loss of smoking patrons and steep fines because those who do come might noisily loiter outside or leave behind cigarette butts.

“I have some real concerns about the adverse impacts on small business,” said Simmons, whom herself runs an insurance company. “As an owner of a small business myself, I can attest to the fact that there will be some impact.”

Simmons is quick to add that she personally hates smoking, particularly because her mother, a longtime smoker, recently died of esophageal cancer.

But as of today’s meeting, she is not ready to vote for the ban.

Galluccio, too, says that he is holding out for a compromise on the ban.

Galluccio says that he would support a statewide ban on smoking, but does not want to support a ban that could put Cambridge bars at a disadvantage to nearby bars in Somerville and Watertown, where smoking is still allowed.

“I have particular concern for the small restaurants and bars that have been the ethnic and cultural meeting places,” Galluccio says. “I don’t want to see them take a hit because of the competitive disadvantages.”

For now, Galluccio says, he could support a ban which made allowances for “small levels of smoking in some cases.”

Like other observers, Galluccio doesn’t foresee passage for the ban as it stands now.

“I don’t think there are votes on this council for the language that is proposed,” Galluccio says.

—Staff writer Alexandra N. Atiya can be reached at atiya@fas.harvard.edu.