Charles W. Marquardt is running for Cambridge City Council again this year, hoping to bring a different perspective to the race.

Marquardt, a local business owner and CPA, says he believes, now more than ever, that the City Council could use a different point of view, and is hoping to bring his own skill set to the council.

“My background is different than the other candidate’s backgrounds, I see a different part of Cambridge,” he says.

Marquardt’s business experience may be important to voters, as well. “A business background is key,” says Cambridge resident Cynthia J. Terwilliger. “I’ve seen Mr. Marquardt in the city council meetings. He really knows the budget issues and can speak to them.”

Marquardt foresees the next few years as ones of change for Cambridge, and says he feels that fresh leadership and new perspectives will help move the city forward.

Marquardt says he sees Cambridge as a rapidly developing city and wants to ensure that the evolution benefits the citizens of Cambridge, emphasizing that the change needs to respect the different cultures that pervade Cambridge’s neighborhoods.

“Each neighborhood has a style that I want to preserve and protect,” says Marquardt. “There are some neighborhoods that can take density, and some that cannot.”

Terwilliger, who lives in an area where there is ongoing development, says that she appreciates Marquardt’s commitment to work with the neighborhoods.

A key aspect of Marquardt’s campaign is dealing with what he calls the “unglamorous” aspects of the city infrastructure, such as the underground pipe system that deals with plumbing and water. Marquardt acknowledges that dealing with plumbing is not the most sensational aspect of government, but says it is a real issue within the purview of the City Council, and one that needs to be considered.

“City Council can affect sidewalks, underground work. It’s something they can actually do,” says Marquardt. “I want to simplify what the government does,” he continued.

As City Manager Robert W. Healy’s 30-year term runs to an end, Marquardt predicts that the task of appointing a new City Manager will fall to the City Council.

Marquardt plans to work with the other council members to create a description of the position of City Manager and cast a wide net to find the best person for the job. Marquardt also says that he believes it is an important part of the job of the City Council to make sure that the transition period for a new City Manager goes smoothly.

Marquardt points to the nearly $10 million settlement of the wrongful-termination lawsuit Malvina Monteiro vs. City of Cambridge as an example of a failure of the City Council to learn from its mistakes. The case took twelve years to resolve and was settled in August in favor of Monteiro, who said that Healey fired her from her position as executive secretary of the Police Review and Advisory Board after discovering that she was going to complain about racial discrimination.

The Monteiro Case sheds light on what Marquardt sees as one of the shortcomings of the current city council, who notes that he is frustrated with what he characterizes as the Council’s lack of self-reflection in the wake of the settlement.

“We have not yet had any discussion regarding what we learned and how we can change—it’s something you see in business all the time—we need to look backwards to see what went wrong, and then think about how can we apply those lessons to moving forward,” Marquardt explained.