Marjorie 
Marjorie Decker is serving her 10th year on the Cambridge City Council. She is motivated by a deep sense of social and economic justice, strongly influenced by her upbringing. Marjorie's mother, Catherine Curley Decker grew up in Cambridge's Roosevelt Towers, worked for over 20 years with Cambridge elderly. Today, Catherine works with homeless families and helps substance abusers find detox programs. Marjorie's father, Tim Decker grew up on Western Ave and Washington Elms. He is a disabled Vietnam Veteran, who served two tours in Vietnam and currently lives in the Bedford, VA.
Marjorie, like her parents, grew up in public housing in Cambridge. Marjorie was the first in her family to graduate from High School, Cambridge Rindge and Latin. She went on to graduate with honors from UMass Amherst and delivered the commencement speech. In 2007, Marjorie earned her masters at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, focusing on Human Rights and Children.
After college, Marjorie taught first grade and was a special Education teacher with Teach For America, in Shreveport Louisiana. After returning home to Cambridge, MA, Marjorie was hired by the City of Cambridge to develop an afterschool/summer program in Fresh Pond Apartments for low income families. She went on to serve as a Legislative Aide for Representatives Ellen Story and Alice Wolf.
After working for many years in state government, Marjorie left to become the Executive Director of the Equal Justice Coalition, a state-wide advocacy program focused on increasing support for civil legal aid for low-income people. Marjorie worked closely with the Massachusetts and Boston Bar Associations to successfully increase state support for the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation.
Marjorie has an extensive background in running political campaigns. She managed State Representative Alice Wolf's first two campaigns and, in 2004, was tapped by the Democratic National Committee to step in and help refocus the State of Maine's organizing efforts for Senator Kerry's Presidential campaign. Marjorie's work resulted in the highest voter turn-our in Northern Maine-blowing away Republican operatives, who were quoted in the press as being completely caught off guard by the victory.
Marjorie is now in the 10th year (5th term) on the Cambridge City Council and served as Vice Mayor from 2004-2006. In 1999, Marjorie was the youngest woman ever to be elected to the Cambridge City Council and she remains 1 of only 13 women elected to city council in over 150 years.
Marjorie's work on the Cambridge City Council has been marked for its advocacy for social justice and empowering communities to secure resources that reflect their priorities. Marjorie has been a strong advocate for women's health in Cambridge. For the last three years, she has challenged the Cambridge Health Alliances decision to remove mid-wives from neighbourhood clinics with the highest percentage of low-income and immigrant women. Marjorie has been steadfast in her commitment to ensure that through the difficult financial times-the Cambridge Health Alliance, include its patients in identifying the health service priorities, resulting in the establishment of a neighbourhood advisory committee for one of its clinic and a Cambridge Health Alliance task force on Women's Health.
Marjorie's commitment to Cambridge Families and Youth is evident in her work on the City Council. While serving on the Cambridge Kids Council, Marjorie successfully initiated a Youth Committee and a Special Education Committee. The Youth Committee was created to provide a forum for young people to communicate with city policy leaders about their concerns and priorities. Until this was created, Cambridge had a policy board, overseeing the city's entire youth programming, with no young people involved. Over the years, this group has played a pivotal role in the Kids Council. In addition, to what they contribute to the city policies and programming, the program has been an invaluable vehicle in providing dozens of high school students the chance to be mentored and acquire leadership abilities, quantitative skills and public speaking opportunities.
The Special Education Committee was initiated by Marjorie when she learned that the city did not have a policy or a good history of supporting families, whose children had IEP's and SPED needs in our out of school/afterschool programs. This committee, made up of parents and policy makers, has resulted in the first ever city policy and protocol for integrating children with special needs into city run after school programs. The program also included additional training for afterschool teachers.
Currently, Marjorie is working with the city and residents, committed to climate protection, to engage Cambridge youth in monitoring the city's progress on its own climate protection goals. As chair of the Civic Unity Committee, Marjorie held a hearing to explore and brainstorm the possibilities to empowering and educating Cambridge youth to become agents of change in the climate protection/energy conservation movement. As a result, Marjorie is now working with the Cambridge youth centers, city staff, Cambridge residents and youth to develop an educational program that will enable Cambridge youth to monitor and report back to the city with updates on our progress to becoming a greener city, along with recommendations to further our progress.
Marjorie worked very closely with members of Al Bustan-a preschool based at 808 Memorial Drive. The preschool was faced with a 60% rent increase-just months before they were to be visited for accreditation by National Association for the Education of Young Children. Marjorie's work to help negotiate Al Bustan's extended lease shed light on the lack of pre-school options for Cambridge families. Recently, Cambridge lost the Agassiz pre-school, (an established and respected program) to the city of Somerville due to the increase in their rent and lack of space available in the city. Marjorie is chairing a series of meetings to evaluate the lack of available pre-school slots (both public and private) in the city. Working with coalition of parents, early childhood educators, the school department and the city-the goal is learn how we can value the importance of early childhood education and ensure there are enough accredited schools in Cambridge.
Marjorie is hosting a speaker's series for Cambridge City employees and residents, who are interested in issues related to parenting. Speakers will include authors, professors and providers from Harvard Medical School, Lesley University and Harvard's School of Education.
Marjorie understands the importance of providing Veterans and their families with resources and support. As chair of the Veterans Committee, Marjorie initiated and established a protocol at the Cambridge Health Alliance to help identify Veterans and their families and connect them to available resources through the city and states veteran's office. As chair of the Veterans committee, Marjorie sponsored legislation by way of home rule petition- that allows the city of Cambridge to continue paying city employees their full salary and accrued vacation time when they are called to serve in active combat duty. Marjorie has been a leader both locally and nationally, testifying before Congress on the cost of the Iraq war to the city of Cambridge, and speaking out against the war. As the daughter of a disabled Vietnam Veteran and a lifelong member of the V.F.W. ladies auxiliary, Marjorie has held a steadfast commitment to ensuring those who do serve in our Armed Forces are supported by their government. No other city in the country pays their employees full salary and accrued vacation time when they take a leave of absence to serve in combat duty. Marjorie knows that not only will some not return from war, but even those who do can be changed forever. They and their families deserve to resources to support them and time to reconnect.
In her ten years on the council, Marjorie has worked closely with workers, labor organizers and Cambridge business' to ensure that workers earn living wages, with health care and retirement benefits. In her first term on the council, she played a pivotal role in influencing Harvard University to provide a living wage to all of its employees. Marjorie has supported the organizing efforts at Bio-tech companies, candy factories, developers and often worked as a mediator between union and private companies-ultimately resulting in better working relationship for both parties.
Marjorie's skills a mediator have served to resolve in a number of conflicts over development, usage and a prioritizing of city resources. One of her most important contributions on the City Council was the lead role she played in supporting the Riverside neighborhood's negotiation with Harvard University, over the old "Mahoney's Nursery" site on Memorial Drive. Working with residents to empower them with information and leverage-resulted in a more appropriate scale development, hundreds of units of affordable housing and acquired river front open space-developed by the neighbourhood, deeded to the city and paid for by the University. This is just one of many examples where Marjorie's willingness to spend endless hours, listening to residents needs and concerns, negotiating with the city or third parties has resulted in stronger healthier neighborhoods.
Marjorie was the first woman to be honored by the Greater Boston Labor Council for her advocacy on behalf of immigrants and workers. She was the youngest woman to be inducted to the Boston YWCA's prestigious Academy of Women Achievers for her work on affordable housing and advocacy for her work on racial and economic justice. Prior to running for City Council, Marjorie served on the board of the Cambridge Anti-Poverty Agency (CEOC) and as a member of the Cambridge Peace Commission.
Most recently, Marjorie was appointed to the United Nations International Association of Peace Messenger Cites executive board. In this role, Marjorie has travelled around the world working to link issues of Mining exploitation in El Salvador, the plight of stateless refugee children in detention centers, and nuclear disarmament. She believes strongly that municipal officials around the world are an important link between the work of local communities, national governments and U.N. policy decisions. In any major catastrophe or act of war---it is local officials who are the first and last responders.
Marjorie believes that the city council is the most important forum to create a civic space for residents to communicate their concerns, articulate their opinions, express their points of views and identify their priorities on local, state and national issues. Unlike, the state Legislature or Congress-the city council chambers are the closest to where residents live and work and should be a forum to communicate to all members of their representatives in government.
Marjorie's most recent accomplishment includes learning to balance the role of first time mom with her work on the city council. While much of Marjorie's career on the council has focused on improving the lives of Cambridge families and children becoming a mom has only deepened her advocacy.
Click here to learn more about Marjorie's commitment to Cambridge in her own words.
