Hogg: Kelley does not exploit fear

What I hear behind Jeff Melnick’s “Why I can’t vote for Craig Kelly” is an assumption that the average resident’s concern with crime in our neighborhood is somehow “classist” or elitist. And that’s alarming because it stifles action.

If Professor Melnick knew Craig Kelly as well as he claims to, he would have understood that Councilor Kelly is not the kind of guy who manipulates fear or who is not actively “serving those young Cambridge residents most likely to face street violence” — on both sides of Rindge Avenue.

As co-chair of the City’s Community Response Task Force, the councilor has provided welcome information and advice, which is what all constituents should expect of him. Given the many hours that Councilor Kelly devotes to youth, education, and community issues, the professor think again about accusing him of being a purveyor of “second-hand reports” and describing him as a manipulator.

Charlie Hogg