Cambridge mayor’s controversial ‘See Me, Hear Me’ summit officially postponed

It’s an event that’s been mired in controversy, but the See Me, Hear Me summit has been pushed back until the fall later this year.

The office of Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett, who helmed the local summit, said in a statement that the delay is due to “unforeseen staffing issues.” It was originally scheduled to run from April 25 to 26.

The event is said to have been created as a way to address and discuss the ongoing issues around homelessness, drug use, and mental health issues throughout the region, and to focus around the families that have been impacted.

However, the event was met with controversy once the guest list was unveiled. The main headliner was said to be Michael Shellenberger, an author, blogger, and former journalist who wrote a book titled San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities. It goes into detail on what he calls “woke ideology” at the centre of the crisis.

“When I first started reading his book, I thought, ‘Oh my god, this guy really knows what he’s talking about,'” Liggett said previously. “I wanted somebody to come who would be able to speak about the families that he writes about in his books.”

The mayor said the primary focus for the event is on the families battling through mental health and addiction issues, adding that Shellenberger’s personal experience and prior interviews made him an invaluable asset for the summit. She said it provided an outlet to better detail the stories and hardships of those who have been directly impacted.

“I think, as I’ve been saying, their voices get lost repeatedly, their voices get lost, and my summit is about this. I was looking for people who could speak about their research and their interviews with these families, and he (Shellenberger) is one.”

Representatives from the Canadian Mental Health Association, Cambridge Memorial Hospital, and the Cambridge Food Bank were also said to be in attendance.

The Cambridge mayor would go into detail on some of the matching ideals between herself and Shellenberger, saying the bad examples of drug use and homelessness in the region have made it increasingly more difficult for further progress. She said more needs to be done on the enforcement side to better curb the issue.

“Some of these people are just troublemakers. They’re in there to cause problems,” said Liggett. “It’s that enforcement of the laws that are already on the books. Our society has now gotten to the point where people don’t believe that laws are going to be enforced, and I find that troubling.”

Her office has said the “See Me, Hear Me” summit is still set to move forward but will now be run later in the fall. It said it will provide “a new date shortly as we work to reschedule speakers and panelists and appreciate your continued support and understanding.”