By Pete Corbett

Chief Michael Etchu, a former tribal leader in Cameroon who is now a member of the board of directors at Clarendon Hill Towers, spoke at the May 3 Somerville News contributors meeting.

The Clarendon Hill Towers is a complex that houses more than 1,000 people, with 501 residential units and 68 offices.

Etchu referred to the Towers as, “the most beautiful buildings in Somerville.”

In 1986 Etchu emigrated from Cameroon, where he was a tribal chief, and has been living in Somerville for the past 12 years. He has been a resident of the Clarendon Hill Towers for the past nine years, and was elected to its board in 2005.

Etchu works for the Firearms Licensing Bureau of the Somerville Police Department. He said his department processes 30 to 65 firearms permits a week, which then sends them to the Department of Homeland Security. He said, “90 to 95 percent of firearms permits in Somerville are approved.”

Etchu decided to run for the board while he was living in the Regency Building, one of the buildings in the Clarendon Hill complex. Etchu said that at that time, when there were issues that were reported to the building management, such as cockroaches, it would take days to get a response. This spurred his interest in helping his neighbors by running for office.

Etchu says there are still issues at the Clarendon Hill Towers that need to be addressed, such as the ongoing vandalism problem in the parking lots. He said the Towers management is at fault for cutting back on the manpower budget. Etchu wants to “analyze that budget, add surveillance cameras, stop loitering, and end people’s worries.”

Etchu is one of the commissioners for the Multicultural Affairs Commission, a group that helps assist and promote harmony between immigrants in Somerville. Etchu said he helps newcomers to the country by informing them of ways to save money. He said Western Union cheats customers out of money, something many don’t know when they try to wire money to family members back in their country. He also said he meets with the Human Rights Commission and the Somerville Police Department once a month to help in efforts that regard immigrants.