Here’s who’s running in Somerville’s City Councilor-At-Large race on Tuesday – Wicked Local
Election season is fast approaching. With an impressive lineup — four candidates for mayor, eight for city councilor-at-large, 13 for City Council, and nine for School Committee — the upcoming September preliminary and the November elections are shaping up to be a solid fight.
In case you haven’t been following along with the elections, this is the breakdown of who’s running in the race for councilor-at-large.
Each candidate was asked to answer the following questions. The people listed below are those who completed the questions. These are their responses in their own words. Responses have only been edited for newspaper style and not content.
Below are the questions and a corresponding number, which the candidates’ responses will be identified with.
(1) What do you see as the big issue facing Somerville that needs to be dealt with in the next few years? What other needs have gone unmet that you think need to be addressed?
(2) What is your vision for Somerville?
(3) Why should people vote for you? What skills, knowledge, experience, and talents do you possess that will benefit the city if you are elected?
(4) Just for fun: What was the last book you read?
Kristen Strezo
Profession: City Councilor At-Large
Have you previously held public office? If so, what position and for how long: Yes, I currently serve as a Somerville City Councilor At-Large, and I have held that office for a year and a half.
(1) As a single mother who lives in affordable housing, I have experienced the urgency of Somerville’s widespread affordability crisis firsthand. We must increase the stock of affordable housing units – particularly 3- and 4-bedroom and ADA-accessible units to accommodate families and residents living with disabilities. I am committed to guiding the Somerville Community Land Trust into reality, expanding support of the Office of Housing Stability, (and increasing interpretation services), and fighting for Somerville’s transfer fee.
In addition to affordable housing, I have been working hard to get residents the best support in the workforce including expanding support in the workforce. We need to expand childcare options for Somerville families and workforce mentorship opportunities.
As I have focused on building Somerville out of the pandemic, I’ve been frustrated that climate change and climate justice has had to take the back burner as we needed to address more immediate needs spurred by COVID-19. Yet we see the urgent state of the climate crisis does not grant us this luxury. Moving forward, I will continue on climate change head-on.
Since before I stepped into office, I have been fighting for sound barriers along the I-93 corridor to protect our low-income neighborhoods in Wards 1 & 4, which experience disproportionate noise and air pollution. I am committed to ensuring that Somerville is carbon neutral by 2035. We must do all that we can as a city to combat climate change from divesting from fossil fuels and increasing the tree canopy to exploring a city-wide composting program. Creating green jobs depends on an established care infrastructure to support workers – including childcare and mentorship programs – that I am actively pursuing in the economic recovery plan that I introduced in February of 2021 (the Women’s Proclamation).
(2) We are a diverse community of 81,400 residents. This is about all of us, and we have to make decisions together. I envision a collaborative Somerville in which all residents feel empowered to speak up and bring their voice to the decision-making table. At a time when polarization has obstructed progress in our nation at large and threatens to interfere in our community, including all residents, communities, and voices have never been more critical. Our community faces a climate crisis, intense risks of displacement, housing inequality, racial injustice, and gender inequity, all of which have been further exacerbated by the pandemic.
Reach out to me – I want to hear from you. Your voice matters to me. You can reach me at 617-209-9915 or strezoatlarge@gmail.com.
(3) I’m about action, not words. A quick search of my council board orders, resolutions and community work proves that I’m here to get things done. I was sworn-in during a pandemic — with vast, immediate needs all around me — and I got right to work.
Into the next term, I have the lived experience and the proven leadership to guide Somerville out of this pandemic. Throughout my life, I have navigated issues of affordability and equity that currently challenge our residents — as a single mother who could not afford childcare during the pandemic, as a resident of affordable housing, and as a woman who stepped away from her career to care for my elderly grandmother. So. like many other residents and families, I have had to make difficult decisions to stay in my community.
I am so happy to call Somerville home, and my lived experience informs how I lead. As chair of the Housing and Community Development Committee, I have kept affordable housing on the agenda every month. I fought to expand the housing staff in the Office of Housing and Community Development to support the increased housing needs during the pandemic. I introduced a resolution drawing attention to how the pandemic adversely affected women – who are predominantly in retail, food service, and hospitality industries – and called for increased support for women- and POC-owned small businesses, the expansion of childcare, and new racial justice initiatives.
With a new mayoral administration and half a City Council turnover coming up in the next term, my experience will be critical to ensuring that we continue on progress. I laid the groundwork for progress on equity, affordability, and accessibility in my first term, and I’m just getting started. There is so much that we can do together.
(4) I just finished “Women, Race, and Class” by Angela Y. Davis and am currently reading “Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg” by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik.
Justin Klekota
Profession: Vaccine Researcher
Have you previously held public office? If so, what position and for how long: I’m currently the ballot-elected Democratic State Committeeman representing the Second Middlesex District which includes Somerville and neighboring communities.
Website: https://electjustin.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Justin-Klekota-for-Somerville-City-Council-110083713907570
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKlekota
ActBlue: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/electjustin
(1) The recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that global temperature increases are accelerating underscores the urgency with which Somerville and Cities worldwide must transform our economy to be free of fossil fuels: the next few years will be critical to Somerville meeting its carbon emissions reduction deadlines and we need to elect experts to our City Council to help our city plan and deploy green, emissions-reducing technologies.
We also need to prepare our students and workforce for the green economy of the future. This means expanding public education to guarantee after-school programs and life-long training opportunities for in-demand job skills as we transition to a greener economy.
In addition, affordable housing remains a large unmet need in Somerville. Housing costs have continued to rise in Somerville and construction of new affordable housing units has been limited. In order for our city to afford more affordable housing construction, we need to grow our business tax base to cover the added expenses associated with the city services, schools, and supporting housing infrastructure. We also need to take a comprehensive approach to affordability that includes low-income, subsidized housing and family-accessible units, so working and middle class families are not priced out of Somerville. By scaling new housing construction together with new commercial lab space, we can meet our growing housing needs and fund it through a stable business tax base.
Lastly, the pandemic has exposed long-standing inequities in our public health capabilities and worker protections. We need to invest in preventive medicine including continued vaccination programs and guarantee every worker a $15/hour minimum wage, earned sick time, and paid family/medical leave.
Somerville needs a future that is healthier, greener, and more just.
(2) Somerville is facing unprecedented challenges in the pandemic that threaten our public health and economy, compounded by the long-term challenges of the climate crisis. We need to vaccinate our community, reopen our economy safely following the science, reduce our carbon footprint, and increase our business tax base to fund our schools, city services, and housing affordable to all.
Our community and our entire world face a historic challenge to reduce our carbon footprint. Massachusetts passed a new climate law this year that will help bring us to carbon neutral, and I did my part to make that happen working with activists across the Commonwealth.
The Massachusetts Climate Law gives our cities the opportunity to lead. This means that Somerville needs to transition to 100% carbon-free, renewable energy and that every vehicle and building in the city transition to electric. Somerville needs to lead the way to convert all city-owned vehicles and buildings to electric by 2030.
We also need to increase open and green space citywide and reclaim valuable street-side space for outdoor commerce and the arts. This would drive our economic growth, create accessible infrastructure to support pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit, and protect our public health.
We also need to attract businesses in life science and green tech that would bring new jobs and business tax revenue to Somerville to fund our schools, city services, and housing that’s affordable to everyone.
Lastly, we need to prepare our students and workforce for the new green economy. This means guaranteed after-school programs for our student population and training for in-demand job skills at our new high school in the evenings. We can achieve greater economic equity through educational excellence.
Somerville should lead by example in its transition to a greener economy. Let’s create that healthier, greener future together.
(3) As a climate advocate, vaccine researcher, and your Democratic State Committeeman, I’m ready to help Somerville combat the pandemic and the climate crisis. My decades of experience through local progressive campaigns and my professional experience including degrees in four sciences have prepared me to serve our community.
For two decades, I’ve been part of our community as a renter, homeowner, vaccine researcher, climate advocate, and your Democratic State Committeeman. It would be an honor to serve you as Somerville’s next City Councilor At-Large!
I grew up in a blue collar community next to an affordable housing development and moved to Massachusetts seeking education and economic opportunity. I’m a grandson of a farmer and a union steel worker and son of parents who were the first in their families to go to college. Since completing my doctorate at Harvard, I have committed myself to medical research.
Over the past twenty years, I’ve been proud to be part of our community in Somerville, and I’m proud to have helped transform our politics to be more progressive. I’ve been part of some tough campaigns against far-right extremists, who threatened and intimidated voters, including people of color and members of the gay community. During one Election Day, I was even physically threatened by a far-right extremist and I stood my ground. We’ve come a long way, and I am proud of our political transformation in Somerville.
I also reached out to nearly 20,000 people in our district by mail, social media, phone, and door-knocking in support of the Green New Deal for Massachusetts, and together with activists across the Commonwealth, we lobbied successfully for our new Climate Law.
My proven commitment to a healthier, greener, and more just future spans decades, and I ask for your vote to build that future in Somerville together.
(4) “Get Out the Vote! How to Increase Voter Turnout” by Alan S. Gerber and Donald Green
Jake Wilson
Profession: Journalism & Non-Profit Management
Have you previously held public office? If so, what position and for how long? No.
(1) Somerville has been great about talking about housing affordability and instability, but less great about actually addressing the issue. Too often we’ve seen rhetoric and finger-pointing, accompanied by small-scale initiatives. We need to be doing much, much more.
I’m also concerned that the debate about the best approach to criminal justice reform locally has resulted in a loss of momentum around this issue, and I want to make sure this doesn’t end up on the back burner.
(2) As a city, we have to make sure we’re living our stated values of diversity and equal opportunity. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth the fight. Because everyone should feel good about who they are and where they come from, and everyone deserves a level playing field.
A government should improve the lives of its constituents. Ultimately, I believe the people of Somerville want elected officials who will listen to them to understand the issues that impact their lives, then work together to solve these issues. Whether we’re talking about housing affordability and instability, equity and inclusion, criminal justice reform, or how we improve our infrastructure, get around our city, or raise and educate our kids, actions will speak louder than words.
(3) As your Councilor-at-Large, I’ll be accountable to the people of Somerville — not outside groups or parties. My leadership and votes will always have the best interests of the people in mind. I’m a tireless worker, and I’ll treat representing you as the full-time job that it should be.
I believe in a data-informed approach to creative problem solving. Somerville’s city government needs to be examining what’s working well in other places and innovating with bold ideas where necessary.
To learn more about our campaign, please visit jakeforsomerville.org.
(4) “Nature’s Best Hope” by Douglas W. Tallamy