Our Revolution Somerville Endorses Local Candidates

Our Revolution Somerville Endorses Mayoral, City Council, School Committee Candidates

By Jane Regan
jane@janevregan.org

Somerville, Mass., Aug. 1 – After hearing from candidates at a packed forum last week, Our Revolution Somerville (ORS) today officially endorsed mayoral challenger Marianne Walles for mayor, seven candidates for City Council and six for School Committee:

• City Councilor at Large: Will Mbah, Mary Jo Rossetti and Bill White.
• City Councilors: Matt McLaughlin (Ward 1), JT Scott (Ward 2), Ben Ewen-Campen (Ward 3), Lance Davis (Ward 7)
• School Committee: Emily Ackman (Ward 1), Ilana Krepchin (Ward 2), Sarah Phillips (Ward 3), Andre Green (Ward 4), Laura Pitone (Ward 5), Carrie Normand (Ward 7)

Affiliated with the national Our Revolution – which spun out of the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign – ORS is active in electoral, labor, affordable housing and other social justice issues in Somerville.

The endorsements could be the key for the candidates, including mayoral challenger Walles who faces incumbent and seven-term Mayor Joe Curtatone.

Two years ago, nine ORS- supported candidates swept onto the City Council (then called “Board of Aldermen”), in some cases defeating aldermen who has held office for many years.

“All of our candidates were elected, and that’s out of a board of 11,” ORS member Jon Leonard said in a telephone interview on August 1.

Leonard, who helped organized the July 24 candidates forum, said that an ORS endorsement can make a big difference.

“We actually come out and knock doors for the candidate, in big numbers,” he explained. “We plan to get out there and do it again.”

ORS did not endorse candidates in all races, and some of the candidates backed in 2017 did not get the two-thirds approval rating from the ORS members who voted online this time around. Leonard said that he thought some members withheld their approval because didn’t agree of some positions or actions taken by elected officials over the past two years.

Last week over 100 people attended the two-hour forum at the Somerville City Club which was co-sponsored by Somerville Stands Together, Union United, Jobs for Somerville, and the Somerville Climate Coalition. It was taped by Somerville Media Center’s SCATV and will be cablecast on Channel 3 starting on Aug. 4. It is also posted online.

(Schedule and links for archived video are below.)

At the event, many of the candidates – whether running for reelection or seeking a seat for the first time – stressed the importance of fighting for more affordable housing, more and better public transportation, of continuing to build a progressive movement and of addressing economic and social injustice.

School Committee candidates also focused on the need to address the so-called “achievement gap,” lack of diverse school staff and faculty and challenges related to mandatory testing.

The forum was one of the first times Walles, a social worker and union organizer, appeared before voters. She was quizzed for 20 minutes on how she would tackle the affordable housing crisis, transparency and dealing with real estate developers.

Among other pledges, the long-time city resident said that any negotiations she carried out would “benefit the residents of Somerville before they benefit the developers.” She also stressed that – if elected – she would be a mayor who focused on “collaboration.”

“Sometimes in the city there are many different groups that don’t feel heard,” she said.

When four of the eight candidates vying for four councilor at large seats squared off, housing and economic inequality were key themes. Wilfred Mbah, seeing reelection, talked about his struggles finding an affordable place to live when he first came to the city.

“I moved five times in six years,” he said.

Challenger Kristen Strezo noted that her family “benefited from inclusionary housing.”

An earlier panel of city councilors running for reelection unopposed stressed the progress they feel they and their colleagues had made over the past two years. Ward 5 Council Mark Niedergang ticked off a list that included the real estate transfer fee and the facial recognition technology ban.

“We are now the political establishment in Somerville,” Ward 1 Councilor Matt McLaughlin noted, to thunderous applause.

McLaughlin went on to talk about the need to continue to work for social justice, in Somerville and in neighboring communities, vowing to “export this political revolution that we’ve started.”

“If your movement is not growing, it’s dying,” he said.

Agreeing, Ward 2 Councilor JT Scott stressed that more work needed to be done and claimed that the “executive branch… obstructs at every turn the work for equity.”

Ben Ewen-Campen, running for reelection for Ward 3, said he hoped the turnout on Election Day would be high because, he said, the 2017 election “earthquake” was possible only because of high participation.

There were two school committee-related panels: one with candidates running uncontested and another with the contenders for wards 7 and 3.

Ward 7’s Caroline Normand, running for a fourth term, talked about her accomplishments. Challenger Tara Ten Eyck, who works at Charlestown High School responded: “I believe it’s time for a change.”

Three women are running to represent Ward 3. Two of them made it to the forum.

Public school teacher Michele Lippens said she thinks her background and work would benefit the committee. Sarah Phillips, a former social worker, noted the importance of teachers unions as “part of the solution, not the problem,” which elicited enthusiastic applause.

Only candidates who filled out and returned ORS questionnaires were invited. Nine city council and seven school committee candidates The only candidate for the contested mayoral election to participate was Walles. Neither incumbent Curtatone nor challenger Kenneth Vanbuskirk II responded. Pictures from the forum are posted in an online album here.

Somerville Media Center-edited videos on Youtube:

• Councilor-At-Large Candidates: https://youtu.be/5z0vMXDIUus
• Uncontested City Council Candidates: https://youtu.be/KarTQIKgMG0
• Mayoral Candidate Q&A: https://youtu.be/_dkF75U0MDg
• School Committee Candidates, Ward 3 & 7: https://youtu.be/SQEXLQvhV8c
• Uncontested School Committee Candidates: https://youtu.be/47yCzvn40kY

SCATV Programming Schedule:

Sunday, August 4 at 12pm
PROGRAM A: Councilor-At-Large Candidates

Sunday, August 4 at 1 pm
PROGRAM B: Uncontested City Council Candidates, Mayoral Candidate, Uncontested School Committee Candidates

Sunday, August 4 at 2 pm
PROGRAM C: School Committee Candidates, Ward 3 & 7; Uncontested School Committee Candidates

Monday, August 5 at 7 pm: PROGRAM A
Wednesday, August 7 at 6pm: PROGRAM B
Friday, August 9 at 7 pm: PROGRAM C

Sunday, August 11 at 12pm: PROGRAM C
Sunday, August 11 at 1 pm: PROGRAM A
Sunday, August 11 at 2 pm: PROGRAM B
Monday, August 12 at 7 pm: PROGRAM C
Wednesday, August 14 at 6pm: PROGRAM A
Friday, August 16 at 7 pm: PROGRAM B

Sunday, August 11 at 12pm: PROGRAM B
Sunday, August 11 at 1 pm: PROGRAM C
Sunday, August 11 at 2 pm: PROGRAM A
Monday, August 12 at 7 pm: PROGRAM B
Wednesday, August 14 at 6pm: PROGRAM C
Friday, August 16 at 7 pm: PROGRAM A

Sunday, August 18 at 12pm: PROGRAM A
Sunday, August 18 at 1 pm: PROGRAM B
Sunday, August 18 at 2 pm: PROGRAM C
Monday, August 20 at 7 pm: PROGRAM A
Wednesday, August 21 at 6pm: PROGRAM B
Friday, August 23 at 7 pm: PROGRAM C

Sunday, August 25 at 12pm: PROGRAM C
Sunday, August 25 at 1 pm: PROGRAM A
Sunday, August 25 at 2 pm: PROGRAM B
Monday, August 26 at 7 pm: PROGRAM C
Wednesday, August 28 at 6pm: PROGRAM A
Friday, August 30 at 7 pm: PROGRAM B