Somerville City Councilor Launches Campaign For State Rep.

SOMERVILLE, MA — A city councilor has announced a campaign for State Representative.

Ward 3 Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen announced his candidacy on Wednesday for the seat after incumbent Erika Uyterhoeven decided to run for State Senate earlier this month after five years in the role. Eewn-Campen is now vying to preside over Massachusetts’s 27th Middlesex District, which is made up entirely of Somerville. The 26th District covers the small remaining portion of the city and a majority of Cambridge.

Ewen-Campen is a lifelong Somerville resident who grew up in the Central Square neighborhood and graduated from Harvard with a PhD in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. He now works at his alma mater as an evolutionary developmental biologist whose research focuses on genetics and cell-to-cell communication.

He first joined local government in 2017 when he was elected to his first of four terms on the council. Throughout his tenure, he has been a driving force behind local policies and efforts such as rent stabilization, voting rights for non-citizens, and prohibiting usage of facial recognition technology from being used for surveillance purposes.

Ewen-Campen said he is honored and ready to represent his Somerville constituents on a higher level.

“Getting things done in government is not easy, and it requires every tool there is. Sometimes it requires going toe-to-toe with large real estate developers or other special interests. Other times, it means sitting around the negotiating table and hammering out a deal,” Ewen-Campen said. “The challenges that we face right now in our state and country can feel overwhelming, but I know that we can make real progress because that’s exactly what we’ve done in Somerville.”

Ewen-Campen has served twice as the City Council President during his career, and has already received an endorsement from one of his peers.

“He (Ewen-Campen) has been an outstanding Councilor, driven by community values, persistence, and collaboration. His work on affordable housing, safe streets and climate justice demonstrate his dedication and ability to get things done for Somerville,” Ward 5 City Councilor Naima Sait said in a statement.

Ewen-Campen lives in the Union Square neighborhood with his wife, Alex, and their two young children.

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