Our City Council has gotten off course. The city administration is no longer working for residents, communities and local businesses and has made a number of wrong-headed decisions. It’s up to us to right the ship, so whom we elect this cycle is critically important.

John Pitkin is a tremendous candidate whom we are confident will bring strong, committed and effective leadership to our city. John is a progressive activist and person of vision, integrity and wisdom who has given enlightened and dedicated service to our community for nearly five decades. He also has a backbone. 

A demographer by profession, specializing in housing and immigration, John embodies the phrase “think globally, act locally.” Over the years, John has served on and led many city committees, forums and boards to tackle thorny issues, always advocating for greater democracy, citizen participation and community involvement. He led the Cambridge Transportation Forum, the Cambridge Democratic City Committee and the Cambridge Board of Traffic and Parking, to name a few. A founder of the Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Association, John is results-oriented and works well with others to find practical solutions to vexing problems.

John’s stellar work as an environmentalist and climate change activist are well known. He was the co-initiator of the declaration of climate emergency passed by the City Council and the Cambridge Climate Congresses, which each engaged more than 100 residents in new climate action in City Hall. He co-wrote the net zero zoning petition and was organizer of the Inman Square Climate Action Team. A strong advocate for strengthening and preserving our tree canopy and green spaces, he has served on the board of Green Cambridge for a decade and the executive committee of the Sierra Club’s Greater Boston Group.

John has been endorsed by the Cambridge Citizens Coalition, and we agree that he has earned and deserves our No. 1 vote. We need his experience and his voice on the City Council. We endorse John Pitkin for City Council enthusiastically and urge you to join us in giving him your No. 1 vote on Nov. 5.

Sara Mae Berman, Bette K. Davis, Astrid Dodds, Fritz Donovan, Marie Elena, John D. Goodson, Jonathan Harris, Elaine Kistiakowsky, Paul Levenson, Democratic State Committeewomen Lesley Rebecca Phillips and Linda Sophia Pinti, Gus Rancatore, Anne Shumway