Incumbent first elected in 2001 and seeking her 12th term in office

The candidate’s website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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Background: Small business | Focuses: Small business, interfaith communities, housing 

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Q&A

Compiled by Matt Rocha

Simmons, the city’s longest-serving city councillor, has dedicated the past 30 years to public service. She served as the executive director of the Cambridge Civic Unity Committee in the 1980s. She was elected to the School Committee in the 1990s, then to City Council in 2002. In 2008, she was elevated to mayor, becoming the nation’s first Black, openly lesbian mayor. 

Housing: “We have a housing emergency … We need to reevaluate and reform our zoning codes to promote inclusion and diversity, ensuring that every neighborhood can have a mix of housing types … I support legislation like the Affordable Housing Overlay, which will allow for more equity and development across the community.”

Climate policy: “I helped organize and participated in the Cambridge Emergency Climate Congress, which has sought to bring more Cambridge residents into the process of deciding and promoting the City’s official response to global climate change. This task force advises the City Council on how to take action to prepare our community for the effects of climate change.”

Road infrastructure: “I want to state emphatically that I very much support the creation of a citywide, interconnected network of bicycle infrastructure to make our roads safer for all. I believe I have voted in favor of creating, funding and expanding the bicycle lanes whenever they have appeared before the council.”

Pet project: Simmons supports publicly funded elections, which could make running for public office more accessible.