Somerville councilor at-large Willie Burnley Jr. announced his candidacy for mayor on Sunday, setting up a three-way primary in September.
“Somerville is, to me, one of the most amazing places in the country,” Burnley told Cambridge Day. “We have a constituency that is so passionate, so engaged, so creative, and unfortunately, we are not moving fast enough to bring our shared values into reality.”
“Frankly, my impatience is part of the reason that I’m joining this race,” Burnley said. “I’m hoping to run a movement-led campaign that brings together folks from all corners of Somerville, whether they’ve been here for five generations or five minutes.”
He will run against mayor Katjana Ballantyne, who said in December she seeks a third term.
Ballantyne captured 56 percent of the vote in winning the seat in 2021 in a race against councilor Will Mbah. She got 10,032 votes to Mbah’s 6,737, according to the city’s Election Commission.
Ballantyne and Mbah share progressive politics; in running in 2023 for her second term she faced no challenge from the left in a primary and went onto a general election in which she took 81 percent of votes in facing Republican Billy Tauro – 13,657 to Tauro’s 3,029. Ballantyne’s mayorship comes after four successive terms as city councilor in Somerville’s seventh ward.
Burnley is the second councilor to declare against Ballantyne after Jake Wilson. He announced ahead of Ballantyne in December.
Burnley has served two terms as a councilor after elections in 2021 and 2023, which saw wins for the same position by Kristen Strezo, Mbah, Jake Wilson and Charlotte Kelly. Burnley received 11,344 votes, just under Strezo’s leading 11,993.
Supporting development in which community voices have more say is a priority, Burnley said, along with establishing an alternative emergency response program that gives Somerville residents an option to call nonpolice emergency responders in the case of mental health or substance use crises.
Burnley said he is proud of his legislative record, including an ordinance that commits to installing 29 miles of bike lanes separated from motor traffic by December 2030; and protections for polyamorous residents from discrimination, the latter of which were introduced with Ward 2 councilor JT Scott in March 2023. That was “incredibly meaningful,” Burnley said.
“I’ve moved with a lot of urgency to do as much as I can with my seat,” Burnley said.
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