Candidates for Somerville government announced Friday that they will switch the office for which they are running. Entrepreneur Jason Mackey and University of Massachusetts undergraduate Wilbert Pineda will run as city councilor for their native Wards 5 and 7, respectively.
Another City Council candidate, Ben Orenstein, is withdrawing from the race. Orenstein had announced a run for councilor at large.
“I’m glad I explored this path, but in the end, it just didn’t feel right for me at this moment,” Orenstein’s campaign website now reads. “I still love Somerville, and expect to be involved in our community in other ways.”
Mackey and Pineda announced their changes via Instagram, confirming that they had pulled their nomination papers officially with the Elections Department. Nomination papers became available Monday.
Pineda announced his campaign for councilor at large in February. In early May, Pineda’s team shared that he would be focused on recovery after a cancer diagnosis and operation, a change that allows for a geographically focused campaign rather than one demanding efforts across the entire city. Greg Nadeau and Marian Berkowitz of the Somerville Foundation, where Pineda is vice president, will steward Pineda’s campaign.
“Today, I officially pulled nomination papers to run for Somerville Ward 7 City Council. While I initially planned to run at large, my current battle and recovery journey with cancer has reminded me of the importance of focusing close to home,” Pineda posted Friday. “Ward 7 faces urgent, unaddressed challenges: rodent infestations, gaps in access to food, clothing and educational opportunities. Our opioid crisis in Davis Square. You deserve to feel safe walking our streets, and those struggling with addiction deserve compassion and support to recover.”
Pineda will run against Michael Murray, an educational consultant and mental health counselor who wants to develop the “Teele Square Pit,” which has sat vacant in the heart of the neighborhood for 13 years. Current Ward 7 councilor and City Council president Judy Pineda Neufeld is not listed as having filed nomination papers.
Even with Pineda and Orenstein out of the running for councilor at large, the race for the position remains competitive. Current councilors at large Kristen Strezo and Will Mbah will seek reelection. Jack Perenick, Jon Link, Christopher Ryan Spicer, Justin Klekota, Holly Simione, Scott Istvan, Tuesday N. Thomas and Marianne Walles – who took 40 percent of the vote in a run to unseat then-mayor Joe Curtatone in 2019 – will also jockey for the council’s four at-large seats.
Two of those seats are free game: Councilors at-large Willie Burnley Jr. and Jake Wilson have announced runs against incumbent mayor Katjana Ballantyne. Nomination papers show also that William “Billy” Tauro, who ran for mayor in 2021 and 2023, will run again. The business owner and publisher of the Somerville/Medford News Weekly won 18 percent of the vote in his previous race against Ballantyne in 2023.
Mackey, a serial business founder working on venture fund Athenian Capital, announced a run for Mayor in February. In an interview then, Mackey billed himself as a “political outsider.”
“I launched a campaign for mayor because I believe Somerville needs bold, practical leadership. That belief hasn’t changed – but I’ve realized I can make the greatest impact right here in my own neighborhood: Ward 5,” Mackey’s Friday post read.
“This week, I pulled papers to run for Somerville City Council, because Ward 5 needs a voice – not just a vote. I’m running to fight for affordable housing, better infrastructure, stronger city services and a safer, more inclusive community for all,” Mackey’s post continued.
Mackey is one of three candidates for the Ward 5 seat, Elections Department records showed Friday. Among them is incumbent councilor Naima Sait, who was elected to the seat in 2023, and Nicholas Miller.
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