Jack Perenick has joined a bustling election season as a candidate for councilor at large. It will be the second council campaign for Perenick, who also ran for Ward 5 in 2023.
Perenick, a 2023 Tufts graduate, serves as president of the Young Democrats of Massachusetts. He’s also chair of the Somerville Democratic Party and Ward 5 chair of the Somerville Democratic City Committee, the party’s local governing body.
Perenick launched his 2023 campaign after then-councilor Beatriz Gomez Mouakad announced she would not seek reelection. Perenick, who advised Gomez Mouakad’s campaign, said he wanted to continue her work. The seat was ultimately won by Naima Sait.
Perenick is one of nine challengers who have filed nomination papers for councilor at large. These include fellow Somerville Democratic City Committee members Holly Simione and Justin Klekota – who represent wards 4 and 7, respectively – as well as Christopher Ryan Spicer, Scott Istvan, Jon Link, Ari Iaccarino, Tuesday N Thomas and Marianne Walles.
Two of the four at-large incumbents, Kristen Strezo and Will Mbah, will seek reelection; the other two seats are left open by Willie Burnley Jr. and Jake Wilson’s runs for mayor.
This year’s election field is crowded. Several candidates, including Ward 7 candidates Emily Hardt and Wilbert Pineda, report feeling compelled to run by contentious federal politics.
Perenick sees the competition as a boon. “Obviously, it’s a competitive field, but it’s always good to have people who have been committed to the Democratic Party running for office anywhere, even if it’s against me,” Perenick said.
Perenick’s outlook is informed by his work in party politics. Perenick became involved with the Somerville Democratic City Committee after his 18th birthday, when he attended the Massachusetts Democrats 2021 State Convention as a delegate.
“It kind of struck home to me how much the party platform that we write for the state level and for local Democrats to try and push forward really requires a huge amount of local implementation,” Perenick said.
To Perenick, the at-large role presents an opportunity for citywide representation. The councilors at large are uniquely positioned to improve constituent services, Perenick said – an issue that sits at the core of his campaign.
The creation of Somerville’s 311 system 20 years ago shifted responsibility for constituent services away from the City Council, Perenick said. “I think, in many ways, that was a really good decision because it really is an executive branch function when it comes to the actual execution of government functions,” he said. It also means something is missing: “Councilors don’t necessarily see where the breakdowns in city processes are,” Perenick said.
Perenick said that he’s spoken to constituents frustrated by permitting in particular, something he has run up against in his own attempts to book school buildings for events.
On his campaign website, Perenick also advocates for increasing construction around transit sites, strengthening affordable housing programming, expanding support for the unhoused population, supporting local nonprofits and connecting Somervillians to state-supported Community Behavioral Health Centers. He also seeks to repair sidewalks, control rodents, reduce traffic, preserve green and community spaces and limit commercial vacancy.
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