Justin Klekota joins a long list of hopefuls seeking one of Somerville’s four councilor at large seats. Klekota is the Ward 7 chair for the Somerville Democratic City Committee. Two other committee members, Jack Perenick and Holly Simione, also seek at-large seats.
Klekota also serves as Somerville’s Democratic State Committee man, a position that involves local organizing on behalf of the Democratic Party. In Massachusetts, voters may elect one State Committee man and one State Committee woman to represent the Republican and Democratic parties every four years.
This will be Klekota’s second run for councilor at large, following a bid for the position in 2021.
“The Ward 7 race has multiple candidates who I’d consider allies, and I’d prefer we have the opportunity to serve together,” Klekota said via email, speaking of his decision to run for an at-large post as opposed to representing his native ward 7. Emily Hardt, Wilbert Pineda and Michael Murray are running to represent Ward 7 after current councilor Judy Pineda-Neufeld’s decision to step down June 30.
“In 2021, an entire slate of City Council candidates pledged to ‘abolish the police,’ promising cuts to the police budget as large as 60 percent per year with no credible plan to replace it: I was the only candidate to speak out against this, and after the election, many people privately thanked me for standing up for our city. At that time, my message didn’t reach enough voters,” Klekota wrote. “Four years later, I’m now one of three candidates running for City Council at-large this year who has previously won a citywide election,” referring to his election to represent the Democratic State Committee. Incumbent councilors at-large Kristen Strezo and Will Mbah have also won citywide elections.
Klekota’s campaign website calls for limiting police overtime, instead supplementing the police force with unarmed responders, something recommended by the Public Safety for All Task Force this month.
It also calls for a multipronged approach to housing, which Klekota cited as a key campaign issue alongside education, affordability and carbon neutrality. In this, the city should support mixed-use development and rent stabilization as well as provide shelters, warming stations and mental health and substance abuse programming to Somerville’s unhoused population.
By prioritizing zero-emissions buildings, solar and wind power, construction can target housing and climate action. Free public transit, supporting pedestrian and bike travel, attracting green industry and converting city vehicles to electric can also support climate goals.
In schools, Klekota calls for increased offerings in science, technology, engineering and math and guaranteed after-school programming as well as for evening adult education and job training at Somerville’s high schools.
Somerville can support these initiatives through public-private partnership, Klekota said, writing on his website that Somerville should “grow our business tax base to cover the added expenses associated with city services, schools and supporting infrastructure.”
In addition to Strezo, Mbah, Simione and Perenick, the field for councilor at large includes Scott Istvan, Jon Link, Christopher Ryan Spicer, Tuesday N Thomas, Marianne Walles, Ari Iaccarino and Ben Wheeler.
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