Cambridge city councillor Paul Toner said Monday that he will not run for reelection.
With all other eight members of the council having picked up nomination papers for the campaigns to be decided Nov. 4, this means a seat is guaranteed to go to a challenger.
In a letter sent at 11:15 a.m. to supporters, Toner said that he has decided to “complete my current term and take a step back from elective office to explore other opportunities.”
“I believe I would be successful in a run for reelection, and I am deeply grateful to the many friends and supporters who have reached out over the past few months to offer me their continued support and have encouraged me to run for another term. I’ve thought about this a lot,” Toner said. “After my term is complete, I will continue to be active in Cambridge civic life as a private citizen. Citizen engagement is crucial for any healthy democracy. As we see each other on the street please stop and say hello and we can talk about how we can all work to make Cambridge an even better community to live in, work in, and to own a business.”
The decision was made a few weeks ago, Toner said, but he wanted to wait until July to announce it.
Toner was among men named in court March 21 as customers of brothels operating in Cambridge, Watertown and Virginia from at least July 2020 to a bust in November 2023. The courts are identifying a couple dozen men total from a list of 2,800 alleged customers, authorities said, selecting some based on the number of times a customer’s phone interacted with a brothel phone. For Toner, that was 432 times, which some residents misinterpreted as 400 visits. The number is closer to a dozen, the MassLive website said.
A perception from the larger number stuck in some residents’ minds who brought it up when allowed during public comment at council meetings. Some commenters also believed Toner had used the services of trafficked or vulnerable women, as suggested in generalities by prosecutors seeking convictions of the people managing the sex-worker business.
There were two protesters on the lawn at City Hall before the council’s last meeting in June, a councillor said, and the high school student group the Title IX Aurelia Advocates had vowed to bring up the “brothel” issue during the campaign.
“By seeking reelection despite these allegations, you would signal that elected officials can remain in positions of power even when accused of participating in systems of sexual exploitation,” the group said in a letter posted July 1 on social media.
Toner is an attorney and former teacher in Cambridge Public Schools. He served as president of the Cambridge Teachers Association and vice president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, among other board positions in public and private organizations. He grew up in Cambridge and, in turn, raised his children in the city.
When elected in 2021, he was a challenger running for City Council for the second time. He won reelection in 2023 with the fifth-highest amount of No. 1 votes of the nine elected candidates.
In Toner’s letter, he says:
I believe deeply in public service and serving my community. My involvement in state and local politics began at age 12 holding campaign signs for Mike Dukakis at the request of my uncle, who was a teamster at UPS and was working on the governor’s campaign. I met many of you while working on campaigns for Lenny and Sheila Russell, David Maher and Tim Toomey. I am very proud of my career as a teacher and former union leader as I am of my record on the council as an advocate for residents and businesses. I believe my service on the council as a moderate who tried to bring a balanced and common-sense perspective to the issues facing the city contributed to real progress that serves all of Cambridge. What I’ve enjoyed most in my role as city councillor is helping everyday constituents navigate the bureaucracy of municipal government and addressing their day to day concerns. I have done my best to represent you all and I am thankful that you have given me that opportunity.
“Thank you all for your grace, friendship and support over the years,” Toner said. “During my final six months in office please let me know how I can best serve you on the council.”
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.
You must be logged in to post a comment.