Vice mayor responds to candidate in Cambridge: There’s been no retreat on Trump, social services

I would like to thank Stanislav Rivkin and anyone who chooses to run for office (“Stanislav Rivkin plans to save social services, stand up to Trump as a Cambridge councillor,” Sept. 5). That decision is not easy, and the journey is challenging. I also agree with his position that the Trump administration is attacking vulnerable populations, including those in Cambridge. He raised a number of concerns and I would like to take this opportunity to address those concerns.

The city of Cambridge is involved in six lawsuits opposing the Trump administration and is likely signing on to more. Council members have issued statements, spoken at rallies, including in support of Harvard University, and have been very vocal about the harm the Trump administration is causing. We are pushing back against the White House from the council chamber and from the courtroom.

Cambridge has been a sanctuary city since the mid-1980s and in 2006 the City Council established the  Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship. Councillors have been standing up for immigrants for decades. Under the recent attacks from the Trump administration, we have responded by doing the following:

• Before Trump taking office in January, the City Council reaffirmed its commitment to being a sanctuary city
• Trained more than 900 people at Know Your Rights Trainings earlier in the year and have continued to engage with our community to provide important information
• Trained city staff on what to do if Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows up at a city building, including our schools
• Printed and distributed more than 1,000 “Know Your Rights” pamphlets
• Strengthened our Sanctuary/Welcoming City Ordinance to emphasize that Cambridge police are not to cooperate with Ice
• Signed on to a statement with other city officials against Ice actions

I agree that immigrants in Cambridge are feeling anxious and scared. That’s why it is important that they know that their city leaders are standing with them and supporting them – because we are. To say we’re not is only adding to their anxiety. Make no mistake, Cambridge was built by immigrants, has always stood with immigrants and will always stand with immigrants.

Regarding the statement, “The council is scaling back social programs similar to those, such as the Rise Up cash assistance plan,” please allow me to clarify. Cambridge Rise, which I helped start under the leadership of then mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and former vice mayor Alanna Mallon, grew from a 12-month program to an 18-month program funded through federal Covid relief funds. After 18 months, the program ended. It was not cut. The city is now discussing a revised program that will hopefully be in place by the 2027 fiscal year budget.

The council is not “scaling back” on social programs. In fact, it voted and supported the following in the 2026 fiscal year budget:

• $5 million fund to address potential shortfalls in federal funding, with $1 million allocated to support housing for immigrants
• An additional $1 million to fund new vouchers for Cambridge’s unhoused residents
• $1 million to municipal vouchers added to the 2026 fiscal year budget in recognition of federal Covid-aid-funded programs shutting down; this is on top of $1.8 million in the 2026 fiscal year budget to permanently extend funding for those relief-funded programs related to after-school, homeless services and rental support, language justice/translation and programs for immigrants. This will go up to $2.9 million in the 2027 fiscal year budget.

This list doesn’t include the $30 million-plus in funding for free preschool for all 4-year-olds, a $11 million increase to our public schools, or allocations to support nonprofits such as the Y2Y youth homeless shelter, Food For Free or other programs that support those in need in our community.

When it comes to affordable housing, Cambridge has been doing more than any other city in Massachusetts. Here are just a few things we have done:

• We have allocated the maximum Community Preservation Act funding at a 3 percent surcharge on property tax bills, which has raised $240 million for affordable housing since it passed in 2001 ($18 million in the 2026 fiscal year budget)
• 20 percent inclusionary requirement, the highest in the state
• We allocated an additional $25 million to the Affordable Housing Trust directly out of the city budget, bringing the total allocated to the trust to $40 million per year
• We increased incentive zoning payments to $34 per square foot for projects seeking certain special permits, the highest in the state
• We strengthened the Affordable Housing Overlay, providing advantage to affordable housing developers who build 100 percent subsidized housing. We now have more than 850 homes in process across 12 developments, and have continued to make significant purchases of land over the past three years (see the annual report from the Aug. 4 council meeting)
• We have made significant investments in permanent supportive housing for unhoused people, including three recent projects that have housed 96 people and represent $18 million of city investment
• We funded $2 million in municipal voucher programs
• We passed a multifamily housing zoning ordinance, to allow multifamily housing to be built citywide, which will increase our inclusionary housing stock and middle-income housing inventory and end exclusionary zoning

I appreciate Mr. Rivkin’s concerns. I share many of them, and there is always more we must do, but to suggest that the City Council and the city administration are not supporting immigrants, are cutting social services and not pushing back against the current president is simply not true.

Marc McGovern

The writer is vice mayor of Cambridge and a candidate for reelection as a city councillor.

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