Cambridge Day does not endorse candidates or positions. Views expressed in this column are those of the writers.
Cambridge and Somerville are family, and like most families, we engage in healthy competition. But also like families, we share challenges. Challenges like housing affordability, supporting our unhoused population, and standing up to the Trump administration to protect our immigrant neighbors from being targeted. And like families, we are stronger when we work together.
We believe that regional issues need regional solutions. That’s why if elected in our respective races, we pledge to work together on our shared values and our shared challenges.
We should be working together to address our housing affordability crisis by not only building more housing, but leveraging our communities’ statuses as two of the larger cities in the state to advocate for more funding to support affordable housing construction and to reduce red tape. These inefficiencies can delay housing development for years, while low-, moderate- and middle-income people struggle to keep a roof over their heads.
Both Somerville and Cambridge are seeing increases to our unhoused populations. Although our respective non-profits work closely, our elected bodies do not. If elected, we will form a joint task force of elected officials, city officials, unhoused residents, and unhoused advocates to tackle the complex issues of homelessness and how to treat people with compassion and dignity while setting expectations for everyone in our community, to ensure everyone is safe.
This year both Somerville and Cambridge have seen law-abiding immigrants, including students, be abducted by ICE. Both of our communities have watched our institutions of higher learning come under attack through funding cuts. We are both Welcoming Cities, with an obligation, either through the courts or through our policies, to push back against President Trump’s hateful policies and to support immigrants in our communities. We will take on this fight together.
Our vision is shared. We love our cities and want to keep their unique characteristics, but we also know that we are forever connected. If you elect us to serve, we will forge a new relationship between Cambridge and Somerville, where we can continue to have friendly competition, but join hands to overcome our shared challenges and to make both of our cities the economically and socially just communities we want them to be.
This is why we are supporting each other in our elections, and with your help, we will create a new and collaborative relationship to improve the lives of all who live in Somerville and Cambridge.
Respectfully,
Jake Wilson, candidate for Mayor of Somerville
Marc McGovern, candidate for Cambridge City Council
A stronger
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McGovern has been on the council for over a decade, why hasn’t he already done so?
I am not surprised the two candidates taking all the developer money want to work together.
I do love a regional approach to a regional problem. However, I don’t see any policy commitments in this letter, and I don’t see any reason why you haven’t already brought forth a regional proposal instead of waiting until after you find out if you’re reelected/elected for the next term. You’re the Vice Mayor of Cambridge and a City Councilor of Somerville, currently. Is there a reason why you haven’t brought a proposal to the table over the past year, even? There have been many opportunities during public discussions of our housing shortage and the need for more services to help people who are sleeping rough. Might have been a good step to take before now, surely?
For the pseudonymous commenters asking what McGovern has been doing: He has a leader in passing many pieces of legislation that have legalized increasing the amount of housing in Cambridge. Some of this passed quite recently and the resulting construction is still on its way. Also, the City still has many restrictions on building housing, such as an extremely aggressive historical commission, unaccountable Neighborhood Conservation Districts, etc.
In short, this is an active struggle and McGovern is doing a lot.