School construction timelines, race, federal immigration actions and climate were among the issues raised to candidates for Somerville mayor at an online Tuesday forum convened by the group Somerville Stands Together.
Three candidates will be on the ballot Sept. 16 in a preliminary election, and two will move on to November’s general election. Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, seeking reelection, is challenged by councilors at-large Jake Wilson and Willie Burnley Jr.
Candidates were asked by moderators Rand Wilson and Colette Berard how they’d approach plans to rebuild the Winter Hill Community Innovation School and Benjamin G. Brown School. The Winter Hill site closed in 2023 due to disrepair and its students, who range from prekindergarten to eighth grade, have been relocated by grade to two fill-in locations.
Though the K-5 Brown school is still open, the building’s 125 years of wear has the city considering moving its student body into a site shared with Winter Hill students. An advisory group appointed last year is set to share recommendations with Ballantyne next month, and a decision will need to be made by January.
“We’re on schedule to open a new school no later than September 2031 because I committed the financial resources to this problem or issue process early,” Ballantyne said. The project, which Ballantyne said will cost $220 million, has been funded by almost half by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
The city could rebuild the Winter Hill at its original location on Sycamore Street as an individual or shared site, or find another location. A survey shared with residents identifies Trum Field as a potential option. The survey also allows “do nothing,” “either” and “I don’t know” as responses.
Burnley said his preference is for a school to be rebuilt on Sycamore, citing Winter Hill residents’ desire for walkability.
“I’m committed to making sure that we have a permanent school building for those students with additional capacity in case another emergency takes place at another school. Ideally, that would be on the Winter Hill current site,” Burnley said. It’s possible that he’d reject the recommendations of the advisory group, but only if the recommended site was unhealthy, he said.
Frustration on perceived inaction
Wilson and Burnley expressed frustration with the project’s timeline. Ballantyne’s deadline of September 2031 (the advisory group was at one point told to expect completion by December 2031) was beyond the five- to-seven-year timeline projected when the Winter Hill school closed, Wilson pointed out.
“Of the 18 communities invited along with Somerville to participate in the MSBA process, a number are ahead of us,” Wilson said, citing Manchester Essex, Needham and South Hadley. The state agency’s most up-to-date project status listing, updated June 25, lists Manchester Essex, South Hadley and Somerville as still in the process of designer selection, but Manchester Essex and South Hadley’s project pages indicate that they’ve since moved on to the next step: a feasibility study. Needham is identified as being mid-feasibility study also.
“Ultimately the blame rests with the mayor,” Wilson said.
Somerville’s project website predicts a feasibility study to begin in October.
Wilson also cited inaction on climate. “I’m also sad to report this administration dropped the ball on getting Somerville into the state’s Fossil Fuel Free demonstration program,” he said, referring to a state program meant to enable the adoption of rules for construction that doesn’t contribute to climate change. Somerville applied a day later than Northampton, which won the last spot in the program, though the program didn’t provide a rationale in its rejection letter.
Though Ballantyne didn’t directly respond to Wilson’s comments, she said after: “I’ve been a leader in phasing out fossil fuels, and we’re taking action. I’m engaging directly with utility providers to fix the grid and developing a cost-sharing-programs transformer to make electrification more affordable for property owners.”
Senior advisory council
Candidates were also asked whether they support the formation of a senior advisory group to guide council decisions.
Burnley and Wilson said they did – while Ballantyne said, “I’ve already done it” and confirmed that a senior advisory group exists. The moderators did not follow up to clarify.
The council approved the creation of a senior advisory group in May and sent the matter to its Equity, Gender, Seniors, Families and Vulnerable Populations Committee for discussion. The council recessed for the summer shortly after, and the committee hasn’t yet taken the matter up.
On Thursday, a Ballantyne campaign staffer explained that an all-volunteer board of directors at the Council on Aging “provides all of the services, activities and outreach that are being proposed” as a senior advisory committee. It is hosting a series of drop-in hours, and listening sessions starting Sept. 18, said the staffer, Richard Nilsson.
Racial justice issues
The moderators also asked about racial justice and immigration.
“If I won, I would be the first black mayor to ever lead this city,” Burnley said. “That’s really meaningful for a lot of the residents that I’ve talked to, including some of the students at our schools, which are majority people of color.”
Burnley’s experience in organizing would help him facilitate difficult conversations, he said.
The mayor pointed to her office’s funding of the Department of Racial and Social Justice and creation of its youth league under the department’s $928,000 disbursement in the 2026 fiscal year – less than the amount budgeted for the previous fiscal year, but more than the amount actually spent. Wilson recommended that public school students take educational field trips to the Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford, a museum that examines the site’s use in the 18th century as a plantation that used enslaved people as labor.
Burnley and Wilson also discussed a business disparity study launched by the city in 2023 – “We can make sure we were awarding contracts to vendors in a way that reflects our values,” Wilson said – and another aspect of municipal procurement that has come up several times in recent months: a ballot measure proposed by the group Somerville for Palestine that would have the city end contracts with companies deemed to support genocide in Gaza.
Burnley has expressed support for it. Wilson and Ballantyne have said they don’t think the measure is legally feasible.
Federal immigration actions
Speaking to past and expected federal immigration actions, Ballantyne cited the city’s “know your rights” trainings as well as Somerville’s role in suing the Trump administration for relief from immigration policies, including attempts to withdraw federal funds from sanctuary cities.
Wilson said he wanted to continue the trainings, offer rapid response legal assistance and ensure that city meetings and materials have translation options. Burnley said that he would not want to accept federal grants that come with requirements to comply with federal immigration attacks.
Somerville Stands Together is “a coalition of community groups committed to maintaining the city’s diversity and its history,” its Facebook page reads. The group said it plans to post a recording of the forum on YouTube.
This post was updated Sept. 4, 2025, with an explanation about remarks by mayor Katjana Ballantyne concerning a senior advisory committee.
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