Two state legislature races got new competitors, as Somerville city councilor Ben Ewen-Campen on Wednesday launched a run for the seat vacated by state Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven, and housing advocate Neil Miller said he would challenge state Rep. Mike Connolly.
Uyterhoeven announced Monday she will run for state Senate this November, opening her seat in the House’s 27th Middlesex District, which covers much of Somerville. She has held that seat since 2021.
Ewen-Campen has represented Somerville’s Ward 3 since 2018. He’s done so while also working as a researcher at Harvard Medical School, where he received a doctorate in developmental and evolutionary biology.
“The challenges that we face right now in our state and country can feel overwhelming, but I know that we can make real progress because that’s exactly what we’ve done in Somerville,” Ewen-Campen said Wednesday in a release.
He cited his work on housing while on the Council and said that Somerville is home to the “most ambitious housing affordability agenda in the State.” As examples, he highlighted his support for rent stabilization and the Somerville Community Land Trust, which Ewen-Campen helped create by co-chairing the original working group. He continues to serve on the Trust’s Board.
Ward 5 councilor Naima Sait endorsed Ewen-Campen’s run.
Connolly’s challenger
Connolly’s challenger has not previously run for office. Miller, a Cambridge resident and Harvard Kennedy School student who volunteered as campaign chair of A Better Cambridge’s Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee, posted on the site Partiful that he is “a housing advocate, public servant, and data scientist” and said he was running to ensure his neighbors have “a home they can afford; public services they can rely on; and a state government they can trust.”
He also vowed to run a different kind of campaign: for his kick-off event on March 29 he said he will walk the length of the district, from Cambridgeport to East Somerville, making stops along the way to meet with residents and discuss his vision. He’ll start at 11 a.m. at Magazine Beach in Cambridgeport.
Connolly, a former aide to Cambridge City Councillor Dennis Carlone, was first elected in 2016 after beating incumbent Tim Toomey in the Democratic primary. Connolly has not faced an opponent since. He’s now the co-chair of the legislature’s Housing for All caucus, and vice chair of the House Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs. Connolly said via text that “I’m ever grateful for the trust the people of Cambridge and Somerville have placed in me. We’ve accomplished a lot together in recent years, and yet there’s still so much more to do. That’s why I’m excited to launch my campaign for re-election.”
Somerville city councilors look to Beacon Hill
Ewen-Campen is one of several Somerville councilors seeking to move into the state legislature. Ward 1 councilor Matt McLaughlin has announced that he’ll run for the same state Senate seat as Uyterhoeven, a spot in the 2nd Middlesex District that will be vacated by state Senator Patricia Jehlen at the end of the year after two decades in the role.
McLaughlin will hold a campaign kickoff event on March 25 at Medford’s LongCross Bar and Kitchen, he posted on Instagram Wednesday. The event will start at 6pm.
Meanwhile, councilor at-large Will Mbah has announced that he’ll run for state representative in the 34th Middlesex District. The district’s current representative, Christine Barber, has also announced that she’ll run for Jehlen’s senate seat.
Mbah has been endorsed by Somerville Mayor Jake Wilson, state Senator Jamie Elridge, and Somerville residents and activists Bob Massie and Anna Tate. His kick-off event is March 15 at Medford’s Great American Beer Hall. It will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Michael F. Fitzgerald contributed to this story.
This story was updated to add information about kick-off events for Neil Miller and Will Mbah, and to include a comment from state Rep. Mike Connolly and his House roles.
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