The past two years have been a small taste of what a determined minority can accomplish on the council to create more equity. To make durable change, the voters need to elect a majority that will prioritize equity and stand up for communities, not developers.

The next City Council will deal with the Envision Cambridge master planning process, decide who sits in the City Manager’s Office and almost certainly see the return of an Affordable Housing Overlay zoning proposal. Who’s on that council will be decided Tuesday.

The practice of local governments accommodating corporate interests by rezoning parcel by parcel in exchange for specific community benefits comes with hidden costs – the most obvious being a skyrocketing residential real estate markets and an affordability crisis.

City Council candidate Sukia Akiba is committed to our youth, and to bringing back affordable housing so there are more leaders like her.

Here are some fairer, faster and far more sensible ways to prevent displacement of our existing residents than expecting the return of rent control.

Alanna Mallon is an incumbent elected in 2017 and seeking her second term in office.

Adriane Musgrave is a challenger with a background in business running for City Council for the second time.

Patty Nolan is a School Committee member running for City Council for the first time.

John Pitkin is a challenger with a background in demography running for City Council for the third time.

Ilan Levy is a software engineer running for City Council for the third time.