We love Somerville.

We love the community we find here with our friends and neighbors. We love our shared values. We love that we're quirky and different from other places.

But life in Somerville isn't without its frustrations, from the traffic on our streets to the never-ending construction to the booming rat population.

I've talked to thousands of Somervillians over the past months, and it's clear one of the biggest sources of frustration for people is a clear decline in city services.

Our street surfaces are crumbling and our sidewalks are impassable.

Our public spaces are often full of trash and the promised curbside municipal composting program hasn't materialized.

Our water and sewer billing is a mess while rates climb.

Our out-of-school time programming struggles to meet the needs of working families.

Our libraries and recreational facilities have experienced extended closures in the past year, and our Parks and Recreation offerings pale in comparison to neighboring towns.

Our permitting and inspection processes are infamously broken.

Municipal government touches our lives at so many more points than any other level of government. But if the City of Somerville isn't actively making our lives better, what are we doing?

Long waits for new contracts have seen a drain of talent from our municipal workforce. One in five jobs in the Department of Public Works was vacant when the FY26 current budget came out a few months back. These vacancies have a serious negative impact on the programs and services people rely on. The deterioration of our city services over the past four years is undeniable -- and the people of Somerville are fed up.

And they can't even tell their mayor about it, because she has put up a wall between herself and the public and is disconnected from the people. The Mayor's Office door is closed and locked on the days she comes in to City Hall, and countless residents and business owners complain that their phone calls and emails to the mayor go unanswered.

That's why the voters of Somerville are set to elect new leadership in City Hall this fall, and the polling indicates my vision of a better-run city is resonating with the people of this city. Our campaign is leading this race five weeks out from the preliminary election because voters want a mayor who will address these frustrations.

As your next mayor, I'll aggressively identify and fix inefficiencies while establishing a culture of respect and service from top to bottom in our municipal government. I have the proven executive experience, the drive, and the attention to detail that you want in a chief executive for the city. I get enormous satisfaction out of solving problems, and I can't wait to get to work giving our city the top-quality city services it deserves.

-Jake

Let's get the word out!

With the preliminary election now just 34 days away, we need all hands on deck to make sure voters know about Jake and his vision for Somerville.

We are asking for your help this weekend knocking doors in what's forecast to be amazing weather. We have late morning, mid-day, and afternoon shifts available on Saturday and a Sunday mid-day launch.

It doesn't matter if it's your first or 500th canvass. We'll make sure you have the tools to succeed and have a great time knocking doors and talking to your neighbors about why Jake is the right choice to move our city forward.

If you can't join us this weekend, we have plenty of events coming up. Check out future volunteering opportunities next week and beyond on our calendar, and RSVP for something today!