Friend:

Happy holidays!

Last week I announced my intention to run for mayor in the 2025 municipal elections.

I didn't arrive at this decision lightly or impulsively. Up until this summer I'd been planning on running for a third term as your councilor-at-large. But starting in late summer and continuing into the fall, I had a succession of people ask me to consider changing course and running for mayor. And these weren't just the usual friends and supporters saying this. Many were acquaintances or folks I had never previously met -- and in some cases they helped the current mayor get elected.

After exploring a potential run this fall and talking to community members and current and former fellow electeds, I came to a clear conclusion that right now I can best serve my city by running for mayor.

Somerville City Hall

The City of Somerville is facing some very real challenges at the moment:

  • a depleted and demoralized workforce as a result of our failure to adequately recruit and retain employees in a tight labor market
  • the development pipeline that funded dramatic growth in our revenues grinding to a near halt, negatively impacting our municipal budget
  • the closure of one school building (Winter Hill Community Innovation School) and another (Benjamin G. Brown School) in perilous condition
  • a sizable recent court judgment against us in the 90 Washington eminent domain legal case
  • a pile-up of major renovation and new construction capital projects necessary to give us the 21st century municipal buildings this city needs
  • a lack of coordination between departments that has turned into outright conflict at times and impacts facilities, programs, and services
  • national and regional housing, substance use disorder, and homelessness issues that are being felt acutely here
  • the loss of naturally-occuring affordable residential, commercial, and arts space
  • public safety and quality of life issues exacerbated by a lack of enforcement of ordinances and laws

To be clear, these are challenges that would've faced any mayor over the past three years, so I am not going to blame our current mayor for the existence of these issues. But how a mayor leads and how an administration responds to challenges can make all the difference both in how a problem is addressed and how the public feels about the response. And I believe my accessible, collaborative, and decisive approach to leadership is what Somerville needs to take this city forward.

So I took the plunge with a press release announcing my mayoral campaign on December 16, with the Cambridge Day, Boston Globe, WBUR, and other media outlets and social media platforms picking up on the news. This led to an outpouring of texts, emails, and folks filling out the contact form on my website with well wishes and questions. I'm still working on answering everyone who reached out, so if you haven't heard back from me yet, I promise a response is coming!

As your mayor, I'll continue my commitment to being available to constituents by email, text, and phone -- as well as regular office hours. My door will always be open, and I'll hold regular Thursday evening office hours at City Hall for you -- my bosses -- to come talk about whatever's on your minds. I never forget who I work for and I really value hearing from my constituents. It's not an act. It's how I keep my ear to the ground and know what's happening around the city. I don't need to schedule listening sessions or tours. I'm always engaged with and listening to my community.

Our City's motto is "Municipal Freedom Gives National Strength," and Somervillians will be looking to their mayor to lead in the face of a new federal government coming into power next month that we expect will be openly hostile to our community's values -- and a state government often paralyzed by inaction. I will be that leader.

If you know me, you know I'm a relentless problem-solver. I'll aggressively pursue a policy agenda that creatively addresses the problems and concerns of our community, while constantly looking to innovate to improve our delivery of programs and services, and totally rethinking how we're engaging with the public to ensure strong two-way communication.

I announced my mayoral campaign in 2024 to give myself more time to talk to voters and get my message out. I plan on having a conversation with every single person who ends up voting in next year's election -- and I want to inspire people who typically don't vote in municipal elections to get out and cast a ballot. I particularly love meeting with groups, so if you're interested in hosting a gathering of 10 to 25 friends and neighbors over the winter, please let me know.

Campaign Kickoff Event 2025-01-11

We're hosting a Campaign Kickoff event on Saturday, January 11, from 2 to 4 PM at my favorite spot in all of Somerville: Highland Kitchen. Come join us for some food, drinks, and conversation as we celebrate a big year for the campaign and the city. Donations to the campaign are appreciated but by no means required to attend! You can RSVP here for that.

And as always, I'm here for you -- whether you have feedback or questions for me. Call or text me at 617.468.8969, email me at [email protected], or grab a time to meet with me via my Calendly.

Here's a look at some other things happening around Somerville:

Citywide removal of parking minimums

Marshall Street townhouses

For the past two months the Land Use Committee and City Council as a whole have been discussing updating the zoning ordinance to remove parking minimums for new developments in all parts of the city. These requirements were changed for the roughly 70 percent of the city within half a mile of transit stations back in 2019, in concert with a change to parking regulations that prohibited residents of these developments from obtaining resident parking permits, with some built-in exceptions. So this proposed legislation took that policy and applied it to the rest of the city. More


Library personnel issues

Somerville West Branch Library

For the second time this year, the Somerville Public Library has landed in the news for unfortunate reasons. Following the "amended hours" at the Central Library at the start of the school year, a former librarian at the West Branch Library went public on Facebook with allegations of workplace misconduct against a former co-worker. A Cambridge Day article followed with some very troubling details, as well as a statement from the City of Somerville (also posted to r/Somerville on Reddit). More


The case for enforcement

Open Trash Barrels Overflowing

On a recent trip to Japan, I was struck by the contrast with our society back home and the struggles we've seen particularly since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. We've always been an individualistic culture here in the States, but since the pandemic our self-absorption seems to have reached unprecedented levels. Combine that with our recognition the regressive nature of fines and how they impact low-income households disproportionately and our well-intentioned permissiveness is enabling a rising tide of indifference to ordinances and laws. We're trying to have a civilization here, but it feels increasingly like that's breaking down. I believe the answer is increased enforcement on a number of fronts, and I sense a real appetite for this from the public. More


No more speed restrictions on the T!

Speed restrictions have been a frustrating reality for T riders for such a long time, most of us have grown to just take them for granted and build in that extra travel time when planning our trips. It's an unfortunate consequence of the state's failure to invest in our public transit system by doing even minimal required maintenance.

MBTA Speed Restrictions Dashboard

But in a massive bit of great news for the T, all those recent annoying closures for maintenance have paid off in the best way possible with the elimination of all slow zones system wide! It's the latest refreshing development since the arrival of the MBTA's excellent new(ish) General Manager, Phil Eng. And it demonstrates why "Train Daddy Eng" has become a cult hero in the transit advocacy community. So let's take a moment to celebrate a really positive development for our public transit -- and for our entire region!


Ring in the New Year with the 249th Flag Raising!

249th Flag Raising flyer

I'm emceeing a great event on New Year's Day as we celebrate the 249th raising of the Grand Union Flag at Prospect Hill Tower. Festivities kickoff with a march from City Hall to Prospect Hill Park, followed by a great program celebrating a huge moment in our nation's history. I hope to see you there!


After Hours at the Y for SHS students

With the City failing to provide teen spaces and programming for our youth, the Somerville YMCA has stepped up. The Y is now dedicating Friday nights from 7 to 9 PM and Sunday afternoons from 2 to 4 PM for Somerville High School students. Take advantage of the open gym, work out, or just hang out with friends -- with movie nights complete with food on Friday nights starting back up after the holidays. Admission is absolutely free. Just show a valid SHS student ID to enter. Thank you to the Y for making this happen!


Join the Appointments Advisory Committee!
Multiple-member bodies (our boards, committees, and commissions) are a crucial part of our municipal government and a fantastic way to get involved in your community. The Mayor's Appointments Advisory Committee plays an important role in identifying good candidates for these bodies and filling vacancies -- and the Administration currently is looking for two new members. Apply here by January 17, 2025.

The Administration also currently is seeking members for the following multi-member bodies:

Mayoral campaign funding

Running for mayor is expensive, and I'm bringing on top-quality, experienced campaign staff to help ensure I get my message out to voters effectively. Campaigns and candidates often are judged by their fundraising and campaign account balances, so it's important to get cash on hand early on. If you support my run for mayor, please consider investing in the future of our city and making a financial contribution before the end of the year. There is a $1,000 per person per year limit on campaign contributions, but anything you are able to give is hugely appreciated.

Mayoral Campaign Contribution Form

Did You Know...?
I'm asked decently often about scholarships for Somerville residents to attend Tufts University. Perhaps it is due to Tufts including standard need-based financial aid that happens to go to Somerville residents in its annual Community Benefits Report, but there is a misperception that these local scholarships exist. Thanks to the work of the PILOT Advisory Task Force, the City currently is looking at what should be part of a new Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with Tufts. So it's important that the public have an accurate picture of what the university is and is not providing Somerville as  host community.

Office hours
After the holidays I'll be announcing my January in-person office hours. If you'd prefer to meet individually, you can find a date and time to meet with me that works for you via my Calendly. 

The weeks ahead
It's an understandably quiet week ahead due to the holidays, but things pick back up a big way in the new year. Here's a list of what I'm looking to attend in the coming weeks:

-Jake

Jake Wilson

About

Somerville City Councilor-At-Large (he/him/él)