Friend:

Throughout the past week, I’ve been feeling a lot of feelings, to be frank. Inundated, happy, rushed, and optimistic. But most of all, I am appreciative and energized. Appreciative of my neighbors, constituents, friends, and Somervillians from across our city who so clearly and proudly stood together in support of a bold, progressive vision for Somerville. And I’ve been energized by knowing this vision is very much within reach.

We can do this. But we can’t be complacent. Over the next six weeks, we need to carry this momentum forward. That happens on the doors, during phone and text banks, and in conversations with your neighbors and friends. We really need your help, so if you have any time to spare between now and Tuesday, November 4, let us know.

As demonstrated by voters last week, this campaign and this movement represent the new leadership Somerville wants. The new leadership Somerville needs. But I know this won’t be easy. It’s going to require a shift in how we think and in how we do things. It’s going to require strong, bold leadership combined with effective management. That means doing things better and more efficiently. And it means responding to opportunities and crises alike with the ambitious urgency they demand.

When I talk about building a thriving, safe, and welcoming community for all here in Somerville, these aren’t ideas contained to a page -- or a newsletter, in this case. They’re words, yes, but they actually play out in very tangible ways all around us.

When I talk about this, here’s what I mean: we’re talking about addressing and rectifying the decline in our City services while making improvements for the future. We’re talking about continuing to be a city that leads the charge on defending and standing by our neighbors under threat by ICE, rebuilding our municipal workforce, and being a good steward of our public tax dollars.

People have supported this campaign from Day One because we’re ready to meaningfully address Somerville’s top issues. And our top issues aren’t hard to understand, because they’re the issues people from across the city most directly feel day-to-day:

• Housing: Using every tool at our disposal to increase the amount of housing we need in Somerville to address our regional housing crisis
• Safe streets: Doing everything we can to ensure people are safe driving, biking, and walking around our city -- including repaving streets and fixing or reconstructing sidewalks
• Rodents: Addressing the root causes and taking away the food, water, and shelter rodents need by changing human behavior and getting food waste out of our trash
• Communication: Making sure the people and businesses of Somerville know what's happening in our city and that we hear from constituents to address their needs and concerns

I am immensely thankful to be in this position, but I don’t take it for granted. We can’t. It’s going to be a busy and challenging time between now and November 4. I’m ready to fight for a brighter future here in Somerville and I’d be honored to have you with us on this journey.

Be in touch,

-Jake

Let's keep the momentum going!

This past weekend we got right back out on the doors, as if Tuesday night's big victory never happened. We're out to win big on November 4, and it's going to take an all-out push to make that happen.

You can be a part of that by joining us for an upcoming canvass. It can be daunting getting started, but we'll make you have everything you need to really enjoy knocking doors. We have shift times in the morning, mid-day and late afternoon on Saturday and mid-day and late afternoon on Sunday.

So RSVP for a Saturday or Sunday shift now!

Then Jake will be back behind the bar for Campaign Cocktail Club on Saturday night. The weather looks great, and once again there's a new drinks menu that includes cocktails, mocktails, wine, and beer. These are family-friendly events and a great excuse to get out of the house while helping support the campaign financially:

RSVP for Campaign Cocktail Club here!