Somerville City Councilor At-Large Candidate Q&A
This questionnaire was sent to all Somerville City Councilor At-Large candidates the evening of October 22, 2025. Candidates were not given a word minimum or word limit for their responses. Responses posted here as-received, without editing, and in alphabetical order by last name.
This question is about preventing displacement. We have seen many residents get displaced from Somerville when their building is sold and rents are hiked by hundreds of dollars. While a lot of work is being done across the state to put rent control on the ballot for 2026, what concrete steps will you take in the next year to protect these renters from being displaced?
Jon Link: “Until rent stabilization becomes law, we need to use every local tool to keep people in their homes. Somerville’s condo conversion ordinance is a good start, but we need stronger protections against no-fault evictions, especially when buildings are sold. I’ll work to expand those safeguards and make sure the Office of Housing Stability can reach tenants early with legal and financial support.
I will also work to expand funding for the Somerville Community Land Trust so they can buy and preserve existing buildings as permanently affordable. Finally, I will push for law changes that give designated housing nonprofits a place in Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act.”
Will Mbah: “I was a strong proponent for the creation of the Office of Housing Stability back in 2018 and have supported its program expansion and funding in the years since. Today it has in place several programs by which people facing eviction because of unpaid rent arrears or facing displacement because of rent escalation can ask for assistance. Similarly, we have recently added to the protection of tenants facing displacement by condo conversion.
These are not complete solutions but their mechanisms are working and effective for some tenants under pressure. We must continue to monitor and track how these are working and continue to adjust the rules and procedures as necessary to reach more affected households.”
Jack Perenick: “I support enacting a protection for renters to ensure they aren’t met by unfair or large rent hikes. As 1 of only 2 renters remaining in the 8 candidate at-large field, this issue personally affects me and efforts to keep tenancies stabilized and residents in our city are essential to protecting our community. I want to make sure whatever form of stabilization legislation works in harmony with new housing production and retaining naturally affordable owner-occupied leased units that have traditionally made Somerville an affordable place to live.
In the meantime, we need to use every tool in the tool kit to help renters as risk stay here, hold landlords accountable to their obligations, and work to fundamentally improve our housing market. While we know funding will be tight next year, I’m committed to specifically ensuring that renters are given the full protection of notice, repairs, and housing quality that our existing laws entitled them to. Using city resources to ensuring tenants know their rights and landlords uphold their obligations is a central way we can ensure that renters are given what they deserve and minimize the risks of displacement.
If elected, I would support the Office of Housing Stability in their efforts to informing tenants to their rights through regular trainings, including multilingual trainings, engagement with organizations like CAAS, proper referral to legal services, and tenant organizing efforts. I’ll also work to increase funding to legal stabilization funds that allow displaced renters to address situations where their rights were not upheld. Funding legal services is a critical way we can stabilize tenancies, keep people housed, and ensure landlords meet their obligations that would otherwise cost tenants undue costs.”
Kristen Strezo: “I have been part of the efforts to pass this across the state now and in the previous years, and have testified on its behalf in numerous state budget cycles, in statehouse committees and budget hearings. (I say ‘rent stabilization’ over ‘rent control’ because surveys show that residents are more open to the term ‘rent stabilization’ over rent control). I feel we need to do whatever it takes to ensure support for rent control/stabilization.
Surveys have continuously concluded that over 65% or more of Massachusetts residents support the concept of rent control/stabilization. I also think it’s absolutely essential to pass a Tenant’s Right to Purchase at a statewide level. I’ve been on the forefront of the fight for tenant protections in Somerville for over a decade now, and will continue to be.
I have testified at the statehouse, rallied, done standouts, called, lobbied, and so, so many other ways to bring in consensus on the need for state and local support on statewide tenant protections. As the Chair of the Housing and Community Development Committee, I check in regularly with the Office of Housing Stability (OHS) and get quarterly updates on the trends and numbers of requests they’re receiving for support. As a City Councilor and a housing advocate, I have worked to defend tenant protections in Somerville and in Massachusetts and I will continue to.
Last cycle, I put forward a City Council Order to challenge landlords forcing their tenants to sign Non Disclosure Agreements when tenants re-sign their leases. This is a strategy some corporate landlords sometimes use in an attempt to prevent tenants from forming tenant associations. Additionally I continue to ensure that OHS has ample staffing and an ample budget so that OHS can successfully do its job. I am always concerned about staff burnout and increased capacity at OHS. I’ve done so through annual Budget Requests for staffing and legal support, as well as continuous advocacy. I also continue to ensure our contract with DeNovo Legal Services is well funded for continued legal support of displaced tenants.
Going forward, as we’ve discussed in the Housing and Community Development Committee, we must have a solid municipal communication plan to inform the community on new laws and rights regarding Eviction Sealing. This is important, as it is a new law and tenants may not know what options they have to protect themselves.”
Marianne Walles: “I continue to advocate and work enhance tenant protections by ensuring they have access to legal council, funds to help cover rents, and support to reach out to receive advocacy.”
Ben Wheeler: “For me, it’s important to start with the goal of affordability for as many people as possible, and to listen and learn to figure out how best to move our city in that direction, with the resources we have. I’m incredibly glad for the emergency rental assistance programs that we have, across multiple city offices, as well as the programs run by nonprofits; I’d like to see those expanded, though I’m not sure where that money will come from, especially in an environment of potential federal budget cuts.
There is a tension between the need to upzone to allow more housing to be built in general, and the need to protect existing tenants from being displaced, particularly in housing that is effectively affordable due to the condition of the house, the long-time residence of the tenant, the decency of the landlord, or some combination. I want to work closely with the Office of Housing Stability and others who understand the housing ecosystem well, to make sure we are balancing any upzoning with strong tenant protections.”
This question is about Development and Zoning. When we say “zoning” we are talking about the limits that the City can put on how, where, and what type of housing is being built. One way to prevent displacement from Somerville is through building more units of housing, but we know that corporate investors often focus only on building luxury apartments and condo buildings. What is your vision for development in Somerville? How would you use zoning to create more affordable units? And specifically, what differentiates you from the other candidates in this regard?
Jon Link: “We need to plan for growth that serves Somerville residents too. That means prioritizing truly affordable housing. I support zoning changes that allow more multi-family housing citywide (especially along transit corridors). Affordable housing bonuses that permit additional height in exchange for exceeding inclusionary requirements are one way to create more affordable units.
We also need to close the loopholes that let developers delay building affordable units or place them in the least desirable locations. At the same time, we should make it easier for small builders, nonprofits, and the Community Land Trust to create housing, while holding corporate investors to higher standards. I’ve stood out in this race by calling for zoning that rewards affordability, discourages speculation, and supports community-owned models that keep land and housing permanently affordable.”
Will Mbah: "There are a number of ideas on the table about ways to incrementally adjust the Zoning Ordinance to increase. They generally fall into two categories –
1. changes that will make plan review and permitting move more quickly and with less complexity, with more categories of “by right” residential uses and building types, and fewer mandatory and discretionary design features and conditions;
2. more bonus and “overlay” zone mechanisms that reward a development with higher density or flexibility of building design in exchange for having more affordable units or deeper affordability for the units provided.
I have encouraged the Planning Department to push forward this work and have supported the recent amendments to the Zoning Ordinance, which have put these types of process-adjustment and bonus-type mechanisms into place.
I would go further than others, however, in urging our city planners to re-visit some of the fundamental planning concepts, which were put into place by SomerVision but that, over time, can be seen to push the development (redevelopment) process toward more luxury housing and high cost projects and away from routine development that has, in the past, provided most of the housing for working families. SomerVision has rested its strategy of “transformative” redevelopment on the idea that new developments should maximize property value and, in turn, share the value gains with the city in the form of mitigations, conditions, urban design features, and “community benefits.” To achieve this balance of cross-subsidy, the planning and permitting processes have become enormously complex and take years to complete, during which time inflation builds up development costs. The resulting market levels of rents and prices, needed to cover the maximum value gain calculations also rise to highest levels. It may be time to return to a simpler system of “by right” permitting to create routine and standard housing projects, anticipating routine and standard rents and prices, covering all the lower and mid-level zoning districts of the city.
Affordability for the lowest income people in Somerville?
We are addressing this problem in multiple ways – (a) by offering extra bonuses and incentives through zoning to make some of the mandatory affordable units in each project to have the lowest-tier of rents; (b) by combining in specific projects several methods of tax-discount, fee-waiver, municipal credit; municipal asset donation, and other subsidies. In this way we have worked with NGO-partners and through our Redevelopment Authority, Somerville Land Trust and Affordable Housing Trust, to achieved new projects in which all the units are affordable. We must continue to push forward, keeping vigilant to identify opportunities to acquire sites and to combine the activities of NGO’s and specialized affordable housing entities.”
Jack Perenick: “We need to build more homes in the city, what we build matters, our zoning can greatly influence that. I want to build more lower cost housing, dense, mid-rise, mixed use buildings have traditionally been why Somerville was an inexpensive place to find an apartment. We have to absolutely made sure our zoning does not give a financial incentive to destroy currently existing affordable units. I’m rare in running a campaign that seeks to deliver both on building more, but also leveling the playing field and structuring up zonings to deliver on building working class housing.
I want to upzone around our transit stations to 6 stories, like several candidates, however, I am committed to making a more powerful reform that many candidates will not commit to—making it legal to build housing there without a Special Building Permit. I’m one of the very few candidates who has publicly committed to this. The Special Permit Requirement to build housing in mid-rise centralizes the ability to build with a few high price developers who can afford the attorney’s fees, added blueprinting costs, and years of delays that smaller landowners, and non-profit affordable housing groups cannot. If elected, I’ll propose ending the Special Permit Requirement, democratize the housing market by letting smaller groups and more non-profits into the market. We know most of our existing low cost apartments exist above ground floor commercial establishments in 4-6 story buildings. That’s what I want to focus on building, and giving smaller developers and more current small business owners the changes to be the ones who do that building.
Unlike most of the candidates at-large, I oppose simply up zoning the entire city to 4-6 story building. I believe this approach threatens to turbocharge luxury redevelopment of existing 2 and 3 unit houses. More housing of any kind would help the affordability crisis, but what helps the most is more lower cost housing. I oppose throwing away the opportunity we have to really pursue buildings more true low-cost housing by taking a blanket approach that threatens to actually remove affordable units from our housing market.”
Kristen Strezo: “Zoning is only a piece of the puzzle. Furthermore, I understand the nuances of affordable housing because I live in it. I understand the different versions of affordable housing units from the state-wide to local level.
First, we need to increase the Section 8 stock in Somerville. We need to continue to fund the Municipal Voucher program to impact families who can’t qualify for Section 8 housing if they aren’t documented. We need to entice landlords to expand their owner occupied units as Section 8 stock. We have the SomerVIP program for this.
We need to increase staff in the Office of Housing Stability (OHS) and legal services through our partnerships.
I want to continue to pursue expanding first time homeownership and first generational homeownership opportunities. I see that vision possible through partnerships with SCC and I’ve had conversations on the longevity of 100 Homes Program, converting some of these scatter sites to rent-to-own opportunities.
I’m doing the work of expanding affordable housing initiatives. I’ve put in municipal budget requests to expand affordable housing options and I fought against displacement alongside some of you. I’ve reviewed the possibility and I’ve worked with the Fair Housing Commission to strengthen renters' knowledge of their rights. I will continue to do all this work.”
Marianne Walles: “I would envision Somerville building more three families. Many of the three families have been converted to condos that are not affordable to many residents. Many, including myself grew up in a three family here in Somerville, this model is a great way to help the housing crisis.”
Ben Wheeler: “Housing is so expensive in our city that practically any housing in good condition sells or rents for prices that might be called “luxury”. And building is so expensive that without subsidies to developers, most of the housing they build makes financial sense only if it is built to sell or rent at market rates. I say “most”, but not all—our inclusionary zoning rules capture the fact that as buildings scale up, so does a developer’s profit; we can capture some of that profit to require subsidized housing.
I would like to see us use a flexible, multi-pronged approach to building more affordable housing units. In some cases, either by using additional public subsidies or by modifying zoning, we have been able to get developers to build more subsidized affordable housing than initially required, and to provide other public benefits; this is the case, for example, with the 299 Broadway project, where nearly half of the livable square footage will be subsidized affordable.
The city also owns a significant amount of unused or under-used property; some of that might be developed as city-owned, “social” housing, with a blend of price points.
I would like to see more homes near transit, with more of them permanently affordable. I would like us to move in the direction of zoning major corridors and areas within 1/4 mile of stations for 4–6 stories, depending on affordability; and within a 1/8 mile of transit stations, I’d like even more height to be allowed.
Something that sets me apart is my attention to detail in matters like these, and my appreciation for the complex learning, policy research, and communication that the Council and others will have to do to make these ideas work, in practice, for the most people. One example: I’ve heard about innumerable abuses by developers over the years, and I know that we can’t just draw lines and colors on a map and consider our work done. Through all this, I want to be clear, we need to hold developers, city planners and the Inspectional Services Department to a high standard of fairness, communication, and consistency. Developers cannot be allowed to break rules and promises with impunity.”
This is a 2-part question about increasing the affordable Housing Supply. Somerville is in serious need of truly affordable housing. What concrete steps will you take to increase the number of accessible units in Somerville for the lowest income renters in the next year? And would you support Somerville building municipally-owned social housing and, if so, how would you move that forward?
Jon Link: “In the next year, I’ll focus on preserving and creating more deeply affordable and accessible homes. That means using existing city and state funds strategically—helping the Community Land Trust and nonprofit developers acquire buildings before they’re lost to speculation, and ensuring those homes stay permanently affordable.
I’ll also push to strengthen inclusionary zoning so new development produces more truly affordable units for the lowest-income renters, and to dedicate more Community Preservation Act and linkage funds to direct subsidy rather than loans. We should identify public land suitable for income-restricted housing and partner with mission-driven builders to move projects forward.
The way to create more affordable homes right now is to protect what we have, buy and stabilize existing buildings, and make sure every new project includes units that truly meet the needs of low-income residents.
I strongly support expanding permanently affordable, non-market housing, but I believe the Somerville Community Land Trust is the best vehicle for it. The Land Trust already develops and manages permanently affordable and supportive housing, and it’s structured to keep land in community hands over the long term.
The city simply doesn’t have the capacity or skillset to be a landlord. Instead, it should focus on supporting and scaling the Land Trust’s work by providing predictable funding, technical assistance, and access to public land. Partnering with mission-driven developers and housing cooperatives can help create the same kind of deeply affordable, community-controlled housing that municipal ownership aims for—without overextending city resources.”
Will Mbah: "There have been several ideas about “social housing” currently in discussion among groups and at the state legislature. Yes, I am supportive of pursuing this work and look forward to seeing a more clear proposal of how this would be structured – institutionally, economically, legally.”
Jack Perenick: “In addition to the pathway above I laid out for increasing the number of low-rent apartments that can be created without subsidy, I’m focused on how we can maximize our funding for affordable housing by subsidizing projects that are capable of going beyond the 20% affordable IC set aside and approaching 50% like the Star Market Project, or public-private partnerships like the new Clarendon project that builds public housing and subsidized units as a part of partnerships with market rate housing. We have limited funds, I will advocate for pushing them into the projects where they have the greatest potential to increase the number of IC units. I want to see us do what we were able to do in the 40s and 50s—actually build public social housing ourselves. The funding required likely means we need to work with our state partners, and I’ve been supportive of Rep. Connolly’s efforts to fund state-backed mixed-income social housing in MA. I want to see us move forward on this, either as a city alone, in partnership with our neighboring cities, and preferably with state funding assistance which recognizes how Somerville provides a valuable housing location for residents who enable this state, and recognizes the statewide obligation to support affordable housing in places like Somerville.”
Kristen Strezo: “I’ve done a lot of work on this. The first steps I’d say is expanding the Section 8 Housing Stock through the SomerVIP program and the Municipal Voucher Program. I will continue advocating for and requesting additional funds for these two programs. I have invited CAAS to work collaboratively with me on these two Somerville programs in the past, and I’m hoping CAAS will consider this collaboration.
I have also been working to expand Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) creation within Somerville, as I believe this concept is an underutilized and effective resource. One example of my work on this are my past FY budget requests for funding of a Somerville program similar (but less of a budget than New York state’s program) of the New York ADU Plus One Program.
Last, I like the concept of social housing. Before I answer, I wish to discuss how much CAAS envisions municipally-owned social housing would cost the city of Somerville and from what source of money it would come from.”
Marianne Walles: “I would support social housing and work with community non profits to develop a plan how this can be accomplished.”
Ben Wheeler: “This is a difficult question, because I want to see the number of accessible units for the lowest-income renters increase; I want to see that, passionately. But I know that the funds for this are going to be hard to come by. I hope to serve on the Finance Committee, and whichever committees I’m assigned to, I’ll work closely with fellow councilors and city staff to seek every dollar we can for housing, in federal and state grants, and in new proposed spending. I will make calls and office visits to support State House bills that would free up more funds, such as Mike Connolly’s recent H.3873 and H.1478 Social Housing bills. Wherever the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the Somerville Community Land Trust, and other organizations outside of City Hall can help, I’ll use them and support them. I see social housing as a crucial part of the city’s approach to housing affordability.”
This question is about our existing Affordable Housing. The income re-certification process is very burdensome for many tenants in affordable units, in both public and private housing. Tenants can even lose their homes if recertification is not submitted correctly and on time. How would you leverage your authority as city councilor to simplify the recertification process for tenants in affordable units?
Jon Link: “The recertification process should never be a reason someone loses their home. As a councilor, I’ll push to modernize how the city coordinates with affordable housing managers, simplify paperwork, and expand language access. Where possible, we should align deadlines across programs, allow more digital submissions, and ensure every tenant can access one-on-one help through the Office of Housing Stability or community partners. I’ll also support funding for tenant navigators to help residents complete recertification successfully and on time.”
Will Mbah: “I have been looking toward the city’s experts at Housing Stabilization as they have been working to improve all the mechanisms of access to housing assistance. In particular, in recent years, they have worked to simplify and routinize the registry of low income applicants for inclusionary units and the lotteries. With the city’s Immigrant Affairs and Constituent Affairs offices, there has also been work done on improving outreach and providing assistance to people who find it difficult to fill out applications and organize documentation because of language and disability issues.
Jack Perenick: “As a Councilor, I would work to streamline re-certification and re-qualification by ordinance as possible, working to have other income-qualifying programs share data automatically to help re-qualification happen automatically where possible. I also want to explore how as part of our new unified rental application, we might make re-certification reminders and small assistances possible to help those struggling with day to day work avoid a catastrophe.”
Kristen Strezo: “You're right about the Inclusionary Housing units, and I’m glad this is being discussed, as many people do not understand the depth of this. The recertification process can be extremely stressful and opaque for many affordable housing residents. While there have been some modifications to the city’s recertification process in the past several years such as not requiring Venmo and Paypal disclosures under a certain amount, I don’t know if tenants and landlords know of this income requirement change.
To address this, I believe there should be an optional Tenant Recertification ‘Know Your Rights’ training available for tenants. Residents need to know where in the city they can turn when they’re overwhelmed with the recertification process or face questions or concerns. The Office of Housing Stability is an invaluable resource. And, I also think it’s worth exploring a partnership with Somerville’s Fair Housing Commission to assist in this if they have capacity.”
Mariane Walles: “As City Councilor at Large I would use my leverage for an extension of time and ensure the resident receives the assistance needed to complete the recertification.”
Ben Wheeler: “I share the frustration around unclear bureaucratic processes and forms that hold people’s ability to plan their lives in the balance. This is a policy area I need to learn more about before I can make specific proposals that will actually help; but I can say that I would like to push to streamline these processes, and to hold onto applicant data in a central database so that multiple offices can share it; tenants should not have to chase five different people for documents, or resubmit what they’ve already given to City Hall.
We should also do more to start applicants off with data from their previous year’s registration, so it can be reused if it hasn’t changed.
I am genuinely passionate about making instructions clear and complete, and I would get involved personally with making sure we aren’t being opaque when we can be clear.
Finally, we should track denials and terminations and report them publicly to see where the process is breaking down. “
This question is about tenants’ right to safe and healthy housing. Many of the available lower-cost housing units have health and safety code violations. How will you ensure that these issues are addressed for renters, both in public and private units?
Jon Link: “I want to make sure our inspectional services dept is fully staffed. I support strong code enforcement and proactive inspections, prioritizing older and lower-cost buildings where violations are common. We need clear timelines for remediation, better data transparency, and meaningful penalties for repeat offenders. At the same time, we should provide grants or low-interest loans to small landlords who need help making safety upgrades if they’ll do so without raising rents. The goal is compliance and health without adding to displacement.”
Will Mbah: "The city already has in place a full set of code and sanitary requirements that are the basis for protection of residents and maintenance of public health and safety in all neighborhoods. Landlords and tenants fall short of compliance with these regulations. Given Somerville’s large proportion of older housing stock and the high costs of labor and materials to keep up with maintenance, repairs, and upgrading, many landlords and residents (as tenants and owners) fall short in their responsibilities. It is the city’s responsibility to enforce compliance in all cases, but realistically, two simultaneous approaches are needed:
•Willful neglect and deliberate under-investment must be prevented by diligent monitoring and enforcement actions, with resulting high fines and liens to insure compliance;
•Deficiencies in up-keep that are the result of costs outrunning the capacity of low-income tenants to pay sufficient rent can be addressed with well-designed assistance programs or tax/fee abatements. The office of Housing Stability already has in place some programs of such assistance. These could be refined and expanded if revenue sources become available."
Jack Perenick: “Yes, city funded engagement and mediation with landlords is a way we can exert private spending from landlords and management companies to invest more into our housing and tenants. Part of why I would prioritize simplifying the work of ISD is that it would free up more time for code enforcement officers to ensure our health and safety codes are enforced, and violations ticketed. As a Councilor, I believe part of constituent service means our local elected officials engaging directly with landlords and managers to ensure that repeat offenders are addressed individually.”
Kristen Strezo: "As a City Councilor, I have worked with many constituents on this issue. I have a good partnership with many city departments and I work to help tenants resolve their concerns directly. Many tenants fear bringing issues forward out of fear of Landlord retaliation. Some are being bullied or intimidated by their landlords. None of that is okay.
Enacting much needed fast change at the city level is sometimes hindered by having to ask permission via Home Rule Petition (HRP). I would love for us to be able to give the Somerville Fair Housing Commission more power to investigate fair housing violations like Boston or Cambridge’s Fair Housing Commissions can. While we are proactively exploring what we can do as a city in Somerville, the Commissions in Boston and Cambridge gained that ability decades ago. It may take years to win and enact a HRP for Somerville.
Another barrier to fair housing in Somerville is a lack of awareness around resources for residents. We need to make sure that Somerville residents know their renters’ rights and also, that they feel safe to report violations. Many residents may not know they have housing rights and some may be too afraid to report fair housing violations because they are afraid of landlord or management retaliation. I hope we can discuss this further when we meet.”
Marianne Walles: “I have had discussions with residents, who suggested that there by an multi lingual anonymous report line. Residents have spoken to me about the fears they have about speaking up. I would also be their voice by raising their concerns.”
Ben Wheeler: “We need stronger, faster inspections that focus on real health and safety problems first: heat, mold, pests, broken locks, lead, accessibility. I would support tiered enforcement, so serious issues trigger quick follow-up and, if needed, fines. At the same time, I do not want enforcement to become a back-door way to evict people. So I would seek to pair enforcement with repair grants or low-interest loans for small landlords who keep rents stable.”
This question is about Immigrant Renters. Many immigrants in our city, both with and without papers, are living with the fear of detention, deportation, and separation from their families. Several immigrant households have already lost their breadwinner to detention or deportation and we fear that this will continue. How will you ensure these households are able to pay their rent and maintain their housing?
Jon Link: “We need to increase funding for legal defense and income support so families aren’t pushed into crisis when a loved one is detained or deported. I’ll work to strengthen Somerville’s Sanctuary protections and ensure that no city department cooperates with ICE or gathers and stores data that ICE may have or gain access to. The city needs to partner with community organizations to expand rental assistance, emergency funds, and legal aid for immigrant households. Everyone deserves to feel safe accessing city services and to know that their family and housing are protected, regardless of immigration status. We will do what we can as much as we can until ICE is no longer operating their campaigns of terror.”
Will Mbah: “The city already has programs in place that (i) identify and provide legal assistance for individuals who are caught up in immigration enforcement actions; and (ii) housing stabilization programs that can cover rent arrears and intervene with landlords or in a court proceeding, to stave off evictions. It may be useful to determine whether these two programs and agencies are sufficiently in communication and able to coordinate so that the family of an immigrant, who is removed, very quickly gets contacted by the housing office to assess their needs.”
Jack Perenick: “I’m committed to ensuring our community and local governments response to ICE raids on our community is to minimize the disruption and corrosive effect of deportations and detentions while also working to minimize those occurrences in general. I’ve volunteered at Project Citizenship and have seen the work that citizenship and visa assistance programs have done. I want to ensure our city continues to support stabilization funds that assist residents getting their legal paperwork and protecting their ability to stay here, and fighting detentions that remove a household earner from their home.”
Kristen Strezo: "I will continue to ensure that our city’s Somerville Office of Immigrant Affairs (SOIA) and the Office of Housing Stability (OHS) are amply funded and amply staffed.
Our City staff are devoted and on the ground. I know that SOIA and OHS are working through some really devastating times, helping so many in the immigrant community. I worry about them and I worry about them burning out. Aside from funding, I also feel we should consider their emotional needs and their emotional support levels, as they deal with such heavy and oftentimes dire situations. I’ve been thinking a lot about this and have been creating a plan. I can talk further about it with you."
Marianne Walles: “This has been a common issue I have heard through my work as a social worker. We need to have funds put aside for residents. I along with other have proposed that the city in Payment In Liu of Taxes task force report that money received through the negotiations be set aside for such use.”
Ben Wheeler: “One of the most horrifying moments in our community’s targeting by our own federal government was in late September, when four members of one Somerville family were abducted by ICE. I’m incredibly proud that Somerville Public Schools’ Basic Needs and Family Support office stepped in immediately to provide rental and utilities support to the remaining members of the family.
We should protect income-disrupted households the same way we protect fire or flood victims. I support emergency rent bridge funds that immigrant families can access without putting themselves at risk, administered through city offices or through trusted community partners. I would also push for city-funded legal services to cover immigration-related loss of income. Housing stability should not depend on immigration status.”
This question is about homelessness. There has been a lot of public attention on homelessness in Davis Square this past year, but not on the unhoused residents in East Somerville and Foss Park. Permanent supportive housing, which provides both subsidized rents and services to keep people in their homes, has been effective nationwide. What would you do to support the dignity, agency and needs of these unhoused Somerville residents?
Jon Link: “Yes. Homelessness in Somerville deserves year-round attention, not just when it’s visible. Permanent supportive housing (combining affordable homes with wraparound services) is the evidence-based proven path forward. Long-term, housing first programs save money, so it’s a smart investment too. I support identifying appropriate city and nonprofit-owned sites, support partnerships with organizations like Heading Home and Somerville Homeless Coalition, and ensure new housing projects include units set aside for formerly unhoused residents. I’ll also support mobile outreach and case management to connect people with services while preserving dignity and choice.”
Will Mbah: "The city has made efforts to expand its services, including plans to add more shelter beds at College Avenue, immediate work to have a warming center open for the winter, and increased funding support for the various street-level social services provided by our NGO partners. We are also working to insure that police and emergency response personnel respond with non-criminal and humane methods to problems of violence, drug use and mental health crises among the unhoused and other street populations.
We are engaged in longer-term planning to add a component of permanent supportive housing to the inventory of city-assisted low-income housing units. Given revenue, financing and site acquisition constraints, it will be some period of time before the city can be ready to undertake any kind of multi-unit project of supportive housing. However, within the existing mechanisms of re-housing, the displaced families and individuals, who are being offered housing, can be connected with many of the services that our various NGO partners offer. We may be able to do more in terms of coordination and linkage – and thereby gain experience for how a more vigorous program of interconnected services would work in a permanent supportive housing structure."
Jack Perenick: “I wrote in a notecard to East Somerville residents in August about my commitment to addressing homelessness in East Somerville and in and around Broadway specifically. I support continued efforts to establish permanently supportive housing in the long term, increasing the offerings of wrap around assistance at our warming, cooling, and engagement centers at the city (including Mass Health enrollments, housing placements, and CBHC referrals) and I support establishing low-barrier shelters in multiple areas around Somerville including in the East. I also believe that ending the use of incarceration as a result of drug-involved arrests is critical. The Council made progress partially towards this by its adoption of its 2015 order deprioritizing enforcement of public narcotics use, but it didn’t go far enough to remove incarceration as a result of arrests. I would support Somerville joining the other 26 cities and towns and adopting a Recovery Court diversion program to connect those arrested for crimes including drug use to instead be connected to state treatment program options, something which expands our access to state funded recovery and stability systems. I also support an unarmed response and engagement effort in addition to hybrid response efforts at times when either respectively are appropriate. I also want to ensure we are not detaching unhoused residents from their belongings and want to explore temporary storage options to ensure we are not further setting back some of our most vulnerable residents seeking stability. I also want the city to fund on demand transportation to our community’s Community Behavioral Health Center to see rapid treatment of acute injuries, addiction treatment, or mental health intervention. Accessing more state funding is critical and better connecting residents to that help is part of how we can do that. In general, I will also be dedicated to ensuring East Somerville's voice is heard on the Council.”
Kristen Strezo: “As a City Councilor, I have been doing this work within the City Council’s Housing and Community Development Committee (HCD) and I support the expansion of Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) with our community partners. I will continue to. As of March, 2025, Somerville currently has 68 PSH units with plans to expand 100 to 150 in the years to come with incoming projects in the pipeline.”
Marianne Walles: “One of the key pieces I see is supporting agencies and staffing that service our unhoused. Often these service are the first to be cut but also we must be sure as a municipality to make payment for services/contracts in a much more efficient way.”
Ben Wheeler: “I support more permanent supportive housing, and I want it spread across the city—and, ideally, across multiple cities and towns in our region. The council can reduce zoning and permitting friction for these projects, and push the city to keep the warming center model going year-round. Street outreach has to come first, but we also need to be clear that public space has to be usable for everyone. Housing paired with services is the way to make that possible; I look to the Somerville Community Land Trust and Just-a-Start’s 297 Medford St. project as an example, since it will have 50 units of affordable housing, with the ground level used for retail and for supportive services.”
This question is about small, local businesses. Heavy ICE presence in Somerville, and in particular East Somerville, has made it more difficult for small businesses to operate. Three immigrant-owned businesses have closed in East Somerville in the last three months. What specific strategies will you use to ensure the survival of small, immigrant-owned businesses?
Jon Link: “We need to resist ICE in every way we can, both as a city and as individuals. The fear and disruption caused by ICE presence hurts our neighbors and directly undermines our communities values and our local businesses.
The city can take concrete steps to support immigrant-owned businesses, especially in East Somerville. We should continue creating and promoting programs like East Somerville food crawls, make sure the city itself is doing business with our local restaurants and caterers, and ensure that East Somerville Main Streets is fully funded and supported in helping businesses pursue grants. Finally, our city is infamous for paying vendors late. I’ll work with our new mayor to make sure doing with the city is a blessing and not a curse.
While it’s easy for me to say this is the moral choice, protecting and uplifting immigrant-owned businesses is also good economics.”
Will Mbah: "The economic pressures that burden all small businesses in the Boston region today arise from market conditions and national policies and, thus, are largely beyond the jurisdiction of one municipality to protect against. If consumers and restaurant-goers cut back spending because they have to pay higher insurance premiums, car loan interest and day-care costs, retail and consumer service sectors inevitably shrink. The city has no power to generate consumer demand.
It may be possible to address on the small-scale of municipal actions, the specific additional problems of pressure on the immigrant businesses by city-supported local business marketing campaigns and other ways of boosting the sense of security and attractiveness of the areas where immigrant businesses are clustered. These efforts are already under way.”
Jack Perenick: “I want to ensure that small businesses know their rights, and that improper intrusions to private homes or businesses do not occur, especially when so many raid are conducted without proper judicial warrants. If elected I would work as a partner to Councilor McLaughlin to help him individually reach out to immigrant owned or supported businesses to ensure they were aware of their full protections under the law and help create individualized plans to respond to unlawful ICE actions.”
Kristen Strezo: "My close working relationship with community partners and advocates enables me to take action on matters that affect our residents the most personally - including the attacks on our immigrant neighbors. Our residents should not be afraid to take their children to school, or go to work.
We need to make sure the Somerville Office of Immigrant Affairs (SOIA) is well funded and well supported in Somerville, and not restricted by bureaucratic barriers to do what they need to do to protect our residents.
In my position as a City Councilor At-Large, I will continue to encourage residents of Somerville to patronize and support our local immigrant-owned restaurants and businesses. We are also addressing some of this work in the committee I chair, Housing and Community Development (HCD).”
Marianne Walles: “I believe we need to follow East Somerville Main Street in promoting/ highlighting supporting these businesses.”
Ben Wheeler: “This is one I’ll need to think and learn more about. I’m passionate about keeping immigrant-owned businesses open and thriving, but I know the challenges are real. I’d start by talking to business owners and employees, to the Somerville Police Department, to city staff who work on economic development and immigrant affairs, and to other city governments. Where the city has leverage, and where we have expertise, we should be doing everything we can to support these businesses and keep them solvent—and employing people in our community.”
There are a lot of development plans happening right now that are substantial and will make Somerville increasingly unaffordable. As city councilor, what will you do now to plan for the changes to come 5-10 years from now so we don't get the drastic wave of gentrification that we had before the new green line stops were opened?
Jon Link: “I’ll push for strong community benefit agreements in major developments, increased support for the Somerville Community Land Trust, and clear affordability mandates in all rezoning. We should continue requiring developers to contribute to infrastructure and affordability funds that directly benefit the neighborhoods most affected by change.
Looking ahead, we need to shape growth—not resist it. That means planning sites for permanently affordable housing now, expanding the Land Trust’s acquisition capacity, and exploring commercial inclusionary zoning so new developments include affordable space for small and local businesses. Growth should build community wealth, not displace it. By linking development to long-term affordability and neighborhood stability, we can maintain a more equitable Somerville.”
Will Mbah: "We have to continue to look closely at our regulatory zoning rules to identify the many detailed elements of building design, urban functions, parking requirements, and complex discretionary permitting procedures – that add time and costs to development projects and push investors toward luxury projects. Another area that should be explored is the fundamental planning strategy which the city has followed under Somer Vision – that is, to expect to maximize the value of every redevelopment project, in order to extract a maximum amount of mitigations, conditions and “community benefits.”
If routine, standard housing projects could move forward “by right” and without all the bells and whistles and years of process, the result might be housing at standard, routine rents and prices."
Jack Perenick: “As a Councilor, we hold a lot of the power of what gets build. I don’t believe our current approach, or the blind up zoning approach that some candidates have proposed will best serve our community in avoiding the kind of displacement that followed green line openings. I wrote about this in question 2, and strongly believe my commitments to zoning and permitting reform set me apart in seeking local laws that have the best change of retaining our lower income residents, avoiding increasing costs, and remaining a welcoming community where new residents can continue to come to.”
Kristen Strezo: “Gentrification is already here. Displacement is already happening. Low income and moderate income long-time residents are being priced out or forced to leave Somerville. I’ve sought a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach to solving this complex issue. One option is through empowering Somerville owner-occupied small landlords to build a rental or potential low-income homeownership on their property.
Another way I’ve been fighting displacement is through local utility bill support and food insecurity counter measures, as well as getting creative with transportation options for low-income residents.
I’m trying to lead the charge on what low income families need. I also feel that our senior voices are not always heard, and many are also at a high risk of displacement. We need to ensure that those experiencing the threat of displacement, including seniors and our families are LISTENED TO. Oftentimes issues seniors bring forward are not only dismissed, but they are voted against. That’s not okay.”
Marianne Walles: “As City Councilor at Large I would like to see more units that are affordable and I would like to cap the amount of ‘luxury units’ being built. I would also like to see more of the development provide home buyer opportunities.”
Ben Wheeler: “We can create more housing supply that is affordable through investment in publicly-owned and nonprofit-owned housing, creation of new subsidized affordable housing in private developments, and by bending the cost curve down by allowing more housing to be built in more places overall. But the greatest cause of high housing prices in Somerville is the scarcity of new housing in the entire Greater Boston region. We need to support the many housing-friendly bills in the state legislature, and also to develop models in our housing policies here that other towns and cities in the region will be inspired to copy. We’ve done this before; some ideas from our deep revamping of zoning leading up to 2019 were quickly adopted by other cities, in some cases before Somerville had even formally adopted them ourselves!”
This question is about transportation. Somerville has worked hard to become more bike and pedestrian friendly. However, many residents — including those with long commutes, physically demanding jobs, seniors, and people with disabilities — still rely on cars and public transit. Unfortunately, the Green Line Extension is not accessible for many public housing tenants, and working class residents face many challenges like infrequent buses, out-of-service and delayed subways, sidewalks that are not ADA compliant, limited parking, and congested streets. How do you plan to address these inequities?
Jon Link: “Transportation equity means making it safe, affordable, and practical for everyone to get around—whether they walk, roll, bike, ride transit, or drive. More people taking buses, trains, and bikes means fewer cars, less congestion, and cleaner air.
I’ll push for more frequent bus service, safer and ADA-compliant sidewalks, and protected bike lanes that connect every neighborhood to transit and key destinations. Congestion is a regional problem, so we need regional solutions and better coordination with the MBTA and neighboring cities.
We also need to create more local jobs of all types so that more people can work where they live, reducing long commutes and traffic while strengthening our community and local economy. Every transportation investment should also be an equity investment—prioritizing safety, accessibility, and opportunity in areas that have been historically overlooked.”
Will Mbah: "The fundamental difficulties of transportation are regional in scope and can only ultimately be resolved by combined and coordinated actions of the city with the state and its regional neighbors through the MBTA, MAPC, etc. The long term plans for Somerville that foresee transformed areas of mixed residential and commercial uses around the T-stations are the proper approach; however, the spatial reorganization of living, working and moving around will take decades to achieve – while simultaneously the whole technology of transport may change as well.
That said, the interim methods of street re-design, which are underway, and he various programs of local support and assistance for low-income city residents to get to their jobs and schools – with free-bus passes are helpful ways to keep moving the needle of commuters away from autos to the T and buses."
Jack Perenick: “I want to start with buses. I was a primarily bus commuter when I first moved to Somerville. I would often wait 30 minutes for the 87, and scheduling and details around catching the bus often made a lot of decisions for me. We need to make our bus stops more inviting, with seating, lighting, shelters, and arrival displays. This is what we can do in the city’s control to increase ridership, increased ridership will increase how much the state is willing to pay for increase MBTA service in terms of frequency and reliability. I’ve spoken with many residents of public housing and how essential it is, I am committed to fighting for service that covers our public housing buildings.
I’ve written more about how I would handle roadway redesigns here: https://www.jackforsomerville.com/priorities#safe-streets. In short, we need to complete the bike network plan to ensure we meet our vision zero goals and make biking an easy choice for more people. We need to take this opportunity to increase the accessibility of our commercial districts with more handicap and accessible spaces, even exceeding the ADA to make up for reduced overall parking. We need to add short term parking in commercial areas to ensure the curb space is used by the maximum number of people each day.”
Kristen Strezo: "Thank you for bringing this up, as I feel that it is often a overlooked topic. As I have continuously stated to my colleagues, many low-income residents rely on cars for their jobs, their families and/or caregiving needs, or because of their health or mobility needs.
I continuously push for solutions and I have proof of my advocacy on this topic. Just some things I’ve done in the past include bringing back funding for the Senior Taxi Cab Program, by requesting the City of Somerville to fund the program after pandemic funding from Massachusetts was cut.
And for those who can or wish to use other low-cost transportation options, I’ve been working to expand this within Somerville. I have been exploring what public transportation tools we have at a municipal level, and I’m optimistic on what is possible, including enacting Community Benefit Agreements and municipal covenants. In this term, I was able to confirm after quite a bit of research, that Somerville residents can ride any Tufts shuttle buses for free alongside the students (and should). I have been spreading the word to inform the community, and I encourage all Somerville residents and employees to utilize the Tufts shuttle buses.
And, we can go further. I advocated throughout the Somernova negotiation process that all Somerville residents be able to ride any employee shuttle bus that the Somernova project implemented, any time it is in motion. This was confirmed in the June 26, 2025 City Council meeting.
Foreseeing into the years ahead, I am also committed to working for the ongoing permission for any Somerville resident to freely ride other employee shuttle buses servicing our community (and region) like Boynton Yards, MGB employee shuttle bus, Encore Casino (including the boat rides, for free; not just one way), CHA, Harvard and other large non-profit and corporate institution shuttle busses. In my vision, this ridership privilege could and should be negotiated into all CBAs, Covenants and Neighboring Community Benefit Agreements.
I also think Somerville should negotiate free transportation services that the developer provides, such as one or two small 8-seater electric vehicles (such as Circuit shuttles which currently service communities such as Plymouth, Boston and Stoneham). These vehicles could run continuously east/west, north/south into the city (maybe Monday through Friday) and any Somerville resident could utilize them or we as a community could set the limitations. We could and should negotiate that into future CBAs. This is one way we could create our own municipal busing system outside of the MBTA and entice people out of car usage.
Going forward, I will continue to press that by sometimes redesigning the streets without planning for more ADA accessibility, we disenfranchise some of our most vulnerable residents. Sometimes low income residents are forced to choose between housing and mobile independence. That's not equity.
I need help from CAAS to help impress upon some of my City Council colleagues, and whomever is elected as mayor, to consider this a priority, and to not dismiss these inequities.”
Marianne Walles: “I would like to see a free inter city bus service and the implantation of a parking program similar to Arlington where seniors an park for free during certain hours.”
Ben Wheeler: '“We need to fix the basics first: clear and level sidewalks, smooth (and unbroken!) crosswalks, working curb ramps. We need more frequent buses, that go faster; one tool we can use is bus/traffic light transponders that time green and red lights to help the bus get through faster. I would love to see the bus made free, though the MBTA needs to be much more cooperative about that. I see some possibility in expanding the piecemeal local shuttle buses that already operate in Somerville, as well as those promised by Somernova, and making them into a more coherent and fare-free network, so people who need to get across town where MBTA buses don’t reach can still access T stations and jobs. On parking, I would keep accessible and short-term spaces near homes and business districts. A fair transportation system is one where we prioritize the people who have the fewest other options.”