Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition

Katjana Ballantyne

Key priorities - transportation, housing, climate. I’ll continue working on initiatives like:
Transportation safety design for state roads that interact with city streets.
Air quality improvements, particularly in EJ communities, for highway pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
Remediation through sound walls, air filtration, plantings mitigating particulate matter
Fare free buses
Electrification of MBTA buses and commuter rail
Increased EV for all infrastructure and municipal vehicles
Climate change bill (FUTURE Act) affects building codes moving towards cleaner heating
Financing for public and affordable housing
Increasing bicycle and pedestrian access with complimentary street infrastructure

Mary Cassesso

I have deep relationships at the local and state levels that I plan to leverage to make sure that sound barriers and safety measures are brought to McGrath and I-93. Since I was a young girl, protesting the construction of I-93, highway justice has been a personal concern. Highway justice is a racial, social and health justice issue. In collaboration with organizations like Somerville Stands Together and SASS, I will work to make sure our roads in Somerville are less car-centric, so cyclists and pedestrians have safe means of travel. It is important that the Mayor of Somerville advocates for the maintenance of T Stations to ensure their reliability and safety.

My top three priorities are health equity, affordable housing, and climate justice. Housing and climate change are public health crises and need to be recognized as such. My policies intertwine to execute changes that need will address our public health infrastructure, affordable housing, and climate change simultaneously. I.e advocating for affordable housing renovations, we need deep energy retrofitting, and when building new affordable housing units need electrified heating/cooling systems instead of natural gas.

Will Mbah

One specific area where I intend to collaborate with our state delegation is to put pressure on MassDOT to fund and build I-93 Sound Barriers, build improvements to pedestrian walkways to finally bring justice for those living in the “Corridor of Death” along McGrath and I-93. Let’s turn McGrath into a people-oriented street instead of a car-centric street. I will also work with the state delegation by requesting additional funds for a Green New Deal for Somerville. This would include updating our municipal buildings to be truly net-zero, adding green stormwater infrastructure throughout the city, and creating a program that provides free HEPA indoor filters to those residents living in buildings that can’t be retrofitted with better filtration systems.

Katjana Ballantyne

Transit-oriented urban environments that create people-centered cities help us to combat climate change and to create affordable housing because they allow residents to limit automobile use, to be efficient in energy and utility uses, thereby reducing carbon footprint, and allowing affordable housing development at a scale that can be economic.

As Mayor I’ll work to implement the goals of the Somerville Green New Deal, which I authored and sponsored, I’ll continue using every tool to make housing affordable and jobs accessible to residents. I’ll work for complete, accessible, safe streets.

Mary Cassesso

There is a question of equity that lies at the heart of all three of these issues, a demand for fair treatment and proper attention that I will not overlook as mayor. Building housing in conjunction with the new Green Line, ensure that new housing is built with an eye towards net-zero emissions. Failing to address these issues deepens inequities with unaffordable housing (mixed with centuries of institutionalized discrimination), limits ability to commute to find better employment, etc. Marginalized communities are most affected by climate change.

Will Mbah

All residents should enjoy access to effective and efficient public transportation and access to safe ways of accessing the city they live in without having to use cars. When I first moved to Somerville I did not have a car and I spent more time commuting than I did with my family and friends. This is still the reality for too many residents of Somerville. Unfortunately, many of our streets are not safe or accessible for many of our residents. As a founding member of Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets (SASS), I have worked to address these issues, and I will continue that work as Mayor.

Katjana Ballantyne

I’ll continue to advocate for our pedestrian, bus and bike lane improvements. Eight out of ten cars on our streets are commuters driving through our city. Our transit network should support Somervile first. Pedestrian, bus and bike features make our streets better for local users, including residents and businesses, and not for commuters driving through. Data shows that these features encourage walking, biking and bus use, so they reduce traffic leaving more parking available. More pedestrians means more shoppers in local, shops and more diners in local restaurants. In the past, some business owners were reluctant to lose a parking space to a bike share, bus lane or to a dining corrals. Now however, more and more businesses and residents are beginning to see positive change in our streets and they are becoming more supportive of the benefits to complete, accessible, safe streets as our experience begins to confirm the predictions of data and planning.

Mary Cassesso

As a non-driver myself I am attuned to the needs of our pedestrians, cyclists, and bus-takers. Street congestion can be largely attributed to commuters who use Somerville as nothing but a pass-through. The pandemic, showed us a potential future that the reduction in commuters made possible. As restaurants built outside-dining that encroached onto streets, a potential future for a more vibrant and neighborly Somerville was revealed. Part of achieving that goal of a better Somerville will include stringent traffic and pedestrian safety measures, improved bus and bike lanes, and encouraging a more walking-friendly city where our busy sidewalks accommodate shoppers patronizing local businesses and frequenting local restaurants, reducing those businesses' needs for street parking. I will be a strong advocate for these measures because I have always respectfully stood up for my views against resolute opposition, from both individuals and organized special-interest groups, over my more than 30 years as an executive leader. I am seasoned in standing up to pushback and delivering results, preparing me to do just that as mayor.

Will Mbah

I believe that we must prioritize bus improvements, protected bike lanes, and accessible pedestrian routes whenever we are redesigning a street, as well as upgrading curb cuts to make Somerville a more accessible city for our neighbors with disabilities. If we build a road for cars, more cars will come. If we build a road for bikes, more bikes will come. The challenge for the next mayor will be threading the needle to ensure our city can safely accommodate both cyclists/pedestrians and some working people and families, as well as people with disabilities who depend on cars.

There is understandable pushback whenever a plan is proposed to replace parking with a more equitable use of roads, but by listening to the concerns of our neighbors and working together, I believe we can achieve a final result that is embraced by the neighborhood. We must also make sure that those who are ill-served by our current streetscapes, including seniors and neighbors with disabilities, are at the front and center of these conversations.

Katjana Ballantyne

As Mayor I will be committed to creating complete, accessible, safe streets in Somerville that work for all Somerville users first and foremost. Our streets should accommodate bicycles, buses, pedestrians, and our streets should serve the needs of Somerville residents, institutions and businesses as a priority. As Mayor I will advocate for funding and implementation of the planned citywide bike network and I will:
• Work with neighborhood advocates and SBAC to design a bike network that connects every neighborhood, every square, every school etc. The plan should follow NACTO “All Ages & Abilities” guidelines: physically protected bike lanes on major streets, but can do neighborways on quieter streets or for local access.
• Ensure adequate funding and staffing for Mobility, Engineering, and DPW to design, build, and maintain bike lanes.
• Require the bike network plan be followed during street reconstruction, similar to Cambridge’s 2019 Cycling Safety Ordinance
• Require City staff to build a certain mileage of protected bike lanes per year, similar to the 2020 amendments to Cambridge’s Cycling Safety Ordinance

Mary Cassesso

I believe in the creation and expansion of our bicycle network, and I’ll see that plan to fruition as mayor. There are three crucial components at question here: the creation of new bike lanes, the upkeep of existing lanes, and building protected bike lanes in needed areas and throughways to protect our bicyclists. I will ensure that the DPW, IAM, the Engineering Department, and the Mobility Department prioritize bike lane infrastructure. I will work with the city council so that these departments have the funding necessary to meet their directives. Choosing locations for protected bike lanes with the city’s Bicycle Committee among other departments and stakeholders, we will effectively protect cyclists in the most dangerous intersections, turns, and large streets. Building and maintaining our bike lanes, in tandem with our bus lanes and improved sidewalks, will help to reduce our ecological footprint while simultaneously making Somerville livelier and healthier. Lastly, I will make sure this is a regional and state effort.

Will Mbah

I am very happy that a resolution I sponsored that called for funding a city-wide bicycle network was ultimately funded, and am committed to seeing the project through as Mayor. As we turn to the planning phase, making sure the bicycle network is inclusive of our pedestrian and transit infrastructure needs is critical. There are many mobility plans underway in Somerville, and they must work together to achieve the transportation priorities that reflect our values. I am interested in exploring what aspects of Cambridge’s ordinance on network implementation could be applied to Somerville.

Katjana Ballantyne

As mayor, I will be committed to making street network ADA compliant to accommodate users of all abilities. I committed to supporting:
• Increased funding for Somerville to accelerate progress against its $75M ADA backlog to more quickly build curb ramps, clear sidewalks, and audible walk signals.
• Embracing outdoor dining parklets/streateries, we need to ensure that they are fully accessible, both for people dining there and for people walking or rolling by.
• Clear complaint process for people to report violations
• Expanding DPW’s snow clearance responsibilities to include clearing sidewalks. In winter months, inconsistent sidewalk shoveling can make sidewalks impassable; municipal snow clearance would make it easier for everyone to use our sidewalks in the winter.

Mary Cassesso

As Mayor, I will promote all ADA recommendations and work closely with our Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to address discrimination in our physical infrastructure. Our roads and walkways need to be accessible for all who live in Somerville. Specifically, I would improve our sidewalks to include more ramps, tactile pavements, and audible walk signals. Sidewalks also need to be better maintained so that tree roots do not uproot pavestones. Traffic calming measures need to be placed to increase the safety for folks who are visually impaired and/or using mobility assistive devices. If elected Mayor, I would be inaugurated in January. Therefore, one of my first actions will be to work with DPW to make sure there are services to assist with sidewalk snow clearing so mobility around the city is not inhibited.

Will Mbah

Due to decades of poor planning and maintenance, the accessibility of our city’s sidewalk network is terrible. While recent street redesigns have prioritized features like accessible ramps, sidewalks, and infrastructure for the visually-impaired, much of the city is still in dire need of this type of infrastructure. I support increasing our budget to repair and replace infrastructure that is inaccessible and continued efforts to identify and prioritize the most-needed sidewalk repairs. In addition, I support additional traffic calming measures in the city and the sidewalk snow-clearing pilot program that was included in this year’s DPW budget and would like this program expanded citywide: http://somervillecityma.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?ID=24501&highlightTerms=sidewalk%20snow

I would also ensure that programs such as the pop-up outdoor dining established during the pandemic meet all accessibility requirements, and would work through the Chamber of Commerce and ISD to ensure education and enforcement.

Katjana Ballantyne

To impliment the SomerVision 2040 mobility goals on long and short term projects I will:
• Work to define and implement specific requirements to improve our streets so that we can accomplish our goals according to a clear plan of action. Somerville’s Complete Streets Ordinance sets excellent goals, as mayor I’ll work to get this done.
• Advocate to include durable, long lasting materials like planters or pre-cast curbs in our quick-build projects. So that short term projects help to achieve our long term goals.
• Somerville’s projects are too often either short-term paint-and-flexposts projects that provide insufficient protection,or full reconstructions that take many years to deliver safety improvements. We can do better and as mayor, I’ll work build our complete, accessible, safe streets in both short term and long term projects.

Mary Cassesso

I plan to use the City’s Complete Streets Ordinance holistic lens to make sure our short-term goals/projects lead to our long-term goal of reducing the use of fossil fuels and increasing safe travel for all citizens of Somerville and those who pass through Somerville. Through participatory policymaking, I want to make sure inclusion and equity are prioritized as we create short-term goals, we must bring voices to the table that have historically been overlooked. Again, I’d like to include the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Strategic Planning, Community Development, DPW, etc. to provide appropriate accommodations for folks utilizing public transportation, walkways and bikes. To succeed, I also plan to use my deep relationships and network to work regionally to advance SomerVisions2040 mobility goals because safe streets should continue into our neighboring communities where so many work, visit, etc.

Will Mbah

As mentioned above, I am committed to prioritizing walkability, accessibility, MBTA bus infrastructure, and protected bicycle lanes in any new street redesigns, and making sure that those who are ill-served by the status quo, including seniors and neighbors with disabilities, are at the center of these conversations. I intend to use my leverage over the city budget as Mayor to ensure that a Complete Streets approach that encompasses these priorities is implemented.

Katjana Ballantyne

As mayor, I'll continue supporting safety improvements where they are required and I'll work closely with the state delegation to make the improvements happen, as I did locally with pedestrian safety improvements in West Somerville all along Powderhouse Boulevard, and as I did in making the intersection redesign project and safety improvements happen at the intersection of Powderhouse Boulevard and Mystic Valley Parkway.

Mary Cassesso

The unsafe conditions of McGrath and Mystic Ave are unacceptable. I will use my relationships with state agencies and MassDOT to advance safety changes to these areas. I have a long history of working regionally and at the state level to executive long-overlooked projects that promote equity within our community. I will work with neighbors to make sure the solutions that work best for our community are executed.

Will Mbah

As a founding member of Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets (SASS), I am so grateful for our advocacy and progress in pressuring MassDOT to improve the “Corridor of Death” at McGrath Highway and Mystic Ave. As Mayor, I would commit to work side-by-side with them and other neighbors, community groups, and elected officials to support these continued efforts. In addition, you will notice from my endorsements, that I believe strongly in forming partnerships across the region and I will continue to strengthen and grow those partnerships as mayor to apply coordinated pressure on the state for improvement.

Katjana Ballantyne

While MBTA runs buses, Somerville can work to ensure that buses move smoothly rather than getting stuck in traffic. As mayor, I'll work for more of the following improvements:
• Dedicated bus lanes / queue jump bus lanes
• Expand traffic signal priority, so buses get a green light more quickly. While Somerville has piloted transit signal priority at a handful of intersections, we should move past the pilot and implement signal priority at lights on the bus routes.
• Build out the curb at bus stops, so that buses can stop in-lane without merging in and out of traffic, and there’s more room for bus shelters and benches.
• Build “floating bus stops” so bikes can travel behind the bus stop, reducing conflicts between buses and bikes

Mary Cassesso

Firstly, though the state, not the mayor, exercises control over MBTA buses, I will be a strong advocate for increased and improved public transportation in my role as an elected city leader, arguing before the General Court and the Governor as needed to strengthen our MBTA buses. Secondly, in my role as an executive, we will pursue traffic signal priority for buses, make bus stops and curbs more accessible, improve the quality of the seating and weather-protection near bus stops, and work to preserve bus lanes during road reconstruction as much as possible.

Will Mbah

As Mayor, I commit to continue supporting and fighting for bus and bus + bike lanes, expanding signal priority, increasing the number of bus lanes during peak hours, and would also fight for a fare-free MBTA in Somerville. Buses reduce fossil fuel usage, help reduce traffic and therefore overall commute times, create good union jobs, and are disproportionately used by people of color and immigrants. Improving bus service and infrastructure contributes to environmental justice, good jobs, and racial justice and equity, and will be a major priority for me

Katjana Ballantyne

I'm committed to an inclusive leadership style to ensure that residents are at the table in making decisions that affect their life's quality. I will reach out by all means, by social media, by mail and by calling. I'll host and advertise meetings according to a publicly available schedule that is published well in advance. Most importantly I'll listen, and I'll value the voices of our residents.

Mary Cassesso

As Mayor, I will increase transparency and accountability at all levels of government. And this begins with how we treat our citizens. We need to make sure meetings are held in the communities that are most affected. Meetings need to be recorded and minutes need to be taken to be listed publicly so that folks who cannot attend the meeting because they do not have proper childcare, work 2-3 jobs, etc., can view it at their convenience. Any and all calls/emails that come to City Hall that provide questions, comments, concerns about busing need to be followed up on to build trust, promote inclusiveness and good customer service. I will hire folks, like me, who are empathetic and hardworking public servants who will actively seek public participation so that needs are met.

Will Mbah

It is important that we acknowledge the barriers that lower-income and other marginalized communities have participating in the political process and making their voices heard. I would use my platform as Mayor to spread awareness about the Bus Network Redesign process, and would continue working with community members, advocacy groups, and providers of community services that provide direct support to Somerville residents whose transportation needs are not being met. I believe we have to bring the process to the people, by gathering feedback in areas of high transit usage, especially major housing developments around Somerville like the Mystics and Clarendon.

Katjana Ballantyne

I'll keep working with MassDOT for remediation through sound walls, air filtration, plantings mitigating particulate matter, to build noise walls along the length of I-93 through Somerville, especially in East Somerville. I'll advocate for planting dense vegetation along the highway to help absorb pollution.

Mary Cassesso

My first political action was opposing the construction of I-93 and the razing of houses in East Somerville. I saw the horrible impacts on the health of my community when those opposition efforts failed. Pollution and sound mitigation efforts are a means of combating the harmful effects of I-93, and I support them, but it is no salve for the negative health impacts already inflicted upon the people of East Somerville (Wards 1 and 4), which is why I support a continuum of care to, as best as possible, prevent and treat adverse health outcomes that I-93 has brought upon Somervillens.

Will Mbah

The communities bordering I-93 experience the worst air pollution in Somerville. Through the advocacy efforts of groups like SASS, the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP), community members, and elected officials in East Somerville and at the state level, there is finally a possibility of building sound and pollution barriers along I-93. As Mayor, I would take advantage of interest in development along this corridor in Assembly Square to fund pollution mitigation and physical protection. In the future, we should improve this corridor by grounding McGrath and making it the appropriate scale for a “people-oriented” city street.

Katjana Ballantyne

FMCB has indicated that when allocating bus service hours, they prefer to run buses on streets with dedicated bus lanes or signal priority so that the buses are used efficiently. I will reach out to the FMCB to offer assistance and planning partnership with MBTA to run frequent, reliable, high-quality bus service. Somerville has been too often left without sufficient bus service. I will advocate work to secure service that is appropriate for our City and I'll address the board directly and by building support from other stake-holders in Somerville.

Mary Cassesso

As Mayor, I would advocate and make sure a Somerville representative has a seat on that board. The needs of Somerville need to be represented to make sure that buses are reliable. In an effort to mitigate climate change, we need to encourage the use of public transportation. To attract folks to this option, we need to make sure buses run frequently and on-time, and are accessible and affordable.

Will Mbah

As Mayor, I would use my platform to advocate for the wishes and concerns that have been prioritized by community members and organizations, in order to help build political pressure on board members and other decision-makers.

Katjana Ballantyne

Substantial stimulus funding indicates that we'll need an open, inclusive, public process to determine how to fund our priorities in Somerville. Priorities will likely include funding a COVID 19 recovery plan for Somerville with funding for childcare, education, youth and family services, the Guaranteed Income Program trial, and local, small business recovery stimulus.

Local infrastructure initiatives like building ADA compliance into complete, safe streets while implementing pedestrian, bus and bike improvements, extending and completing the community path, establishing city-wide broad band, funding free public transportation are all projects that would serve us in both the short and long term.

In affordability and housing we could fund the Jobs Creation and Retention Trust Fund and a Community Land Trust Fund, and many other affordability initiatives. To combat climate change we could plant trees, build infrastructure to managing flooding, renovate our city buildings to with more efficient mechanical and envelop systems and we could improve our parks and green spaces.

This stimulus could make a start on transit-oriented urban environments that create people-centered cities help us to combat climate change and to create affordable housing because by allowing us to support affordable housing development, and to implement the goals of the Somerville Green New Deal. I'll advocate to use this stimulus to make housing affordable and jobs accessible to residents and to build our local network of complete, accessible, safe streets.

Mary Cassesso

The stimulus funds coming to Somerville will help to fund projects that will fulfill my commitments to ensure health equity and public health so that we can continue our efforts to fight COVID, as well as the disproportionate negative effects it has had on our vulnerable community members. This will include the expansion of affordable housing in which I will support the Community Land Trust Fund, Affordable Housing Trust Fund, non-profit affordable housing developers, 100 Homes program, and protect existing “community-owned” housing, such as public housing, publicly subsidized housing, non-profit owned housing, and housing with expiring deed restrictions. We saw during the pandemic that a lack of internet access inhibited some students' learning. I want to fix that and make sure every family has access to the internet to improve equity within our human infrastructure. It’s important to increase green job opportunities and training so that more folks have access to good benefits and wages while supporting the community’s transition to a more sustainable lifestyle. The funds will be used to promote the goals of Somerville and regional initiatives like Somerville’s Green New Deal and SASS so that our streets get the attention they deserve to create safe bike lanes, traffic calming measures, updated sidewalks, etc. The previously mentioned organizations have created proposals that entwine the importance of housing, health, and sustainability, all priorities of mine.

Will Mbah

In the next term, Somerville will have a new Mayor and a significantly-changed City Council, which will face the challenge and opportunity of deciding how to spend this stimulus funding. The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the existing inequities within our city, in particular for our neighbors who are precariously close to being displaced from their homes. I believe we should direct significant amounts of funding to address this housing crisis, including through:
· Direct assistance to residents who have fallen behind on their rent
· Subsidizing significant amounts of new, permanently affordable housing, particularly on city-owned land near transit hubs
· Funding projects like the 100 Homes program, community land trusts, and community development corporations

In addition to housing, we should also fund improvements like Complete Streets projects that will make our streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists and improve commutes.

There are also local transportation projects where we should direct these funds. For instance, I believe we can use these funds to fund the construction of an elevator on school street for the Green Line extension so that our neighbors with disabilities and seniors have access to the green line

Katjana Ballantyne

This funding could make our new train stations accessible. The ramps that were proposed as cost - saving measures, were never satisfying as a solution and elevators are simply required at several stations to make those new stations accessible We can also consider traffic calming, focusing on highest crash corridors, expand transit access for the areas of Somerville least served by GLX to make sure it benefits the entire city, add bus lanes and transit signal priority for improving bus service connecting to GLX, build protected bike lanes on north/south streets so people can safely bike to the Green Line and Community Path.

And we could bring Bluebikes to neighborhoods not yet served, like Brickbottom and Ten Hills, and fill in other gaps in Bluebikes coverage.

Mary Cassesso

My priority is solving the topography challenges where are our T stations are located to make sure public transit is accessible for all. In addition, we’ll continue with the commitment I’ve made to safer sidewalks, slower car travel, more bike lanes, by creating more traffic calming and safety measures.

Will Mbah

If we don't use the stimulus funds to fund on the School Street elevator mentioned above, we should put this money towards constructing the Green Line elevator on School Street. Our neighbors with disabilities and seniors will need this elevator to access the Green Line, so it is vital that we follow through on our commitment to construct it.

Katjana Ballantyne

As mayor, I’ll continue my leadership in working for affordability and new affordable housing to prevent the displacement of lower-income Somerville residents so that they can benefit from living close to the new GLX train stations. High housing costs disproportionately effect immigrant communities, people of color, and people with disabilities. I’ll keep working for affordability, in the pedestrian zones of the transformative areas. I’ll advocate to ensure that 20% of affordable units are built in-place near new GLX station. I’ll keep working to vulnerable resident groups to have access to job training, jobs and career ladders, and I’ll continue my support for programs like The 2000 Homes Program, The Ordinance for Condo Conversion, The Office of Housing Stability, The Jobs Creation and Retention Trust Fund, The Talent Equity Playbook, The Community Land Trust, the work of the Fair Housing Commission and more. As mayor, I’ll continue to advocate for free bus service and free or reduced-fare train service for all, but especially for income-elidgible groups and essential comunity members working in education, health care, public safety and others

Mary Cassesso

This is an example of where the gap between idea and implementation can widen into a chasm in which the same people who have historically benefitted the most from public works - the wealthy - can end up benefiting disproportionately again in the absence of strong safeguards, since they are the entities most prepared to take advantage of newly-presented opportunities. Certain programs and offices like the Condo Conversion Ordinance, the Office of Housing Stability, our inclusionary housing program, and the Fair Housing Commission must be contributed to make the housing we are going to build around the GLX stations affordable and provide homes for individuals and families who do not have the means to live in Somerville otherwise. There is more that we can and must do beyond our existing systems to ensure this, however. The best time to do this work is before projects are approved, before shovels are in the ground. Making building affordable housing units, with strong tenant protections, a requirement for bidders.

Will Mbah

While the GLX has potential to bring many benefits to our community, the looming danger is that it will incentivize landlords to vastly increase rents and displace their existing tenants. To prevent displacement of lower-income residents, we ultimately need rent control and just-cause eviction. We must continue to build a statewide coalition to support these policies, as well as policies like a transfer fee and tenant’s right to purchase. I am also interested in the work of the Fair Housing and Anti-Displacement Task Force, which will be investigating whether changes in zoning could mitigate the displacement of people of color, people with disabilities, low-income residents, and other communities in Somerville. In addition, subsidizing significant amounts of new, permanently affordable housing, particularly on city-owned land near transit hubs would be a great start. We must also continue to build on earlier municipal housing affordability efforts like the Affordable Housing Overlay District, the Office of Housing Stability and ordinances regulating condo conversion and AirBNBs.

Katjana Ballantyne

As mayor, I will continue my three decades of advocacy for mixed-use smart, appropriately dense development with low parking ratios, especially for new, multi-family projects, near transit, that provide affordable housing. I will prioritize developing a local transit network of complete, accessible, safe streets in Somerville. We know from traffic and RE market data, and I know from decades of personal experience, that Somerville is at a tipping point, and that Somerville is becoming a city that can thrive with fewer cars. As our local transportation and mobility options are improved by improved street design and construction, by improved GLX and bus service, personal car ownership and the local use of cars will become less necessary. As more new businesses and jobs move to Somerville, more residents will be able to live and work in Somerville without commuting by car. As I have done in three decades of advocating for the GLX and regional transit improvements, and as I have done in eight years hosting community meetings while serving as an elected official, I will use data and community discussion to help us to balance these development priorities.

Mary Cassesso

Parking spaces, especially above-ground parking spaces, should not be the determining factor in reducing the number of units or the amount of green space in future developments. Improvements in transit quality and availability, as well as encouraging a walkable Somerville should depress residents’ requirement for and reliance upon cars. In a debate between more units and more parking, units must win out. Green spaces, meanwhile, are essential for a neighborhood to thrive, and for prospective developments. They are also a crucial component in convincing the community to support the proposal, as the existing community members want local green spaces. Future developments can and should reduce car dependency and community opposition by including, when feasible, retail options that meet a community’s needs, including grocery stores and pharmacies. This has numerous benefits, from improving local access to fresh food to reducing car use (and thereby improving traffic and traffic safety) among nearby residents.

Will Mbah

The recent zoning overhaul removed parking minimums within a half-mile of transit stations – I believe we could go even further and remove these mandated minimums citywide. Under the zoning overhaul, new developments do not qualify for on-street parking permits and should therefore not create additional on-street parking issues. I look forward to seeing the recommendations from the comprehensive parking study which I am part of that the city is currently working on and believe it will provide an important opportunity to look more closely at our existing policies on parking permits.

Katjana Ballantyne

The question of percentage is one of many considerations to make housing both affordable and equitable. A 60 unit building with 20% of affordable units will create more affordable units than a 12 unit building with 50% of affordable units. Also the cause of housing equity may favor a 20% ratio of affordable units to create a more equitable distribution of affordable units city-wide.

In eight years as a councilor and as the president of the city council I have sponsored, supported and voted for many initiatives to prevent displacement and to make housing and Somerville more affordable such as, Inclusionary Zoning requiring 25% affordable units in new housing development, The 2000 Homes Program, The Ordinance for Condo Conversion, The Office of Housing Stability, The Jobs Creation and Retention Trust Fund, The Talent Equity Playbook, The Community Land Trust, the work of the Fair Housing Commission and more.

As mayor, I will continue working to make housing more affordable, and to advocate initiatives that help us achieve housing options, that are safe, healthy, affordable, inclusive and equitable.

Mary Cassesso

I have long championed affordable housing, for 30 years I have sat on the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and worked as a senior administrative and financial officer in the Housing and Community Development Department during the administration of Governor Michael Dukakis. I will create new affordable housing through 20% Inclusionary Zoning and new publicly subsidized affordable housing. Pursuing this goal, in addition to my other policies to ensure affordable housing, such as preserving the naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) to preserve 1000 affordable units over the next 10 years, protecting community-owned housing, publicly subsidized housing, non-profit housing, and using the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), Section 8, the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP), I believe we can achieve our goal to have 15% of total homes in the city be deed-restricted affordable units within 10 years. Before increasing the percentage, I would pursue other options to balance.

Will Mbah

In my experience with projects that have come before me as a city councilor, nearly all of them have included the maximum size and number of units allowable under our new zoning regulations. Therefore 20% is clearly possible in Somerville’s housing market, and I believe we should strive to set the inclusionary percentage as high as possible without reaching a point where construction would be discouraged.

Katjana Ballantyne

I’ll continue to advocate for appropriate density in the transformative areas of Somerville, where transit-oriented environments support density. Concerns about density, like potential increases in traffic or competition for on-street parking, are often concerns about the density of cars, traffic, noise and air pollution, and not the density of people. We need to make it easier to build more housing, especially affordable homes, while we improve transportation and mobility options to serve the density that we would allow. The right level of density can help us to combat climate change and to create affordable housing, because density can allow residents to limit automobile use, to be efficient in energy and utility uses, thereby reducing carbon footprint, and allowing affordable housing development at a scale that can be economic.

Mary Cassesso

I have more than a 30 year track record demonstrating my commitment to affordable housing. The new green line transit provides new opportunity to increase density and affordable housing while providing more mobility opportunities. Increased density at transit stations also helps us to respond to climate change by providing convenient cleaner public transportation coupled with increasing bike lanes. The new zoning should be further explored because zoning needs to be consistent for those working with the city.

Will Mbah

Building higher density housing in areas around transit should be a priority for Somerville. It is important to note that pushing simply for more density itself is not enough, as simply more supply of luxury/high end apartments will not help slow or stop displacement. Prior to the zoning overhaul, the fate of most projects was at the discretion of the Zoning or Planning Board. By contrast, with the new zoning overhaul, it is much less subjective and clear where you can build housing and to what density. In this way, I believe the new zoning is an improvement over the old system with regard to the density goals set forth in Somervision 2040. However, there is still room for improvement - for example, areas of West Somerville that are close to transit should be zoned for higher density housing.

Katjana Ballantyne

As Mayor, I'll use every available tool to work for affordability and to prevent displacement, I will investigate collaboration with non-profit developers or SHA to create new developments as purpose-built affordable housing under the Affordable Housing Overlay District zoning.

I'll advocate incentivizing the development of housing that is affordable to households with incomes closer to 30% of AMI (e.g., all the service industry workers earning at or below $15/hour), and consider providing permanent property tax forgiveness.

For property owners who have been unable to keep up with their mortgages due to (a) COVID-related loss of income, and/or (b) COVID-related tenant inability to pay the rent (and failure to obtain rental assistance), use ARP funds to help them catch up with their mortgage and property taxes (and to repay any loans they had to take out to cover their mortgage or property taxes due.

Provide down payment assistance to households seeking to purchase a condo for their own primary residence.

Mary Cassesso

I will work tirelessly to prevent displacement. By honoring Affordable Housing Overlay District zoning, the opportunity to increase the number of affordable units exists because of the incentives in place. I will use the funds available to financially assist folks who have experienced (or are still experiencing) financial loss due to the pandemic. Additionally, there is an array of Fair Housing policies that have been created to protect housing rights but the outcomes have not been sufficient to address the needs in communities. Even though Fair Housing laws exist, the critical component often lacking is enforcement, which can keep families with portable subsidies from being able to rent in Somerville. Providing equal access to the amenities and resources in Somerville to households from diverse backgrounds is a critical goal, and in many ways a lack of affordable options can act as a de facto Fair Housing barrier. While this is an issue in Somerville, it is also an issue regionally. We must work together with Boston, Cambridge, and other neighboring cities to stabilize affordable rental and buying opportunities.

Will Mbah

I am proud of the role that I played as a City Council member in helping to create and fund the Office of Housing Stability. I also helped to pass the Affordable Housing Overlay District and ordinances regulating condo conversion and AirBNBs. As Mayor, I would advocate for using municipal funds to subsidize the right to counsel for tenants facing eviction, and for new ordinances to ensure that development projects benefit the community instead of undercutting and displacing our neighbors.