Cambridge, Massachusetts (October 26, 2013) - A Better Cambridge - a group of Cambridge resident group working to build a more diverse and livable city on the path towards sustainable growth -- has released the results of it's 2013 City Council Candidate ratings. 

A Better Cambridge looks forward to working with all nine members of the next city council to help build a more diverse and livable city.

The next City Council will make important decisions that could impact the future of growth in Cambridge, and help reduce the high cost of housing for working families, young adults, and retirees in Cambridge.

We believe a better Cambridge is a Cambridge that grows smart and sustainably, taking advantage of Cambridge's proximity to public and alternate transportation to expand housing choices for all Cambridge families and a sustainable future for our community. See the full ABC mission and vision at http://www.abettercambridge.org/our_mission

A Better Cambridge encourages all voters to consider which candidates are best prepared to make smart decisions that strengthen Cambridge’s diverse, vibrant neighborhoods and squares. These ratings, however, are not intended to be an endorsement of any individual or slate of candidates. Furthermore, the questionnaire and analysis is intended to give information about how the various candidate stand on the issues that ABC has focused on, and is not intended to be an exhaustive analysis of their stance on every issue currently facing Cambridge.

In low-information elections like this one, ABC knows it's difficult for voters to make the complex decisions about how they will rank candidates on their City Council ballot. To help voters understand where the candidates stand on difficult urban growth issues facing Cambridge, we distributed a 6-question survey to all 25 candidates, as well as conducted extensive third-party research using news articles and other organizations candidate questionnaires to assess their position on 4 key development issues now facing the city.

Remember: In Cambridge we don't just vote for one City Council candidate, we rank multiple candidates in order of preference. The system is called Proportional Representation (you can read more about it here) and the goal is to rank the candidates in order of your preference for seeing them elected to the council. #1 is your top candidate, and so forth -- try to rank at least 4!

For additional information, we encourage voters to view these additional resources:

• Cambridge Civic Journal
• Cambridge Resident’s Alliance
• Cambridge Chronicle Election Coverage
• Cambridge Local First City Council Candidate Survey

Leland Cheung................................10
Marc McGovern...............................10
Sam Seidel.....................................8.5
Denise Simmons.............................8.5
Janneke House................................8
Ken Reeves....................................8
Tim Toomey ..................................8
Kristen von Hoffman........................8
Craig Kelley....................................6
Dennis Benzan................................5.5
Mushtaque Mirza.............................5.5
Minka vanBeuzekom........................5
James Lee.......................................3
Nadeem Mazen................................2
Luis Vasquez...................................1
Gary Mello......................................1
Dennis Carlone................................0.5
Ronald Peden..................................0