Today is election day in Cambridge and we're at crossroads. ABC believes that, in a progressive community like Cambridge we must work to create more homes for all our families. However, some candidates believe that Cambridge is full and oppose the creation of sustainable, mixed-income homes in our community.ABC is proud to endorse six bold, progressive candidates who understand that increasing housing for all is crucial to racial justice and environmental sustainability. We encourage you to rank them 1-6 in any order Don't know where to vote? Visit http://www.wheredoivotema.com to find your voting location. Polls are open from 7am to 8pm.We need your vote to elect a City Council says YES to housing for all families. From left to right: Samuel Gebru, Adriane Musgrave, Sean Tierney, E. Denise Simmons, Marc McGovern, and Alanna Mallon. Marc McGovern (incumbent) is a stalwart when it comes to fighting for affordable housing. He led the way on increasing the percentage of affordable units provided and amount of money paid to the city by developers. As a social worker, he takes a holistic approach to the issues affecting the most vulnerable in our city and has a rare talent for bringing opposing stakeholders together to create progress. Denise Simmons (incumbent) may be famous for being the nation’s first black, openly lesbian mayor, but here in Cambridge, residents know her to be among the most effective and accessible leaders in the city. She’s fought to preserve and expand the city's stock of affordable housing, and is a tireless advocate for environmental, public safety, and diversity issues. Adriane Musgrave left her management consulting job to run for city council full-time. She has put her remarkable analytical, report-reading and data-mining skills to good use in understanding seemingly every problem that Cambridge faces. Her passions are smart zoning and development, and creating inclusive prosperity for all. Sean Tierney, a Cambridge native and attorney who works on tax and housing policy for the state legislature, offers an important perspective on the housing crisis. He is dedicated to finding innovative solutions that balance growth and increased density, while fighting the displacement that threatens Cambridge’s economic, racial, and cultural diversity. Alanna Mallon has already made Cambridge a better place by creating the Weekend Backpack Program, which ensures access to meals for our food insecure students. She has immense talent for spotting problems, creating the structures needed to address them, and coordinating existing solutions to better serve our most at-risk neighbors.  Samuel Gebru is an Ethiopian native and 2009 CRLS graduate. Despite being among the youngest candidates running for city council, he has an extensive record of leadership in community organizing, policy work, and advocacy. His commitment is to preserving and expanding housing opportunities for residents of all incomes and creating ownership units for low-income residents to build pathways to wealth and equity. These extraordinary candidates have earned ABC’s support because they understand the housing crisis and other issues facing Cambridge, have tangible ideas for addressing them, and the records to prove that they know how to be effective. Many candidates say the right things; ABC knows these candidates will do the right things.  The all-volunteer ABC election committee compiled these endorsements based on candidate responses to the questionnaire, performance at our candidate forum, stated positions, past work on issues, and clarifying interviews where necessary. Of the 26 candidates running for city council 20 responded to our questionnaire and 22 attended the forum. We thank all the candidates for their time and participation. Click here to view our full rating of all 20 candidates that responded to our candidate survey The members of the Elections Committee gave countless hours in the weeks leading up the selection of our endorsees. It was not an easy process, due to the number of qualified candidates and our commitment to keep the group small to effectively use our limited resources.

We are happy to announce ABC's 2017 City Council Candidate endorsements. The candidates we have endorsed are most aligned with our platform on issues including housing affordability and supply, alternative transportation, and transit-oriented density. We encourage you to rank these candidates on November 7th. ABC's City Council Candidate Questionnaire along with the responses from each candidate who responded are also now available for viewing. We've included a graphic that reflects the results of our entire process. The all-volunteer ABC election committee compiled these endorsements & ratings based on candidate responses to the questionnaire, performance at our candidate forum, stated positions, past work on issues, and clarifying interviews where necessary. Of the 26 candidates running for city council 20 responded to our questionnaire and 22 attended the forum. We thank all the candidates for their time and participation. The members of the Elections Committee gave countless hours in the weeks leading up the selection of our endorsees. It was not an easy process, due to the number of qualified candidates and our commitment to keep the group small to effectively use our limited resources. Click the image above to read more details about the ABC-endorsed candidates.   Click the above image to view candidate responses from the 20 candidates who responded to our questionnaire.      

  Please join A Better Cambridge & affordable housing advocates from around Massachusetts for a rally in support of federal investments in affordable homes and our communities. Our Homes, Our Voices Rally Monday, July 31st 11:30 am to 1:30 pm Sam Adams Park, Boston (in front of Faneuil Hall) Organized by our partners at the Citizen Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), this rally is the local event as part of a national week of action calling on Congress to fund programs that provide critical housing and anti-homelessness support to many Americans.Please RSVP via CHAPA's Facebook page for this eventABC will join with CHAPA, Cambridge Congresswoman Katherine Clark, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and other residents, housing advocates and policymakers from around our Commonwealth for this important rally. Too many families are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. Nationally, only 25% of families in need receive housing assistance, which means millions of people do not have an affordable place to call home. The President and Congress are proposing devastating cuts that would increase housing instability and homelessness, including cuts to Section 8 and public housing. Our communities and state are working hard to address the challenges we face in Massachusetts. We cannot do it alone. Federal partnership is critical to creating vibrant communities. Please join us to ensure that everyone has the right to a safe, accessible, and affordable home.