The record turnout and results in the Cambridge City Council election show that Cambridge residents want action to address our housing shortage. They see 1,000 new affordable homes going up around them, and Cambridge leading the nation by ending exclusionary zoning and legalizing apartments citywide, and they say - yes in my backyard!

A Better Cambridge IEPAC volunteers knocked on more than 6,000 doors in less than two months, and reached tens of thousands of our neighbors. ABC-endorsed candidates who embraced these changes won a decisive pro-housing majority: Marc McGovern, Sumbul Siddiqui, Burhan Azeem, Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, and Denise Simmons. Other candidates ran on a platform of "Repeal," vowing to overturn February's multifamily housing law and reinstate residential segregation. Instead of rejecting change, voters rejected "Repeal."

Although we would of course have loved to see all of our endorsees win seats on Cambridge City Council, we thank Ayesha Wilson, Dana Bullister, and Ned Melanson for running spirited campaigns that deeply engaged many voters, and we hope they will consider running again in the future. We thank Councillor Wilson for her determined service to her Cambridge constituents and for always centering housing-insecure residents.

We congratulate Councillors Nolan and Zusy on their re-election and Councillors-Elect Flaherty and Al-Zubi on their election.

We look forward to working with the new Council to achieve housing abundance and affordability, remove more barriers that drive up housing costs, increase tenant protections, and continue funding for housing programs that provide a crucial safety net for Cambridge families.

An ABC IEPAC volunteer relayed the story of handing out a flyer of our slate in East Cambridge. The man looked it over and said, “Thank you for doing this work. This kind of housing is what has let me live in Cambridge for the past 40 years.” 🥺😊

We are so proud of all the determination and enthusiasm so many of you brought to this election—and now, the work fighting for housing affordability goes on.