(Sent November 3rd, 2021.)

The preliminary results from the election are in, and it looks like Cambridge has once again elected six of our endorsed candidates to the City Council - incumbents Alanna Mallon, Marc McGovern, Sumbul Siddiqui, and Denise Simmons, plus challengers Burhan Azeem and Paul Toner!

In addition, all three of the proposed charter reforms which we supported have passed, putting Cambridge on a path towards fairer and more democratic governance.

Becca and I want to thank everyone who has worked so hard to elect ABC-endorsed candidates. Every door knocked, every phone call made, every text message sent, every sign held, every conversation had and, of course, every vote cast has helped elevate the urgency of our housing crisis and the leadership we’re going to need to solve it. It’s truly exciting to see how far we’ve moved the conversation on housing since the 2019 election season, and what we could accomplish in the coming term. Your help has made this happen - this is what democracy looks like!

Words cannot express our gratitude and pride for our endorsed candidates Tonia Hicks, Joe McGuirk, and incumbent Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, who unfortunately did not make it over the line. Tonia and Joe ran inspiring first-time campaigns, reaching many voters - and motivating new voters! - to take action and address Cambridge’s urgent housing needs. Jivan has spent his term on the Council being a steadfast advocate for housing justice, a trailblazer for leftist housing and transportation policy, and a creative, effective legislator who delivers results for people. It is in significant part due to Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler that 350 (and rising!) families will be able to live in new housing produced by the Affordable Housing Overlay - it will be heartbreaking to see him leave the City Council. We can’t wait to see what Tonia, Joe, and Jivan will do in 2022 and beyond on housing, social justice, and any other causes they put their hearts into. 

Lastly, regardless of our endorsements, we want to thank every candidate who completed our questionnaire and attended the ABC candidate forum in September. Running for office is a difficult task, and we appreciate every candidate’s contributions and dedication to making Cambridge a better city. We were thrilled to see broad consensus emerge on a substantial number of our policy goals and values. In addition to our endorsed Councillors-elect named above, we look forward to working with Councillors-elect Dennis Carlone, Patty Nolan, and Quinton Zondervan in the next two years.

So, what’s next?

• We’re having a post-election party this Sunday afternoon at 2:30pm to celebrate all our hard work! If you helped volunteer with ABC or with any of our endorsed candidates this cycle, or if you want to meet some faces and get more involved in the coming year, you’re invited! RSVP here.
  
  
• Do you have feedback on what we did this election cycle? What was useful to you, what was not useful to you? Is there anything you would have liked to have seen? Let us know by filling out this Google Form.
  
  
• Having allies on the City Council is a great start, but Housing for All isn’t going to happen by itself! Come to our Zoom meeting for ABC members at 6pm on Thursday, November 18th, at which we’ll talk about priorities for the coming term, how best to advance our public education and advocacy efforts in 2022, your ideas for ABC actions, and all of the ways you can get involved. We’ll be sending the invite to members next week; if you’re not a current member, now is a great time to join! (If the membership fee is an obstacle to joining ABC, we still want to include you - please pay what you can.)

One last time, thank you SO much.