Aldermen Respond to Questions on Housing and Jobs

Major changes are coming to Somerville. Three new subway stops will be built within the next four years. Big developments are planned in Assembly Square, Union Square, and Inner Belt, as well as smaller developments throughout the city. Meanwhile, affordability and jobs are real problems. 43% of Somerville residents pay more than 35% of their income on housing, and 17% pay more than half of their income. Families are moving to cities like Everett and Malden because they cannot afford to stay in Somerville. Meanwhile, of the people who remain in the city, only 16% of them work here. The rest are unemployed, underemployed, or commute long hours. As members of the Affordable Housing Organizing Committee (AHOC) and Jobs for Somerville, we are eager to deepen the conversation on certain issues.

With elections coming up on Tuesday, the Board of Aldermen will have at least four new members. We hope that the new aldermen, as well as those who are continuing in office, will be responsive to the needs of the community and not just the desires of developers. We submitted this questionnaire to other candidates on their campaign websites. The intention of this questionnaire is to educate and mobilize our base to participate in the upcoming election. These are the responses we received.

At-large Candidates: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ocy9btlZSB5FeSg4BRk7N2QqWC-pBdMWlDyIcIk3I9Q/edit?usp=sharing

Ward Candidates: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10lrVUPtxFGZ9SxKdethzIwE7i8FwDpQRj0EgNIOGLE8/edit?usp=sharing

*The responses have been edited slightly for length. The opinions and proposals offered by the candidates have not been changed. If you would like to get a copy of the unedited version, please call 617-776-5931 x230.