Patricia "Patty" Nolan
She/Her
- Currently
- City Councillor
- Election history
- 2nd term as a councilor; 14 years on School Committee
She/Her
Patty Nolan grew up in Chicago and Connecticut. She first moved to Cambridge to attend Harvard, graduating in 1980. She then lived and worked in New York City, and attended Yale for business school. She has worked both in corporate consulting and the non-profit sector.
Patty returned to Cambridge in 1991, and has been actively involved in local politics since then, for instance serving on the Board of Cambridge School Volunteers. She was first elected to the school committee in 2005. In 2017, she was re-elected to the school committee in the first round of voting.
She is a landlord; she rents out the second unit in her two-family home.
I want the city council to set the tone, and consciously and collectively stop ever vilifying those who hold opposing views. Stop with the YIMBY, stop with the NIMBY, stop with saying people are in the pocket of developers. Stop dismissing those of us with questions on developments like 2072 as not supportive of affordable housing. That doesn't help us. We need to set a tone of respect.
Are there squares or corridors in the city where such heights are appropriate? Yes, possibly. Are there squares and corridors across the entire city that should get that kind of height? Treating part of Concord Avenue with single and 2-family homes the same as Mass. AVenue is not appropriate.
| Organization | Cambridge? | Union? | View |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Residents Alliance | on Sept. 30, 2023 | ||
| Cambridge Citizens Coalition | on Sept. 14, 2023 | ||
| Cambridge Bicycle Safety | on Oct. 6, 2023 | ||
| Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus | this cycle | ||
| Massachusetts Sierra Club | this cycle |
Housing policy, development, governance questions
Housing policy, development, governance questions
Distribution of funds, non-profits and their position in Cambridge
Distribution of funds, non-profits and their position in Cambridge
General. Note: only distributed in downloadable word or pdf documents.
General. Note: only distributed in downloadable word or pdf documents.
"questions about the issues that most impact Cambridge’s low-income populations" (available in several languages)
"questions about the issues that most impact Cambridge’s low-income populations" (available in several languages)
[To] characterize any slate as anti-housing is unethical and wrong. I am in a stable housing situation. I am lucky. The increase in [housing] value has nothing to do with zoning policies.
(Do you believe we have a climate obligation to pursue greater density and allow more people to live here?)
Generally Not. As with so much that requires critical thinking - the answer is: not necessarily.
Consistently over the past year as the council discussed proposed amendments, I insisted that since the emission pollution is local, only local offsets should be allowed. People countered “but there are no Cambridge Offsets.” I have proposed that we create local high-quality offsets – ones that are additive, verifiable, immediate and durable. How? My proposal is to allow any Cambridge property owner who can’t or won’t reduce their own emissions to get credit for reducing emissions of any affordable-housing project or any property serving environmental justice residents anywhere in Massachusetts. And we would define that reduction as an allowable offset.
“I have been definitely a candidate who is very, very effective on the many issues facing us,” she said. “Yet I feel that what distinguishes me is that I bring nuance and a really thoughtful balance to these issues.”
Oct. 30, 2023 — Samuel P. Goldston“I have been definitely a candidate who is very, very effective on the many issues facing us,” she said. “Yet I feel that what distinguishes me is that I bring nuance and a really thoughtful balance to these issues.”
“The first [affordable housing overlay] basically tore the city apart — we should not be here again,” said City Councilor Patricia Nolan, who opposes the amendments. “We have been doing a good job of building both market rate and affordable housing. Of course we need more, but a policy like this that decreases public input and dramatically increases building densities at the same time is not the way to do it.”
Oct. 15, 2023 — Andrew Brinker“The first [affordable housing overlay] basically tore the city apart — we should not be here again,” said City Councilor Patricia Nolan, who opposes the amendments. “We have been doing a good job of building both market rate and affordable housing. Of course we need more, but a policy like this that decreases public input and dramatically increases building densities at the same time is not the way to do it.”
Patricia M. “Patty” Nolan ’80, one of only two incumbents endorsed by the CCC, said she found some of the tweets offensive.
Oct. 2, 2023 — Muskaan Arshad, Julian J. GiordanoPatricia M. “Patty” Nolan ’80, one of only two incumbents endorsed by the CCC, said she found some of the tweets offensive.
“It’s really quite groundbreaking,” said Councilor Quinton Zondervan, who helped lead the push in concert with Councilor Patricia Nolan, Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, and activist groups like the Sunrise Movement, 350.org, and Mothers Out Front.
July 8, 2023 — Maliya Ellis“It’s really quite groundbreaking,” said Councilor Quinton Zondervan, who helped lead the push in concert with Councilor Patricia Nolan, Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, and activist groups like the Sunrise Movement, 350.org, and Mothers Out Front.
I have written to the School Committee and superintendent with a plea, and I hope all in Cambridge stand with me. The issue: The district should establish a clear commitment that within three years every third grader in Cambridge Public Schools will read and write at grade level, and that every eighth-grader will successfully pass a full Algebra I equivalent and be prepared to start high school math with geometry or Algebra II. No exceptions.
May 2, 2023 — Patty NolanI have written to the School Committee and superintendent with a plea, and I hope all in Cambridge stand with me. The issue: The district should establish a clear commitment that within three years every third grader in Cambridge Public Schools will read and write at grade level, and that every eighth-grader will successfully pass a full Algebra I equivalent and be prepared to start high school math with geometry or Algebra II. No exceptions.
We know the climate situation is dire. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report led the United Nations secretary general to plead for all rich countries to get to net zero by 2040 and net zero electricity generation by 2035. Cambridge is one of the richest cities in one of the richest states in the richest country in the world. And our city is home to some of the richest universities and biotech companies in the world. Cambridge is uniquely suited to take on this dire call to action. Net Zero by 2035 has to be doable for Cambridge. If we can’t get there, the world will not meet its goal of 2050. We can’t give up. There is a path for Cambridge to be a leader.
April 24, 2023 — Patty NolanWe know the climate situation is dire. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report led the United Nations secretary general to plead for all rich countries to get to net zero by 2040 and net zero electricity generation by 2035. Cambridge is one of the richest cities in one of the richest states in the richest country in the world. And our city is home to some of the richest universities and biotech companies in the world. Cambridge is uniquely suited to take on this dire call to action. Net Zero by 2035 has to be doable for Cambridge. If we can’t get there, the world will not meet its goal of 2050. We can’t give up. There is a path for Cambridge to be a leader.
"I got elected, I had big plans," Nolan said. "Covid completely threw this out the window. We were all Covid, all the time."
Nolan described the city’s Covid-19 response as "incredible in so many ways," though she acknowledged she was once critical of the city’s outdoor mask mandate in the early stages of the pandemic.
Oct. 28, 2021 — Katherine M. Burstein, Kaleigh M. Kuddar"I got elected, I had big plans," Nolan said. "Covid completely threw this out the window. We were all Covid, all the time."
Nolan described the city’s Covid-19 response as "incredible in so many ways," though she acknowledged she was once critical of the city’s outdoor mask mandate in the early stages of the pandemic.
"The reason we have an affordable housing crisis — and it sounds kind of simplistic but people, I don’t think, talk about this as much — is that we have an income crisis," she said. "If you could afford houses in Cambridge, the affordable housing crisis wouldn’t be here."
Oct. 21, 2021 — Sarah Girma, Jennifer L. Powley"The reason we have an affordable housing crisis — and it sounds kind of simplistic but people, I don’t think, talk about this as much — is that we have an income crisis," she said. "If you could afford houses in Cambridge, the affordable housing crisis wouldn’t be here."
I’m not a housing expert but can think of several promising options....
And please, let’s all model respectful behavior. Don’t denigrate anyone on any side of this debate.... Yes, in many places zoning was put in place to exclude and is racist and elitist. That does not mean all zoning regulations and limits are racist and elitist.
Aug. 6, 2019 — Patty NolanI’m not a housing expert but can think of several promising options....
And please, let’s all model respectful behavior. Don’t denigrate anyone on any side of this debate.... Yes, in many places zoning was put in place to exclude and is racist and elitist. That does not mean all zoning regulations and limits are racist and elitist.