[{"slug": "alanna-mallon", "name": "Alanna M. Mallon", "blurb": "

The current vice mayor, Alanna Mallon was born and raised in Massachusetts, and has lived in Cambridge since 2004.

She founded the Cambridge Weekend Backpack Program, a service that sends food home with food insecure students, in 2013, and joined Food For Free in January 2016. She was also an Education Liaison for Cambridge's Office of the Mayor from 2014-2015.

Before working full time on activism and for nonprofits, she was a designer at companies such as FP Girl and TJX.

She and Sumbul Siddiqui have been producing a podcast together since January 2018.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/alanna-mallon.411ea3e08568.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "burhan-azeem", "name": "Burhan Azeem", "blurb": "

Burhan Azeem's family immigrated to the United States from Pakistan when he was a kid. They moved several times, and he's spoken about how, as a brown Muslim immigrant living in the USA after 9-11, Cambridge was the first place he felt welcome.

He holds a Bachelor of Science from MIT and speaks three languages. He has studied sustainability and is passionate about mitigating climate change and its impacts. Professionally, he is an engineer.

In addition to canvassing, he has helped residents register to vote and has also been a volunteer EMT. A renter, he served on the board of A Better Cambridge, and founded a housing nonprofit called Abundant Housing Massachusetts.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/burhan-azeem.ef89c0e33ce5.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "dana-bullister", "name": "Dana Bullister", "blurb": "

Dana Bullister is a data scientist and data researcher who has worked at MIT, Boston's Children Hospital, and an IT service management company. She also started her own software company. Politically, she has previously been involved in Our Revolution Cambridge.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/dana-bullister.3e87ce2e8524.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "denise-simmons", "name": "Denise Simmons", "blurb": "

Brought up in Cambridge, Denise Simmons has been active in the Cambridge community for many years.

Denise Simmons previously served 2 terms as mayor, which made her both the first Black, openly-lesbian mayor in the United States and the first Black woman to be mayor in Massachusetts. In the 2017 election, she was one of two candidates elected outright on the first count of ballots.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/denise-simmons.fc895ad546b7.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "carlone", "name": "Dennis Carlone", "blurb": "

Dennis Carlone has been an architect and urban designer in Cambridge for over 30 years. In 1978, he was the Director of Design on the East Cambridge Riverfront Project, which developed the CambridgeSide Galleria and surrounding area. It received the American Institute of Architects Award for Excellence in Urban Design.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/carlone.343f16357ad5.png", "img_alt": "headshot of Dennis Carlone in city hall; crop from city council's photo", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "frantz-pierre", "name": "Frantz Pierre", "blurb": "

A first-time candidate for City Council, Franz Pierre is a lifelong Cambridge resident and attended Cambridge Rindge And Latin.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/frantz-pierre.f7a08b5d529b.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "gregg-moree", "name": "Gregg Moree", "blurb": "

A lifelong Cambridge resident and a graduate of CRLS, Gregg Moree is a perennial candidate, having run in every council election since 2007. In 2015, he received 75 #1 votes, and was defeated in the 5th round of counting with 80 votes total. In 2019, he was eliminated in the 3rd count with 47 votes total.

Gregg Moree is a strong believer in a Second Bill of Rights, including the rights to medical care and employment. He frequently points out that a relative of his worked on the Second Bill of Rights.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/gregg-moree.b8ef8b93fd4a.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "ilan-levy", "name": "Ilan Levy", "blurb": "

Ilan Levy has been in Cambridge for 14 years. He has been active in the local political scene, such as blogging at CCTV. He writes that an arrest protesting for Michael Brown and Eric Garner prompted him to get US citizenship in 2015.

Ilan Levy is critical of the Plan E form of government that Cambridge operates under, and supports moving to a \"strong mayor\" form of municipal government (more like Boston).

Professionally, Ilan Levy is a software developer. He is the founder and CEO of VibeChain, a music sharing platform.

He also ran for City Council in 2015, 2017, and 2019. In 2015, he was eliminated in the 8th round with 182 votes. In 2017, he was eliminated in the 10th count with 276 total votes.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/ilan-levy.e8b107540958.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "jivan-sobrinho-wheeler", "name": "Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler", "blurb": "

Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler has lived in Cambridge since 2017, where he also works at a land policy think tank. He's been politically active for several years, including working with Our Revolution Cambridge and the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America), and being a field and operations manager for a mayoral campaign in New Haven, Connecticut.

He graduated from the College of the Atlantic in 2014 with a BA Human Ecology. Before moving to Cambridge, he worked at consultancy groups in Portland, Maine and the New York City area.

He also speaks three languages.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/jivan-sobrinho-wheeler.485805737516.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "joe-mcguirk", "name": "Joe McGuirk", "blurb": "

Named the Best Bartender in Boston by the Boston Magazine twice, Joe McGuirk has spent several decades tending Cambridge and Boston bars. He grew up in the area, and wants to continue living and serving in Cambridge - something he says is difficult for working families given the housing and coronavirus crises.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/joe-mcguirk.370ebd356faf.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "marc-mcgovern", "name": "Marc McGovern", "blurb": "

Born and raised in Cambridge, Marc McGovern has previously served as mayor and was elected to the school committee 4 times.

He was first elected to that office in 2003, and re-elected in 2007, 2009, and 2011. He is also active in the Cambridge Democratic City Committee.

Outside of politics, he is a trained social worker, and when first elected he continued to work part-time as a Clinical Support Social Worker for Farr Academy, a Cambridge school for students grades 7-12 with a range of emotional and learning problems.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/marc-mcgovern.347688683213.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "nicola-williams", "name": "Nicola Williams", "blurb": "

Nicola is a Jamaican immigrant who has lived in Cambridge for much of her life. She has been involved for many years in organizing and running area food and cultural events, such as the Boston Local Food Festival, Boston JerkFest and the Local Food Trade Show.

Professionally, Nicola is a marketing consultant and event organizer. She founded the marketing company The Williams Agency in 1995, and also worked at the Cambridge Business Development Center from 1993-2000. She also serves on the board of three non-profits including the Harvard Square Neighborhood Association.

In addition to her own unit, she also co-owns the 6th unit in her building. She serves as a trustee of the condo association.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/nicola-williams.21296d7d99f0.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "patty-nolan", "name": "Patricia \"Patty\" Nolan", "blurb": "

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.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/patty-nolan.898bb463754e.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "paul-toner", "name": "Paul Toner", "blurb": "

A longtime cambridge resident, Paul Toner lives in the home of his great-grandfather. He is a graduate of Cambridge's Matignon High School, as well as BU, UMass Boston, and Suffolk university.

Paul Toner has run for City Council once before, in 2017. He was vice president and then president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association from 2006 until 2014, and was president of the Cambridge Teachers Association from 2001-2006. Prior to being in leadership, he was a 7th and 8th grade teacher from 1993 to 2001 at the Harrington Elementary School in Cambridge.

Recently, he was an Executive Director at Teach Plus, a non-profit focused on training teachers to lead to education policy and a supporter of teacher and student evaluation systems.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/paul-toner.5845e50beddb.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "quinton-zondervan", "name": "Quinton Zondervan", "blurb": "

Quinton Zondervan immigrated to Florida from Suriname while in high school. He arrived in the Cambridge area to get a Master of Science at MIT. Quinton is also a graduate of Eckerd College, and is currently on their Board of Trustees.

Quinton was formerly the board chair of Green Cambridge and has served as president for the Climate Action Business Association. He is also involved with 350 Mass, MIT Alumni for Climate Action Leadership, and he has been a member of several Cambridge city advisory committees, notably the Climate Protection Action Committee and the Rodent Task Force.

Prior to his election in the 2017 race, he was a a software developer at a data/analytics consultancy firm. Since January 2019, he's also been a Senior Technical Advisor for two companies.

He is active on Twitter.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/quinton-zondervan.d809e9c39e9e.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "robert-eckstut", "name": "Robert Eckstut", "blurb": "

Robert is a former professional poker player. He's also been a census enumerator and a data science consultant.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/robert-eckstut.7ca2a93998b2.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "roy-ribitzky", "name": "Roy Ribitzky", "blurb": "

Roy Ribitzky is running a write-in campaign, so you won't see his name on any ballots this year - you'll have to write his name in a blank space to rank him.

A renter, restaurant worker, and first-generation American, Roy Ribitzky also holds a Master of Education and has worked as a substitute teacher for Cambridge Public Schools.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/roy-ribitzky.458cdbe36679.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "sumbul-siddiqui", "name": "Sumbul Siddiqui", "blurb": "

Sumbul Siddiqui's family immigrated to the United States from Pakistan when she was 2, and they moved to Cambridge when they got a lottery spot in Cambridge's affordable housing system. She is a graduate of CRLS, Brown University, and Northwestern.

While attending CRLS, she co-founded the Cambridge Youth Council (then the Cambridge Youth Involvement Subcommittee), a way for students to engage with city government and policy.

In addition to serving on the council, she is an Attorney at Northeast Legal Aid, a nonprofit that provides legal assistance. Prior to her election, she was on the board of the Cambridge School Volunteers and was a member of Cambridge's Human Services Commission.

She and Alanna Mallon have been producing a podcast together since January 2018.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/sumbul-siddiqui.e3c68e257341.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "theodora-skeadas", "name": "Theodora \"Theo\" Skeadas", "blurb": "

A graduate of both Harvard and the Kennedy School, Theo first moved to Cambridge in 2008 to attend college. She has worked in Turkey, Iraq, Morocco, and the West Bank, in addition to spending several years at Booz Allen Hamilton in Boston.

She is also the Executive Director of Cambridge Local First, board chair of the Cambridge YMCA, and a former board member of the Harvard Square Neighborhood Association. She was Sumbul Siddiqui\u2019s campaign manager in 2017.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/theodora-skeadas.118d190315b0.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "tonia-hicks", "name": "Tonia Hicks", "blurb": "

Tonia Hicks grew up in North Carolina, and is a proud graduate of North Carolina Central University. She is a current board member of the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/tonia-hicks.20ea7d8f8fe4.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}]

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