[{"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)[thewilliamsagency.net] 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/blank.a907d8c28e9e.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "timothy-toomey", "name": "Timothy Toomey", "blurb": "

Born and raised in Cambridge, Tim Toomey is currently the longest-serving councillor, as he was first elected in 1989.

He also served on the Cambridge School Committee in 1986/7, and from 1993-2016 was a State Representative for the Massachusetts House. (Mike Connolly won nomination in 2016.)

He maintains a constituent services office at 550 Cambridge Street.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/timothy-toomey.cdf4270d8831.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/blank.a907d8c28e9e.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "carlone", "name": "Dennis Carlone", "blurb": "

Dennis Carlone is serving his second term on the Cambridge City Council.

He 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": "gregg-moree", "name": "Gregg Moree", "blurb": "

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

Gregg Moree is a strong believer in a Second Bill of Rights, including the rights to medical care and employment.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/gregg-moree.b8ef8b93fd4a.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "marc-mcgovern", "name": "Marc McGovern", "blurb": "

Born and raised in Cambridge, Marc McGovern is currently serving his 2nd term as a city councillor.

Previously, he served on the school committee for 4 terms. He was first elected to that office in 2003, and re-elected in 2007, 2009, and 2011. He is also active in the Cambridge City Democratic Committee.

Outside of politics, he is a trained social worker, and continues to work part-time as the 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.27f85745a1ab.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "jeffery-mcnary", "name": "Jeffery McNary", "blurb": "

Jeffery McNary is a writer and cultural critic who has lived in Cambridge for many years.

Politically, he served in the Dukakis administration as Coordinator of Economic Development, and was also on the staff of State Senator William Golden and Chief of Staff to Boston City Councilor Bruce Bolling.

He is the only candidate currently living in Cambridge public housing.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/blank.a907d8c28e9e.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "craig-kelley", "name": "Craig Kelley", "blurb": "

First elected to the council in the 2005 election, Craig Kelley is serving his 6th term. He has lived in Cambridge since 1993.

Craig Kelley served in the marines from 1984-1989, and was a contractor for US Army Reserves for nearly 20 years as an environmental compliance specialist.

This year, he both refused any money he considered to be from a special interest and turned down questionnaires from groups that could not or would not disclose their own sources of funding - see his post.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/craig-kelley.1924585a0a77.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "derek-kopon", "name": "Derek Kopon", "blurb": "

Derek Kopon is an astrophysicist and engineer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and holds degrees in the fields of physics, astronomy, and engineering.

He first lived in Cambridge from 2002-2007, moving away to continue his education.

He moved back to Cambridge in 2015, purchasing his home in July.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/blank.a907d8c28e9e.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "denise-simmons", "name": "Denise Simmons", "blurb": "

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

As one of the more experienced candidates, Denise Simmons is currently serving her 2nd term as Mayor of Cambridge, unanimously selected by the city council, and her 8th term on the Cambridge City Council. She is also the first openly lesbian African-American mayor in the United States.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/denise-simmons.fc895ad546b7.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "alanna-mallon", "name": "Alanna Marie Mallon", "blurb": "

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 has been a program director at Food For Free since 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 is a graduate of Ohio State University.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/alanna-mallon.411ea3e08568.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "risa-l-mednick", "name": "Risa Mednick", "blurb": "

Risa Mednick grew up in Brooklyn, New York and suburban New Jersey. At activist even at an early age, she has continued to serve her community by being an advocate, policy partner, and city commission member.

She was a Women's Studies major in college, and, professionally, has worked with and for non-profits and NGOs. Most recently, from 2008-2018, Risa was the executive director of Transition House, one of the oldest domestic violence service centers in the United States.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/blank.a907d8c28e9e.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.

He also ran for City Council in 2015. He was eliminated in the 8th round with 182 votes. Notably, 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 currently consults and develops, and is a co-founder of RSmeP, an event organization and management tool.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/ilan-levy.2e37ba45263f.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "patty-nolan", "name": "Patricia 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, 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.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/blank.a907d8c28e9e.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "charles-j-franklin", "name": "Charles J Franklin", "blurb": "

Charles Franklin is an MIT-educated software developer who helped found the local advocacy organizations Upgrade Cambridge and Green Cambridge.

Charles wants Cambridge to add high-quality, affordable housing that enjoys the presence of trees, is prepared for the changing climate, and doesn't worsen the urban heat island. In addition to renter protections, Charles supports increased home ownership.

While Charles does not support the Affordable Housing Overlay, he has developed an alternative zoning plan that aims to be more consistent with the character of individual neighborhoods and increase greenery while incentivizing affordable housing development.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/blank.a907d8c28e9e.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "sukia-akiba", "name": "Sukia Akiba", "blurb": "

Sukia is young, black, lesbian, pro-affordable housing, and the daughter of an immigrant. She's passionate about mental health and getting guns off the streets of Cambridge.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/blank.a907d8c28e9e.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "john-pitkin", "name": "John Pitkin", "blurb": "

Now retired, John Pitkin has lived in Cambridge since 1970; he purchased his house in 1973. Before his retirement, he was a self-employed demographics consultant.

He has been involved in Cambridge politics for many years, serving on boards, forums, neighborhood associations, and in advocacy groups. Many of these are climate-oriented, such as Green Cambridge and the Sierra Club. He has also been a staunch opponent to development, petitioning for citywide downzoning in the late 1990s and, more recently, trying to stop the Inman Square redesign.

He previously ran for city council in 2001 and 2003.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/blank.a907d8c28e9e.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 a 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.

Burhan is one of the renters running for a council seat this year.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/blank.a907d8c28e9e.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 Zondervan is president of two local sustainability non-profits: Green Cambridge and 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.

Professionally, he is a software developer, currently at BigR.io, a data and analytics consultancy firm.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/quinton-zondervan.d809e9c39e9e.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. She's now serving on the board of the Cambridge School Volunteers and is a member of Cambridge's Human Services Commission.

Professionally, she is an Attorney at Northeast Legal Aid, a nonprofit that provides legal assistance.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/sumbul-siddiqui.e3c68e257341.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "adriane-musgrave", "name": "Adriane Musgrave", "blurb": "

A graduate of BU and BU School of Management, Adriane Musgrave has lived in the area since 2004.

Adriane Musgrave has not run for City Council before. In 2007, she interned for Senator John Kerry and she fundraised for the DNC. She is currently serving as Secretary on the board of Interise, a non-profit that educates and promotes small businesses and their owners to combat poverty.

Professionally, she is a management consultant.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/adriane-musgrave.eebab9454aad.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}, {"slug": "ben-simon", "name": "Ben Simon", "blurb": "

Ben identifies himself as a Marxist/Socialist and advocates for treating housing as a human right. His goals as a City Councilor include re-establishing rent control and working towards replacing the housing market with social housing programs that mirror Vienna.

Ben is a musician in a rock group that practiced in the EMF building and helped organize protests against its conversion into office space. He has also served on the Mayor's Arts Task Force.

", "img_url": "/static/headshots/blank.a907d8c28e9e.png", "img_alt": "headshot of candidate", "comment": "", "order": null}]

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