I'm running for office! And, I need your help!

[Alex Anderson]

Hello family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues!

The Short of It:

• I'm running for local office! I'm hoping to become Ward 7's next City Council member in Somerville
• I think I have the ability to apply my experience to the challenges in Ward 7 to best prepare us for the future.
• I am focusing my campaign on
• Knowing what matters to our neighborhood
• Improving the safety and usability of our streets and transportation infrastructure
• Making improvements to the affordability of our city
• Keeping a social justice and racial equity perspective present in all of my work 
• I need your help! Please visit my website and consider making a donation.
• Thank you!

The Long of It:

For as long as I can remember, people in my life have encouraged me to pursue politics. I have always been interested but have never had the right opportunity to run. 

When Allison and I moved to Somerville in 2013, I looked into running for local office. Fortunately, all of the seats that were specific to my ward and district were already represented by people I respect and whose votes were mostly in line with what I want for my community. Unfortunately, this made running seem like a lot of effort to replace someone who would have the same votes as me.

This year, Somerville's Ward 7 seat is open for a new person to run. And, I hope to be the one to win the election and advance my vision for our community!

For those who do not know, Somerville City Council has 11 seats. Seven of those seats are for individuals representing the seven wards in Somerville. And, four of those seats are At-Large positions representing the entire city. The Ward councilors have a responsibility to represent the specific interests of their wards as the city council does its work. 

As a Ward 7 resident for the past eight years, I have been very involved in the public process as a private citizen, volunteer, and an official member of the Somerville Bicycle Committee for several years. What I've learned through all of this is that our neighborhood is in the midst of an important transition - there are folks who have lived here their whole lives, folks who move here for a short time, and newer folks like Allison and me who have been here for several years and see Ward 7 as the future for our families. Each of these groups has different perspectives on where the city is and where it should be going. In my experience, our public process has been too contentious and not focused enough on the right choices for our future. I believe there is an abundance of resources in our community and we can do a better job utilizing those resources in a way that works for everyone. In a very practical sense, Ward 7 is going to experience many significant infrastructure projects in the immediate future (many begin construction this year!) that will shape the next generation or more of what our community looks like. At the same time, our community must do a better job to advance equity and fairness in the access to, experience with, and benefits from all of our public goods and services. 

As a system's thinker, I do my best to account for all of the components and stakeholders affected by any choice or decision. As a person with progressive values, I believe we have a responsibility to understand the human impact of all of our choices, to be true to what the best evidence suggests, and to make choices that lead to better outcomes for all - not just great outcomes for some. I hope to apply my progressive politics to practical solutions for Ward 7. I will focus my campaign on what I think I bring to the table:

• Because of my time in Ward 7 and my active participation in the public process and city initiatives, I have an appreciation for many of the perspectives in our community. I have a head-start in understanding what's important to folks in Ward 7, where tensions arise, and how we might find workable solutions for everyone. I also have the benefit of having some experience with the City's process for advancing infrastructure. I have professional relationships with many of the people who do the tireless and all-too-often thankless work of getting projects done. I believe this will help me advance an agenda that can set Ward 7 up for success for the future.
• Our streets and transportation infrastructure are barely passable for the needs of Ward 7. Somerville is the most densely populated city in New England. And, Ward 7 is a heavily residential neighborhood. Our current streets-network is not serving our neighborhood's needs well enough. And, major projects are in the works to make many improvements. I know we can do better. We need sidewalks that are well maintained and accessible to everyone regardless of their age and physical abilities. We need streets that are safe for anyone who wants to ride a bike to do so. And, we need streets that create an environment where motor vehicle speeds are appropriate for a residential community, where the necessary parking is available for those who need it, and where the wear and tear and environmental impact of motor vehicles is appropriately accounted for. We need streets that work for people.
• Affordability in the city continues to be a challenge for many families. Allison and I are incredibly fortunate to each have full time employment that stayed consistent through the pandemic. At the same time, the idea of buying property in the neighborhood where we started our family feels out of reach. Still, I know we are in a fortunate position. And, I know many families and individuals in our community experience the stress and pain of the financial reality of living in Somerville much more severely than we do. I believe the City can do better to create more affordability in our community to maintain access to one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the region while also continuing to grow.
• For the last 15 years, I have been on an important learning journey to understand what social justice, racial equity, and progressivism is. It is impossible to adequately explain and discuss the issues related to social justice and everything encompassed by it over email. Throughout the campaign, I hope to share how I came to understand what racism is - what all of the -isms are - and how we must do a better job to counteract the long lasting impacts of our past. I commit to continuing my work to understand and apply an anti-racist-equity lense to all of the work that I do. 

I care a lot about our neighborhood. And, I genuinely believe I can make unique and meaningful contributions to the work of City Council for a brighter future in Somerville. To do so, I need to run an effective campaign. And, to do that, I need your support! I'm hoping you can visit my website (www.alexforsomerville.com) and that you'll consider donating to my campaign and spreading the word to anyone you know who may be interested - especially folks who live in Ward 7! This is my first campaign for public office, so I'll need all the help I can get!

Finally, I want to thank all of you for your support and encouragement. And, I want to share a HUGE thank you to my good friend Taylor Woods-Gauthier who has been kind enough to share her expertise, guidance, and precious free time to support my campaign as the official treasurer for the Committee to Elect Alex Anderson and for all of her encouragement and insight into how politics work. 

Please feel free to message me with any thoughts, questions, or concerns. I'd love to hear them and keep the conversation going! Thank you for all of your support over the years! Here's to a bright future in Somerville!

Sincerely,

Alex