VOTE 🗳️ Somerville Prelim on 9/16! And my recs on how to vote

Dear , The Somerville Municipal Preliminary election is upon us, please MARK YOUR CALENDARS 🗓️ for Tuesday 9/16 from 7am to 8pm at your polling place. You can also early vote at Somerville City Hall (at 93 Highland Ave) on: Tuesday 9/9 from 8:30am to 4:30pm Wednesday 9/10 from 8:30am to 4:30pm Wednesday 9/11 from 8:30am to 7:30pm You can add the voting times and places to your Google calendar by clicking here.  You can also vote by mail if you requested a mail-in ballot but remember that your ballot must be received by the city by election day to be counted (or by 6pm on 9/16 in the ballot drop box). 🚨🚨🚨 TOMORROW, Friday, September 5 at 5pm is the last day to register to vote or change your address for the 9/16 preliminary 🚨🚨🚨 Take a moment now to think about when and how you will vote. Who are we voting for? All Somerville residents will be voting for:  1 out of 3 candidates for Mayor 4 out of 12 candidates for City Councilor At-Large If you live in Ward 3, you will be voting for 1 of 3 candidates for School Committee. If you live in Ward 7 you will be voting for 1 of 3 candidates for City Council. The preliminary election determines which 2 candidates (or 8 candidates for At-large city councilor) will be on the November 4 election ballot. You can view your sample ballot here. Wow that’s a lot of candidates and I recognize that very few people have the capacity to research all of them! Please VOTE regardless. Self inflicted voter disenfranchisement is particularly high when elections are confusing because many voters feel “unprepared” to vote. Do not let perfect be the enemy of the good. VOTE! The rest of my newsletter is my best attempt to share as much information as possible, starting with the most easily digestible and working towards the most comprehensive, in order to help you make an informed decision on who to vote for on September 16. My recs on how to vote (TL;DR version) With any election, (but especially for crowded field elections like this one) I find it best to look to political organizations that are asking hard questions on the pressing issues facing our city. The best resource that simply differentiates candidates on a number of key issues I’ve seen so far comes from a longtime DSA and prison abolitionist activist Kit Haines who I’ve had the immense joy and honor to work with over the years. They put together a well-researched voter guide and table for Boston DSA: (This is currently a draft so stay tuned for the complete Boston DSA voter guide which will be posted here) While this is certainly not a comprehensive list of all the issues that the municipal government deals with, it helps distinguish candidates based on hard questions. First, money in politics matters. And the impact is greater for lower ballot races. Just in terms of pure numbers, when campaigns are running on a $2K to $20K~ budget, a few $1K donations from developers or corporate interests weigh big, even though Massachusetts has one of the better campaign contribution limits in the country, the impact looms large for local elections. Second, a significant part of the Mayor’s / City Councilor’s role is zoning, and thereby, housing. That’s why questions that illuminate how much candidates prioritize how housing is developed in the city and how much affordability is prioritized are important. I particularly appreciate the question on whether a candidate will support Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) and Project Labor Agreements (PLAs). CBAs can range from green spaces, community spaces, and more affordable housing, to funding workers centers and other community resources. PLAs are a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement for a specific construction project which ensures fair labor standards. Wage theft and violations of fundamental safety standards are rampant in non-unionized construction. Knowing whether a candidate supports PLAs is vital.   Another valuable resource to help with your decision is where labor unions stand. Although many unions make endorsements (and truthfully, I don’t have the capacity to track down every endorsement by every union), I want to highlight two organizations that both held a thorough endorsement process for candidates in Somerville (and other municipalities): Greater Boston Labor Council and UAW Region 9A.  Greater Boston Labor Council (GBLC) represents over 100,000 workers from many affiliated unions who all have a say in endorsements. Delegates from affiliated unions review and interview each candidate through their rigorous endorsement process. You can see their endorsements here. UAW Region 9A represents workers from a wide range of fields, from auto and manufacturing to higher education, legal services, childcare, and more. As such UAW’s membership is composed of a large number of workers in Somerville who are at the forefront of standing up against the Trump administration’s attacks on higher education, science research and funding, and DEI and free expression. Like GBLC, they endorsed a slate of candidates across several municipalities, including Somerville: I want to highlight other local groups in Somerville that have endorsed so far, notably Somerville for Palestine has made endorsements and organized candidate forums, and Somerville YIMBY has made endorsements and has questionnaires for all candidates who responded. Note, not all organizations or unions have made endorsements or completed their questionnaire / forum process so I expect we will have more information to share before the November election. As an example, Somerville Educators Union (SEU) has an ongoing process so keep a look out for next steps (this is a particularly helpful resource for the school committee races)! What do you most want to see for Somerville in 2025? In this newsletter, I highlighted issues concerning money in politics, housing and development, organized labor and workers’ rights, divesting public investments from weapons to Israel, and diverting funding for police and armed response to community resources.  I want to hear from you on what your priorities are for city hall and Somerville. Share your priorities for Somerville As your representative at the State House, my work is primarily to support Somerville residents and our values and pass legislation, but a significant part of my work interfaces closely with city hall. Some recent examples include maintenance of McGrath highway (which is managed by the state, but requires coordination with the city) and advocating for students and families displaced by the sudden closure of WHCIS (aka the Winter Hill school) to have reliable public transit to get to the Edgerly School. Furthermore, collaboration between the State and Municipal government is paramount to stand up to Trump. I’ve worked with local partners to confront ICE and their unlawful kidnapping of our neighbors by investing in legal aid and resources to support immigrants, and to pass legislation to protect local healthcare providers and patients from out-of-state legal attacks on reproductive and gender-affirming care. Your perspectives guide what I focus my advocacy on your behalf at the State House and what I prioritize when working with municipal elected partners and City Hall. Share your priorities for Somerville My recs on how to vote (long version) For folks who want to deep dive into any and all the issues, I’ve tried to compile all of the publicly available questionnaires and candidate forums. If I missed any, do let me know and I will include it in subsequent newsletters pertaining to the 2025 municipal election. Questionnaires:  Progressive Massachusetts  Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets Somerville Fair Housing Commission  Union Square Main Streets Somerville Educators Union Recordings of forums and recorded statements organized so far: Candidate statements hosted by the Somerville Media Center Union Square Neighborhood Council Mayoral forum in July Somerville Stands Together hosted a Mayoral Candidates Forum earlier this week on zoom Passcode: 7qU=45^E  Somerville Mayoral Forum on Arts & Culture took place in August Save the date (!) for the following upcoming forums: Thursday, September 4 at 7pm at the Somerville High School, Lower Cafeteria - Ward 3 Somerville School Committee Candidates Forum, sponsored by Ward 3 Democratic Committee Friday, September 5 at 7pm-8pm at the East Somerville Community School, 50 Cross St - Town hall about library and school issues with the 3 mayoral candidates, organized by the Somerville Public Library Foundation, Friends of the Somerville Public Library and the Somerville Council of PTAs Monday, September 8 at 7pm at the Somerville High School, Lower Cafeteria - Councilors At-large Candidates Forum, sponsored by the Somerville Democratic Committee City Monday, September 22 (time TBD) at the Somerville Theatre - Somerville Mayor and Councilor at Large debate, organized by the Somerville Media Center and the Somerville Beacon Finally, I want to emphasize that every candidate brings their unique perspectives and experiences to public service and neither this newsletter nor the exhaustive list of resources may not be able to answer all your questions. Furthermore, no candidate nor their views can be distilled down to any list of yes or no questions alone. I am committed to working with everybody in Somerville to make our community a better place and I know that we will continue to build together regardless of the outcome. This election is an opportunity to choose who we are building with in these positions of power. As such, I strongly encourage you to reach out to candidates or talk with them when they knock on your door. As always, it is a joy and honor to serve you in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas! Follow on Bluesky Follow on Instagram Follow on TikTok Yours in service, Erika Committee to Elect Erika Uyterhoeven 11 Wesley Park Somerville, MA 02144 United States Campaign website: www.ElectErika.com If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please (Unsubscribing is not supported in previews).