Immigrant Solidarity Rally, Elections, Community Meetings

We’ve been out canvassing and we hope you’ll join us for the last few days of the campaign season to help get out the vote for:

• Mayor: Willie Burnley, Jr.

• At-Large: Scott Istvan

• At-Large: Jon Link 

• At-Large: Will Mbah

• At-Large: Ben Wheeler 

• Ward 5: Naima Sait

• Ward 7: Emily Hardt

Limited Availability: Jon Link Yard Signs
Jon isn’t having yard signs printed for environmental sustainability reasons, but Somerville YIMBY member Crystal has saved signs from prior years and upcycled them for Jon’s campaign. If you’d like a limited-edition, hand-painted Jon Link yard sign for the last stretch of the campaign season, reply to this email.

Events

October 20 (tonight!): Candidate Debate — Somerville Media Center and The Somerville Beacon will host candidate debates for Somerville’s City Councilor At Large and Mayoral races. In person at the Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square, 5:30 to 8:30 pm. Somerville Media Center will publish their recording at a later date.

October 21: Immigrant solidarity vigil and march — Somerville YIMBY is proud to be one of the many co-sponsors of this event expressing solidarity with our immigrant neighbors. 5:15 pm, Foss Park, 49 Fellsway W.

October 22: Somerville Renters Committee Housing Justice Forum — Hear about housing justice plans from the mayoral candidates. 7:00 pm, Hybrid event, 50 Cross Street and online via Zoom.

October 24: Last day to register to vote for the November 4 election — Registration is open online until midnight.

October 28-30: Early voting — At City Hall, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm on the 28th and 29th, and until 7:30 on the 30th.

October 29: Community Meeting About 201B Highland Ave — A business begins the process of hosting community meetings prior to seeking permission to host events in a retail space. 6:00 pm, online via Zoom.

November 4: Election Day!

November 6: Land Use/Planning Board Joint Meeting — Agenda includes reducing pre-submittal meeting requirements and improving the the city’s notoriously cumbersome permit application process. 6:30 pm, online via Zoom.

Recommended

Recording of the Somerville Stands Together Candidate Forum: Hear from candidates on key topics, including housing.

New law may help home buyers competing against other bids: A new law requiring pre-purchase inspections is good, but doesn’t solve the root problem of scarcity and bidding wars driving up the cost of housing.

A Hidden Risk to Climate Goals: The Transformer Roadblock: Achieving our climate goals will require major upgrades to the electrical grid.

What New ROAD to Housing Act Means for Homeowners: A new federal law may improve zoning and permitting processes nationwide… if local governments buy in.

More on US Pedestrian Deaths: Why have traffic fatalities risen so much in the US over the past few years? Research is, unfortunately, inconclusive.

Why more parents are riding cargo bikes, skipping the minivan: "By the third day I was like, 'Oh, this is actually going to change my life.'"