I am proud to have earned an endorsement for my re-election campaign from the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus, the state chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus, whose mission is to recruit, train and elect women. This year is the first that the MWPC has endorsed candidates for municipal office, a response in part to what it describes as a recent “surge” in interest in electing more women. Since the November 2016 election, the MWPC has seen its membership increase by 450% . The announcement of my endorsement came in an MWPC press release on August 10, which included this statement:

“We are pleased to endorse such terrific women candidates who are highly capable and committed to making positive change happen in communities across Massachusetts,” said Linnea Walsh, MWPC Interim Executive Director. “This is a watershed year for the MWPC and through these endorsements, we provide our candidates with a myriad of resources and tools needed to help them compete and win, such as support with social media, communications and voter outreach.”

Also endorsed are three new candidates seeking to join me on the Cambridge City Council: Sumbul Siddiqui, Vatsady Sivongxay and Alanna Mallon. The dynamic of the Cambridge election is a little different than most races because we use ranked choice voting to select the first nine candidates who reach the #1 vote quota as determined by the overall turnout. All of us serve at-large and all seats are “open” every two years. I am one of two women on the City Council this term, having been the only new candidate elected in 2015 when all nine incumbents were running. This year, three male incumbents have decided not to seek re-election, so that means there will be at least three new members of the Council. I wish my three fellow MWPC endorsees the best of luck in November and look forward to the potential to work with a female majority in the future.