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Somerville has an exciting opportunity to implement the new Massachusetts Climate Law locally to help bring our Commonwealth to carbon neutral by 2050. I’m proud of the part I played in securing the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s endorsement of this critical legislation and in mobilizing upwards of 20,000 voters in our State Senate district to contact their elected officials in support of it: I truly believe in the power of grassroots organizing and close partnership with our elected officials to advance progressive legislation into law. At the City level, we have the opportunity to build zero-emissions buildings, incorporate solar and wind power in new construction and through energy transfer programs, and better insulate our buildings to increase energy efficiency. To reduce vehicle emissions, we need to promote pedestrian- and bicycle- friendly traffic through dedicated lanes and open spaces, make public transit free, convert City fleets to electric vehicles, and attract green industries to Somerville in green tech and life science that not only help reduce our carbon footprint but create jobs and much needed business tax revenue to fund our City’s school and services. By making street-level open space and green space accessible to everyone including our local businesses and artists, we can promote commerce while improving our public health. Together we have the opportunity to create a Healthier, Greener future for Somerville.
Somerville needs to be a City where people can both work and afford to live. To drive job creation and promote affordability, we need mixed-use development including street-level retail, office and lab space, and housing affordable and accessible to everyone as well as the creation of green spaces and open spaces for outdoor commerce and the arts. In order for our City to afford more affordable housing construction, we need to grow our business tax base to cover the added expenses associated with City services, schools, and supporting infrastructure. We also need to take a comprehensive approach to affordability that includes lower income and middle income residents, so middle class families are not priced out of Somerville. In addition to housing construction, we need rent control to prevent excessive year-over-year rent increases that drive higher turnover and displacement of our renter population. The eviction moratorium should also be extended until COVID-19 cases are reduced 10-fold from their current levels to prevent our public health and economic crisis from worsening.
Creating pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly lanes and open spaces will help make our economy greener and encourage growth of our local businesses that depend on pedestrian traffic. Given the environmental, economic, and safety benefits, we need to make public transportation free to Somerville residents, and we need to streamline fare collection so non-residents have more electronic payment options to reduce delays. To promote public health and economic growth, we need to make street-side space accessible to businesses that want it for outdoor seating and commerce. We should also use public spaces including public parks for the arts during off-peak hours and consider construction of parking garages to reclaim valuable street-side space.
Every worker deserves a living wage, benefits, legal protections, and the opportunity to unionize. The City should fully fund staff charged with investigating “wage theft” complaints, require $15/hr minimum wage, earned sick time, and paid family/medical leave in all of its contracts, and give priority to businesses having unions and employing Somerville residents when awarding City contracts. We also need a renewed commitment to our Job Creation and Retention Trust and the fees acquired from large commercial development should be used to create City jobs and training for in-demand job skills.
We need to provide our schools the funding they need to prepare our students and workforce for the green economy of the future. This means support for adult education and training for in-demand job skills at our new high school in the evenings and increased course offerings in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics after regular school hours for our student population. We can achieve greater economic equity through educational excellence: every member of our community deserves access to free, quality, life-long public education and equal employment opportunity.
Copyright © 2021 Justin Klekota for City Council - All Rights Reserved.
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