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We are four first-time candidates, long-time Somerville residents, and people of color. We are issuing this joint statement to address a pattern of disturbing actions taken by an organization which claims to be committed to diversity and inclusion, but which has fallen critically short of those values in recent days.

If the members of Our Revolution Somerville (ORS) aspire to live their purported values, we hope that this statement is taken as intended: not as a reprimand, but as a catalyst for self-reflection and growth.

There were many examples of concern, but we want to focus on what we believe to be the most egregious. Stephenson Aman qualified for the ballot and submitted his questionnaire to ORS in a reasonable time frame. The leadership of ORS, who had made changes and accommodations in their processes for their candidate forums prior to this incident, nonetheless denied him access to this forum and the endorsement process.

Stephenson has been a pillar of the Somerville community for many years. He is the son of Haitian immigrants who, despite many great challenges in his life, has overcome adversity and a physical disability to become a community leader, a youth coach and mentor, and a critical voice for underrepresented individuals in our city.

We live at a time where participation in our democracy is under attack across the nation. Somerville residents usually stand against institutional efforts to exclude people, so it is disheartening to see the leadership of ORS lack the understanding that if you want to promote inclusivity and participation, you cannot create arbitrary rules which lead to exclusion. If we can understand the voting rights implications of exclusionary policies in Georgia, we should equally be able to see them in our local organizations.

We are all running campaigns rooted in the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

That is why we are calling on ORS to immediately suspend its political activities until it has gone through a formal process to address its shortcomings, acknowledge and take action to rectify the harm it has done in recent days, and transparently let the Somerville community know what steps it has taken to ensure such actions will not be repeated.

We know that ORS has a short but proud history as it works to become part of the fabric of our political community. Our hope is that, with the following actions, it can become a leading voice for progressive change.

These should not be unreasonable steps to take for an organization which speaks of inclusion and diversity in its own mission. These are goals which we share but take work to achieve.

With gratitude and hope:

Tracey Leah Pratt, Candidate for Somerville City Councilor At-Large (pratt4somerville@gmail.com)

Beatriz Gómez Mouakad, Candidate for Somerville Ward 5 Councilor (gomezmouakad.ward5@gmail.com)

 Judy Pineda Neufeld, Candidate for Somerville Ward 7 Councilor (judyforward7@gmail.com)

Stephenson Aman, Candidate for Somerville Ward 2 Councilor (citizensforstephaman@gmail.com)