The Somerville Chamber of Commerce sent all the Mayoral and City Councilor candidates a questionnaire to fill out online. Below are the answers from the candidates who chose to participate. We will be publishing their answers over the next couple of days.

Below find answers from Holly Simione, Michael Murray and Emily Hardt:

Candidate -Holly Simione

What are your top three priorities for the city as a City Councilor?

Economic development, housing and transportation

What would you as a city councilor put forward to improve safety, cleanliness, and walkability in business districts? In Davis Square what measures would you take to ensure safety for all business and residents?

I would recommend creating a specialized Business District team within DPW that is responsible for ensuring the cleanliness and safety in all business districts in Somerville. This would include escalating repairs of sidewalks, bike lanes and other city infrastructure, including rat mitigation. This team could choose to work alongside our community police officers when necessary, to ensure the safety of this team, and to be visible and approachable to the community and business owners to answer questions and provide any assistance needed.

Commercial development had been robust in Somerville but with the economic slowdown commercial development and housing developments have ceased. In spite of this slowdown the City Council recently voted to increase linkage fees even though Somerville already had the highest fees including permit fees and inclusionary housing percentages in the State. How are you going to encourage developers to build, rather than go to other cities with lower linkage, fees, permit fees and inclusionary housing percentages? What incentives would you offer?

I would propose a review of our surrounding communities permit fee structures, to determine if a clawback provision for meeting job numbers and tax revenue estimates could be implemented to create economic stimulus.

There is approximately 3 million square feet of life science space that is unoccupied in the city. What are your strategies for filling empty lab spaces?

I would seek out local area life science companies with soon to expire leases and offer incentives Tax Increment Financing (TIF) using scaled increases over time to attract and retain quality life science companies. I would include partnerships with SHS for vocational technical training and local businesses to train and hire local labor.

The Condo Conversion Ordinance Amendment: The process was done with no public input during the Fourth of July week. Do you feel this was transparent? Would you have done things differently?

I do not feel it was transparent, and I would have insisted on more public input and involvement.

The Condo Conversion Ordinance Amendment: If the City has a goal to make housing more affordable, how does making development take longer and have more risk by doubling the tenant relocation payments and the condo conversion waiting period? Do you agree that condo ownership is a way for first time home buyers to get into Somerville?

The condo conversion ordinance is not designed to create affordable housing it was created as a tool to slow down people from being displaced from what is assumed to be already affordable housing. I do agree that condo ownership can be a way for first time home buyers to stay/move to Somerville.

How will you ensure that changes to parking, bike lanes, or public transit projects support—not harm—small business foot traffic and customer access?

Our 2023 Somerville Bicycle Network plan, and 2050 Vision Zero plan for 88 miles of protected bike lanes, of which less than 10 miles have been completed to date will greatly impact how the curb is utilized. We must look at the impacts of these designs currently on local business and ensure public safety is paramount.

Some people and businesses in our community say that we have parking issues. How would you mitigate those concerns or change the situation? On recent changes to streets in Somerville would you require after say 6 months of completing a street project a look back with meetings of the people and businesses in the area to see if these changes solved the problem or created more problem?

I believe a 6 month post completion review of all city projects, is necessary and beneficial and would insist that the voices of our residents and business owners be heard and responded to. We cannot collect public feedback and continue to disregard it.

Why is the city significantly adding numerous traffic calming measures throughout various neighborhoods without input from all residents, businesses and religious institutions? What we are hearing is the city conducts listening sessions but are not hearing what is being said. How would you change that?

The city is acting upon studies performed in concert with area communities (Boston and Cambridge) to reduce vehicle traffic and increase bike access. I agree that public input is not being heard on most decisions by the administration and would require it be compiled and responded to publicly. This includes being transparent in changes that impact the safety of our first responders who are navigating narrow roads, and numerous traffic calming measures that impact their response time.

What will you do in your elected role to ensure that everyone including businesses and religious institutions in Somerville have equal access to all City services, resources, programs, and meetings?  How will transparency play a role?

Transparency and access are key to an effective and open government. I will continue my work towards ensuring this for our businesses and religious institutions.

Currently city meetings (virtual) do not have participation features such as raise your hand button, chat features and restrict participants visibility to see who is in the meeting. Do you feel this is open and transparent? Please explain your reasoning. Also, as a City Councilor, would you require that all city meetings including all city council committee and board meetings be held in public with a virtual component and that all elected officials be required to attend in person all meetings in public?

I do not feel it is open or transparent to conduct city meetings that do not afford everyone the same information that would be available if it was held in person, including language translation, closed captioning and being able to see each other at all times. Virtual should always be an option however, it does not and should not replace our elected officials being in person.

What would you like to see from local associations in terms of working positively and proactively with you and your office? How can organizations like the Somerville Chamber of Commerce be an asset to the new City Councilor?

If elected I will hold monthly meetings with all residents, businesses and community stakeholders, to hear new ideas, concerns and develop strategies together to move us forward.

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Candidate -Michael Murray

What are your top three priorities for the city as a City Councilor?

1.Ending the Pit era in Teele Square.
2. Responding to the rat problems
3. Representing Ward 7 in a focused and responsive way, at city hall.

What would you as a city councilor put forward to improve safety, cleanliness, and walkability in business districts? In Davis Square what measures would you take to ensure safety for all business and residents?

It makes sense to enforce rules that prohibit littering, and the collection of private materials in public space.

Commercial development had been robust in Somerville but with the economic slowdown commercial development and housing developments have ceased. In spite of this slowdown the City Council recently voted to increase linkage fees even though Somerville already had the highest fees including permit fees and inclusionary housing percentages in the State. How are you going to encourage developers to build, rather than go to other cities with lower linkage, fees, permit fees and inclusionary housing percentages? What incentives would you offer?Mostly, we need to pick up the pace of permitting and permit reviews. We may need to hire more city staff to increase the frequency and volume of permitting.

There is approximately 3 million square feet of life science space that is unoccupied in the city. What are your strategies for filling empty lab spaces?

These are not in Ward 7, I take it? If there were significant empty life science space unoccupied in Ward 7, I would start by talking to the property owners. I don’t see it as the city’s responsibility to fill up office/science space.

The Condo Conversion Ordinance Amendment: The process was done with no public input during the Fourth of July week. Do you feel this was transparent? Would you have done things differently?

This is not an event I am familiar with.

The Condo Conversion Ordinance Amendment: If the City has a goal to make housing more affordable, how does making development take longer and have more risk by doubling the tenant relocation payments and the condo conversion waiting period? Do you agree that condo ownership is a way for first time home buyers to get into Somerville?

This question, as worded, doesn’t make a lot of sense. I think there may be some missing words? But, your perspective is clear and your point is noted.

How will you ensure that changes to parking, bike lanes, or public transit projects support—not harm—small business foot traffic and customer access?

We need to listen to our businesses. Davis Square has 5 parking lots. Teele has zero parking lots. We should balance the addition of bike lanes with small parking in our squares. Parking is too difficult for potential customers who want to go to stores and restaurants in Teele Square, or stop for something during their trip.

Some people and businesses in our community say that we have parking issues. How would you mitigate those concerns or change the situation? On recent changes to streets in Somerville would you require after say 6 months of completing a street project a look back with meetings of the people and businesses in the area to see if these changes solved the problem or created more problem?

Well, this sounds like a good idea. Sure.

Why is the city significantly adding numerous traffic calming measures throughout various neighborhoods without input from all residents, businesses and religious institutions? What we are hearing is the city conducts listening sessions but are not hearing what is being said. How would you change that?

I’m not sure why, or how accurate that is. I’m not on city council currently.

What will you do in your elected role to ensure that everyone including businesses and religious institutions in Somerville have equal access to all City services, resources, programs, and meetings?  How will transparency play a role?

I am running for city council ward 7, and it’s a small ward afterall. I plan to be a presence in the ward, and a spokesperson for the ward at City Hall.

Currently city meetings (virtual) do not have participation features such as raise your hand button, chat features and restrict participants visibility to see who is in the meeting. Do you feel this is open and transparent? Please explain your reasoning. Also, as a City Councilor, would you require that all city meetings including all city council committee and board meetings be held in public with a virtual component and that all elected officials be required to attend in person all meetings in public?

Oh, I don’t know. I hear your concerns about transparency and functionality. Your language in this question is quite absolute. There are legitimate reasons for closed sessions. And I’m not sure what the last clause of the last sentence means exactly. “All elected officials be required to attend in person all meetings in public?” I’m not sure what you mean by that.

What would you like to see from local associations in terms of working positively and proactively with you and your office? How can organizations like the Somerville Chamber of Commerce be an asset to the new City Councilor?

I will hold office hours, and regular meetings with the business community in ward 7 , if there is interest in regular meetings.

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Candidate -Emily Hardt

What are your top three priorities for the city as a City Councilor?

1. Housing affordability: While the housing crisis is not limited to Somerville, it is hitting Somerville especially hard. Because so much of Somerville has been gentrifying for years, the high cost of housing and the development of more and more luxury condos where naturally occurring affordable housing had been, has displaced many long-time residents, immigrant communities, young renters, working class families and so many others. My top priority will be to address the housing affordability crisis: working for more affordable housing, making it easier for first-time homebuyers, supporting tenants and helping seniors stay in their homes. B. Safe streets: We demand a lot from our streets to handle so many cars, trucks, bikes and pedestrians. We need to keep improving our infrastructure to slow cars down and make the streets safer for all forms of transportation and all residents. In this process, it is important to take all voices and needs into account, including small business owners. C. Climate justice: We are already experiencing changes in our climate and it is having an impact on residents, businesses and our infrastructure. Marginalized communities are being impacted especially hard. The more prepared we are for climate changes, the more equitable the impacts will be, and the more resilient our city will be in the years to come.

What would you as a city councilor put forward to improve safety, cleanliness, and walkability in business districts? In Davis Square what measures would you take to ensure safety for all business and residents?

I think we need a combination of police and alternative responders (both trained in de-escalation) to increase safety in and around Davis Square. We also need to help people who are suffering from addictions and those who don’t have homes to be able to better access services.

Commercial development had been robust in Somerville but with the economic slowdown commercial development and housing developments have ceased. In spite of this slowdown the City Council recently voted to increase linkage fees even though Somerville already had the highest fees including permit fees and inclusionary housing percentages in the State. How are you going to encourage developers to build, rather than go to other cities with lower linkage, fees, permit fees and inclusionary housing percentages? What incentives would you offer?

We need to improve the permitting process dramatically and reduce the length of reviews, which costs projects an enormous amount of money. Some contractors even refuse to work in Somerville because of our bad reputation for inspectional services. We can also offer incentives to developers, for example density bonuses for affordability.

There is approximately 3 million square feet of life science space that is unoccupied in the city. What are your strategies for filling empty lab spaces?

The reality is that federal cuts to research funding, and the glut of local lab space, mean that at least some of this space will need to be repurposed, whether into commercial or industrial space or housing. We can certainly do more to attract research jobs – and I think we should do our best, but given the larger forces, we will need a variety of approaches.

The Condo Conversion Ordinance Amendment: The process was done with no public input during the Fourth of July week. Do you feel this was transparent? Would you have done things differently?

I strongly believe that the City needs to operate more transparently and with more input. There’s no value in hiding from constituents. We need to hear all voices and come to the best decisions.

The Condo Conversion Ordinance Amendment: If the City has a goal to make housing more affordable, how does making development take longer and have more risk by doubling the tenant relocation payments and the condo conversion waiting period? Do you agree that condo ownership is a way for first time home buyers to get into Somerville?

I support efforts to increase housing construction in Somerville, for instance through increasing first-time homebuyer programs and offering downpayment assistance. That said, we need to ensure that conversions do not exacerbate displacement. This is an issue that will continue to require careful monitoring and review of its impacts.

How will you ensure that changes to parking, bike lanes, or public transit projects support—not harm—small business foot traffic and customer access?

We need to do more outreach to businesses – not just holding listening sessions but going door to door and actively reaching out to small business owners before decisions are made. I have already started conversations with many of the business owners in Teele Square.

Some people and businesses in our community say that we have parking issues. How would you mitigate those concerns or change the situation? On recent changes to streets in Somerville would you require after say 6 months of completing a street project a look back with meetings of the people and businesses in the area to see if these changes solved the problem or created more problem?

A look-back meeting is a good idea, though we really need to do more to identify potential issues before changes are made, such as outreach. There is not necessarily much that can be done afterwards, although collecting lessons learned is valuable.

Why is the city significantly adding numerous traffic calming measures throughout various neighborhoods without input from all residents, businesses and religious institutions? What we are hearing is the city conducts listening sessions but are not hearing what is being said. How would you change that?

By doing my job as city councilor and going door-to-door to meet with impacted residents and business owners.

What will you do in your elected role to ensure that everyone including businesses and religious institutions in Somerville have equal access to all City services, resources, programs, and meetings?  How will transparency play a role?

I am committed to maintaining regular communication with business owners and religious institutions, as well as residents. I see it as my responsibility to form relationships and to be accessible to everyone who is a part of our community. I will also communicate regularly and transparently about what I am working on and what decisions are being made in City Hall.

Currently city meetings (virtual) do not have participation features such as raise your hand button, chat features and restrict participants visibility to see who is in the meeting. Do you feel this is open and transparent? Please explain your reasoning. Also, as a City Councilor, would you require that all city meetings including all city council committee and board meetings be held in public with a virtual component and that all elected officials be required to attend in person all meetings in public?

I understand the reasoning behind limiting some of these features like chat, which can be distracting and cause legal concerns regarding open meeting law, but would push for transparency, for instance, to show attendee lists, to the extent allowed by law. Somerville should follow the state’s open meeting law and regulations regarding meeting attendance policies, further restricting beyond that could open up the city to a lawsuit. One thing I would push for is filling the many vacancies that we have on city committees and commissions.

What would you like to see from local associations in terms of working positively and proactively with you and your office? How can organizations like the Somerville Chamber of Commerce be an asset to the new City Councilor?

I would welcome the opportunity to meet with members regularly and to hear from them on any issues of concern. I would certainly like to consult with organizational leadership on policy matters and to gather evidence and opinions.

-Somerville Chamber of Commerce