MassVoter.com← SomervilleMunicipal votes · 2026–2027 Council
Somerville City Council
How the Somerville City Council voted, from the City Clerk's official minutes. 11 councilors: 4 elected at large and one from each of the city’s 7 wards. Elected November 2025; organizational meeting January 2, 2026. Jon Link and Ben Wheeler (at-large) joined the council. President: Lance Davis (Ward 6); Vice President: Wilfred Mbah (at-large), both elected January 2, 2026. On September 10, 2026, Ben Ewen-Campen (Ward 3) and J.T. Scott (Ward 2) told the council they will resign effective December 31, 2026. The city has posted minutes through September 24, 2026; the July 23, 2026 meeting was cancelled. The end date (January 2028) is a placeholder for the next organizational meeting. Covers 22 meetings so far, January 2 to September 24, 2026.
A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.
What does the City Council do? It is the city’s lawmaking body. It passes local laws (ordinances), votes on the yearly budget, and approves borrowing and zoning changes.
The mayor runs the city day to day and proposes the budget.
Sources: Mass. General Laws c. 44 § 32 (city budgets)Your Somerville ballot: 13 quizzes, about a minute each.
Start my ballot →Vote Transparency Score
Somerville City Council: 9.5 out of 10 · Open
How easy Somerville makes it to see, online, how each member votes. It scores the city’s records, not any official. Checked October 10, 2026.
- Minutes postedMinutes are posted for every meeting more than three months old.Full points: 2/2
- Each vote namedWhen councilors split, the minutes list how each one voted.Full points: 3/3
- Posted quicklyMinutes are posted for every meeting more than a month old.Full points: 2/2
- Past years onlineCity Council minutes going back to 2010 are online.Full points: 1/1
- Readable textThe minutes are text you can search and copy.Full points: 1/1
- Member photosThe city’s website shows named photos of some councilors.Part points: 0.5/1
How the city can raise its score
- Member photos (+0.5): Show a photo of each member on the board’s web page, with their name, the date their term ends and how to contact them. A group photo of the members, with everyone named in the caption or on the same page, earns half a point.
How we score · Something wrong, or has the city made a change? Email info@massvoter.com and we’ll re-check.
A monthly email on its votes, starting in November. We'll also tell you if this score changes.
Council sessions
Coming up
No upcoming meeting is posted yet. Check the official calendar →
Under the state Open Meeting Law, boards post notice at least 48 hours ahead, not counting weekends and legal holidays.
Councilors
PresidentLance DavisPresident (2026) · Ward 6 · at 19 of 22 meetings
Vice PresidentWilfred MbahVice President (2026) · At-large · at 21 of 22 meetings
Jesse ClinganCouncilor · Ward 4 · at 22 of 22 meetings
Ben Ewen-CampenCouncilor · Ward 3 · at 21 of 22 meetings
Emily HardtCouncilor · Ward 7 · at 21 of 22 meetings
Jon LinkCouncilor · At-large · at 21 of 22 meetings
Matthew McLaughlinCouncilor · Ward 1 · at 21 of 22 meetings
Naima SaitCouncilor · Ward 5 · at 20 of 22 meetings
J.T. ScottCouncilor · Ward 2 · at 20 of 22 meetings✓ Every meeting 2026
Kristen StrezoCouncilor · At-large · at 22 of 22 meetings✓ Every meeting 2026
Ben WheelerCouncilor · At-large · at 22 of 22 meetings"At X of Y meetings" counts the roll call at the start of each meeting in this record. Councilors who step out are listed on each meeting page.
Attendance
22 full-board meetings so far this year, through September 24. Ties share a rank.
1Jesse Clingan22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1Kristen Strezo22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1Ben Wheeler22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%4Ben Ewen-Campen21 of 22 meetings95%4Emily Hardt21 of 22 meetings95%4Jon Link21 of 22 meetings95%4Wilfred Mbah21 of 22 meetings95%4Matthew McLaughlin21 of 22 meetings95%9Naima Sait20 of 22 meetings91%9J.T. Scott20 of 22 meetings91%11Lance Davis19 of 22 meetings86%28 full-board meetings in 2025. Ties share a rank.
1Ben Ewen-Campen28 of 28 meetings Every meeting100%1Kristen Strezo28 of 28 meetings Every meeting100%1Jake Wilson28 of 28 meetings Every meeting100%1Emily Hardt3 of 3 meetings · served from Nov100%5Jesse Clingan27 of 28 meetings96%5Lance Davis27 of 28 meetings96%7Judy Pineda Neufeld16 of 17 meetings · served until Jun94%8Willie Burnley26 of 28 meetings93%8Naima Sait26 of 28 meetings93%10Wilfred Mbah25 of 28 meetings89%10Matthew McLaughlin25 of 28 meetings89%10J.T. Scott25 of 28 meetings89%26 full-board meetings in 2024. Ties share a rank.
1Matthew McLaughlin26 of 26 meetings Every meeting100%1Kristen Strezo26 of 26 meetings Every meeting100%3Ben Ewen-Campen25 of 26 meetings96%3Naima Sait25 of 26 meetings96%5Willie Burnley24 of 26 meetings92%5Jesse Clingan24 of 26 meetings92%5Jake Wilson24 of 26 meetings92%8Lance Davis23 of 26 meetings88%8Wilfred Mbah23 of 26 meetings88%8Judy Pineda Neufeld23 of 26 meetings88%11J.T. Scott21 of 26 meetings81%27 full-board meetings in 2023. Ties share a rank.
1Kristen Strezo27 of 27 meetings Every meeting100%1Jake Wilson27 of 27 meetings Every meeting100%3Willie Burnley26 of 27 meetings96%3Matthew McLaughlin26 of 27 meetings96%5Jesse Clingan25 of 27 meetings93%5Lance Davis25 of 27 meetings93%5Ben Ewen-Campen25 of 27 meetings93%5Charlotte Kelly25 of 27 meetings93%9Beatriz Gomez Mouakad23 of 27 meetings85%9Judy Pineda Neufeld23 of 27 meetings85%11J.T. Scott22 of 27 meetings81%22 full-board meetings in 2022. Ties share a rank.
1Willie Burnley22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1Charlotte Kelly22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1Judy Pineda Neufeld22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1Kristen Strezo22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1Jake Wilson22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%6Jesse Clingan21 of 22 meetings95%6Ben Ewen-Campen21 of 22 meetings95%6Matthew McLaughlin21 of 22 meetings95%6J.T. Scott21 of 22 meetings95%10Lance Davis20 of 22 meetings91%11Beatriz Gomez Mouakad19 of 22 meetings86%22 full-board meetings in 2021. Ties share a rank.
1Jesse Clingan22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1Ben Ewen-Campen22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1Wilfred Mbah22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1Matthew McLaughlin22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1Mark Niedergang22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1Mary Jo Rossetti22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1J.T. Scott22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1Kristen Strezo22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%1William White22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%10Katjana Ballantyne21 of 22 meetings95%10Lance Davis21 of 22 meetings95%26 full-board meetings in 2020. Ties share a rank.
1Katjana Ballantyne26 of 26 meetings Every meeting100%1Lance Davis26 of 26 meetings Every meeting100%1Ben Ewen-Campen26 of 26 meetings Every meeting100%1Matthew McLaughlin26 of 26 meetings Every meeting100%1J.T. Scott26 of 26 meetings Every meeting100%1Kristen Strezo17 of 17 meetings · served from May Every meeting100%1Stephanie Hirsch9 of 9 meetings · served until Apr Every meeting100%8Jesse Clingan25 of 26 meetings96%8Wilfred Mbah25 of 26 meetings96%8Mark Niedergang25 of 26 meetings96%8Mary Jo Rossetti25 of 26 meetings96%8William White25 of 26 meetings96%27 full-board meetings in 2019. Ties share a rank.
1Ben Ewen-Campen27 of 27 meetings Every meeting100%1J.T. Scott27 of 27 meetings Every meeting100%1William White27 of 27 meetings Every meeting100%4Katjana Ballantyne26 of 27 meetings96%4Jesse Clingan26 of 27 meetings96%4Wilfred Mbah26 of 27 meetings96%4Mark Niedergang26 of 27 meetings96%4Mary Jo Rossetti26 of 27 meetings96%9Stephanie Hirsch25 of 27 meetings93%10Lance Davis23 of 27 meetings85%10Matthew McLaughlin23 of 27 meetings85%31 full-board meetings in 2018. Ties share a rank.
1Katjana Ballantyne31 of 31 meetings Every meeting100%1Lance Davis31 of 31 meetings Every meeting100%1Ben Ewen-Campen31 of 31 meetings Every meeting100%1William White31 of 31 meetings Every meeting100%5Jesse Clingan30 of 31 meetings97%5Stephanie Hirsch30 of 31 meetings97%5Mark Niedergang30 of 31 meetings97%5J.T. Scott30 of 31 meetings97%9Mary Jo Rossetti29 of 31 meetings94%10Wilfred Mbah28 of 31 meetings90%10Matthew McLaughlin28 of 31 meetings90%From the official minutes: full-board meetings only (committee meetings are not counted). Members are counted only for meetings held while they served, and arriving late counts as attending. The minutes rarely say why a member was absent.
A monthly email on its votes and who was there, starting in November.
Meetings
About missing minutes
Loaded: every full City Council meeting with minutes online, from January 1, 2018 through September 24, 2026 (231 meetings: regular, special, the organizational meetings each January, and three joint meetings with the School Committee, where only the council’s votes are shown). Minutes through June 2022 come from the city’s old meeting portal and minutes from July 2022 from its Legistar site. Until early 2019 the council was called the Board of Aldermen. Committee and special committee meetings are not loaded, and neither are the November “caucus” meetings, where the incoming council holds a nonbinding vote on its next President. Not here: the minutes of the November 9, 2021 and January 13, 2022 regular meetings and the May 19, 2022 special meeting, which the city has not posted (agendas only; later minutes approve them). MassVoter is asking the City Clerk for them. Older council minutes (2010 to 2017) are online and not loaded here. Attendance comes from the attendance list in the minutes; for thirteen 2022–2026 meetings whose minutes have no list, it comes from the council’s official “Call of the Roll” record on Legistar. Councilors the minutes say arrived late are shown as present. Somerville’s minutes record a result for each item. Roll calls list each councilor by name (“AYE: … NAY: … ABSENT: …”); for those MassVoter shows each councilor’s vote after checking the names against the attendance list. Councilors listed as absent or recused for a single vote are left out of it. Most routine items show only “RESULT: APPROVED”; for those MassVoter shows the result only and never assumes the vote was unanimous. When a roll call leaves out a councilor who was at the meeting, MassVoter shows the other councilors’ votes and leaves that councilor out of the vote, with a note. When the names do not fit the result, it shows the count only and adds a note. Items referred to committee, placed on file, marked “work completed”, laid on the table or withdrawn are not votes and are not listed, unless the minutes give a roll call on them; moments of silence and the call of the roll are not listed. Elections of the Council President and Vice President show the result only, with a note listing the councilors who voted. We will ask the City Clerk to confirm any noted vote.
Votes where councilors disagreed
Most council votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one councilor voted no or abstained, newest first.
Sep 24Commending Gonzalo Puigbo for his work as the Executive…Passed · see note
September 24, 2026: Commending Gonzalo Puigbo for his work as the Executive Director of Somerville Community Corporation
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Sep 24Eversource applying for a Grant of Location to install…Passed · see note
September 24, 2026: Eversource applying for a Grant of Location to install 140 feet of conduit in Newton Street, from the intersection of Prospect Street and Newton Street to a point of pickup…
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Sep 24That the Director of Parking discuss with this Council…Motion: That the Director of Parking discuss with this Council the feasibility…Passed · see note
September 24, 2026: That the Director of Parking discuss with this Council the feasibility of considering vehicle size and weight when establishing residential parking permit fees, so that permit costs may better...
That the Director of Parking discuss with this Council the feasibility of considering vehicle size and weight when establishing residential parking permit fees, so that permit costs may better reflect the amount of parking space used and the relative impact of different sized vehicles on city streets.
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
From the minutes
“RESULT: APPROVED AND SENT FOR DISCUSSION.”
Sep 24That, in view of the proliferation of rats in…Motion: That, in view of the proliferation of rats in the city,…Passed · see note
September 24, 2026: That, in view of the proliferation of rats in the city, the Director of Public Health and/or designees update this Council on the status of dumpster license registration and enforcement...
That, in view of the proliferation of rats in the city, the Director of Public Health and/or designees update this Council on the status of dumpster license registration and enforcement, including: estimates of the numbers of licensed and unlicensed dumpsters in the city which regularly contain discarded food; procedures for identifying unlicensed dumpsters and encouraging licensing; criteria for approval of dumpsters; staff capacity for dumpster inspection and enforcement; and current methods and best practices for excluding rodents from dumpsters.
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
From the minutes
“RESULT: APPROVED AND SENT FOR DISCUSSION.”
Sep 24That the Administration develop a procedure allowing the Parking…Motion: That the Administration develop a procedure allowing the Parking Department, upon…Passed · see note
September 24, 2026: That the Administration develop a procedure allowing the Parking Department, upon identifying a vehicle parked in a location such as a fire lane where it poses a public safety concern,…
That the Administration develop a procedure allowing the Parking Department, upon identifying a vehicle parked in a location such as a fire lane where it poses a public safety concern, to arrange for the vehicle to be towed.
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Sep 24That the Director of Finance and the Director of…Motion: That the Director of Finance and the Director of Economic Development…Passed · see note
September 24, 2026: That the Director of Finance and the Director of Economic Development report to this Council on the situation of financial bankruptcy, involving the investor funds, holding equity in the empty…
That the Director of Finance and the Director of Economic Development report to this Council on the situation of financial bankruptcy, involving the investor funds, holding equity in the empty lab building at 808 Windsor Place, Boynton Yards.
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
From the minutes
“RESULT: APPROVED AND SENT FOR DISCUSSION.”
Sep 24In remembrance of Lobga Rangzen and in recognition of…Passed · see note
September 24, 2026: In remembrance of Lobga Rangzen and in recognition of Somerville’s Tibetan Community
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Sep 24That the Director of the Parking install drop-off/pick-up signage…Passed · see note
September 24, 2026: That the Director of the Parking install drop-off/pick-up signage on Cherry Street, across from the Kennedy School
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
From the minutes
“RESULT: APPROVED AND SENT FOR DISCUSSION.”
Sep 24That the Director of Mobility add bike racks at…Passed · see note
September 24, 2026: That the Director of Mobility add bike racks at the Kennedy School
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
From the minutes
“RESULT: APPROVED AND SENT FOR DISCUSSION.”
Sep 24That the Director of Mobility paint bike markings in…Passed · see note
September 24, 2026: That the Director of Mobility paint bike markings in the bike lane on Elm Street, across from the Kennedy school
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
From the minutes
“RESULT: APPROVED AND SENT FOR DISCUSSION.”
From the Somerville City Council’s official minutes, posted on the city’s Legistar meeting calendar (July 2022 on) and its older meeting portal (2010 to mid-2022), both linked from the City Council page on somervillema.gov. We check every vote against the councilors present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Councilor photos: City of Somerville (somervillema.gov) official headshots for Ben Ewen-Campen, Jesse Clingan, Lance Davis, Wilfred Mbah, Naima Sait, J.T. Scott and Kristen Strezo; The Somerville Times (thesomervilletimes.com) for Emily Hardt, Jon Link, Matthew McLaughlin and Ben Wheeler. Former councilors show initials.
How to read these pagesWhere the votes come from, how we check them against the official minutes, what isn't included yet, and how to report a mistake.About city pages →