MassVoter.com← SomervilleMunicipal votes · 2018–2019 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. The 2018–2019 Board of Aldermen: elected November 2017; organizational meeting January 1, 2018. Until early 2019 the body was called the Board of Aldermen and its members Aldermen (the minutes switch to “City Council” and “City Councilor” in February 2019); MassVoter shows it as the City Council throughout. President: Katjana Ballantyne in 2018 and 2019 (Vice President Matthew McLaughlin both years), each elected at the January organizational meeting. No seat changed hands during the term. Covers 58 meetings, January 1 to December 12, 2019.
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.
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Under the state Open Meeting Law, boards post notice at least 48 hours ahead, not counting weekends and legal holidays.
Councilors
Vice PresidentMatthew McLaughlinVice President (2018); Vice President (2019) · Ward 1 · at 51 of 58 meetings
Jesse ClinganCouncilor · Ward 4 · at 56 of 58 meetings
Lance DavisCouncilor · Ward 6 · at 54 of 58 meetings
Ben Ewen-CampenCouncilor · Ward 3 · at 58 of 58 meetingsStephanie HirschCouncilor · At-large · at 55 of 58 meetings
Wilfred MbahCouncilor · At-large · at 54 of 58 meetingsMark NiedergangCouncilor · Ward 5 · at 56 of 58 meetingsMary Jo RossettiCouncilor · At-large · at 55 of 58 meetings
J.T. ScottCouncilor · Ward 2 · at 57 of 58 meetingsWilliam WhiteCouncilor · At-large · at 58 of 58 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.
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.
Dec 12The Mayor Commending Lee Erica Palmer, who is retiring…Passed · see note
December 12, 2019: The Mayor Commending Lee Erica Palmer, who is retiring from the School Committee after 4 years of distinguished service
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Dec 12The Mayor Commending Paula O'Sullivan, who is retiring from…Passed · see note
December 12, 2019: The Mayor Commending Paula O'Sullivan, who is retiring from the School Committee after 3 years of distinguished service
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Dec 12The Entire City Council Commending City Councilor Katjana Ballantyne…Passed · see note
December 12, 2019: The Entire City Council Commending City Councilor Katjana Ballantyne for her distinguished service as President of this Council in 2019
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Dec 12The Entire City Council Commending City Councilor Matthew McLaughlin…Passed · see note
December 12, 2019: The Entire City Council Commending City Councilor Matthew McLaughlin for his distinguished service as Vice President of this Council in 2019
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Dec 12Submitted by Crown Castle NG East LLC to install…Motion: Submitted by Crown Castle NG East LLC to install 119 feet…Passed · see note
December 12, 2019: Submitted by Crown Castle NG East LLC to install 119 feet of conduit in Broadway, connecting existing manhole #1901 on Broadway to a new hand hole to be installed at…
Submitted by Crown Castle NG East LLC to install 119 feet of conduit in Broadway, connecting existing manhole #1901 on Broadway to a new hand hole to be installed at the corner of Broadway and Temple Street.
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Dec 12Submitted by Crown Castle NG East LLC to install…Motion: Submitted by Crown Castle NG East LLC to install 94 feet…Passed · see note
December 12, 2019: Submitted by Crown Castle NG East LLC to install 94 feet of conduit in Langmaid Ave, connecting existing manhole #1902 on Broadway to a hand hole on Langmaid Ave, then…
Submitted by Crown Castle NG East LLC to install 94 feet of conduit in Langmaid Ave, connecting existing manhole #1902 on Broadway to a hand hole on Langmaid Ave, then to a point of pickup at the rear of 331 Broadway.
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Dec 12That the City Solicitor draft an ordinance requiring the…Passed · see note
December 12, 2019: That the City Solicitor draft an ordinance requiring the City to replace green space for those public spaces already dedicated to the public
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Dec 12That the Chief Assessor and the Director of Finance…Passed · see note
December 12, 2019: That the Chief Assessor and the Director of Finance advise this Council of the breakdown of residential and commercial revenue raised from each of the city's tax districts for FY19
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Dec 12That the Director of SPCD provide this Council, in…Motion: By City Councilor Ballantyne That the Director of SPCD provide this…Passed · see note
December 12, 2019: That the Director of SPCD provide this Council, in conjunction with its FY21 budget review, a list of upcoming commercial development, including the square footage and linkage payment projections...
By City Councilor Ballantyne That the Director of SPCD provide this Council, in conjunction with its FY21 budget review, a list of upcoming commercial development, including the square footage and linkage payment projections with corresponding payment dates.
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
Dec 12That the Director of SPCD discuss the impact on…Passed · see note
December 12, 2019: That the Director of SPCD discuss the impact on small businesses city-wide since the expansion and growth of Assembly Square and the opening of the Encore Casino
The minutes give the result only, with no count, so MassVoter does not show how each councilor voted.
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 →