Over the years, I’ve seen how responsive and proactive elected officials are essential to creating the kind of city I want to live in. I want to bring new commitment to finding innovative ways to address the affordable housing crisis, ensure we use the tools within our city’s control to make transit more accessible and convenient, and prioritize serving as a constituent service-oriented Councilor who connects residents to the resources they need.

Our city government is responsible for many of the basic services residents need. When you need help solving a problem or accessing services from our municipal government, you should be able to turn to your local elected officials for help navigating city departments and processes. The start of 2025 has already brought austerity and instability from the federal government, and in Somerville, vulnerable residents and the community non-profits who serve them will need more support to make up for disappearing federal funds. Our local elected officials are the first line of defense. I’m committed to being relentless in making sure that no one in Somerville is left behind and that our city continues to improve on the quality of basic public services we all expect—and which some of our neighbors vitally depend upon.

Last year, we saw the price of falling short in connecting our city’s youth services to young people in the community, culminating in restrictions on library hours. I’ve worked with at-risk youth, leading volunteer teams as part of District Attorney's Office efforts, for youth diversion and justice-involvement prevention. I understand the critical importance of investing in proactive, supportive spaces and programming for teens. A critical way to best use our limited 4 square miles of space is to establish a permanent teen center, and generally renew efforts to provide community public spaces throughout the city.

As a Councilor, I will advocate for expanding programs like the Commonwealth’s Community Behavioral Health Centers (CBHCs) that provide a full range of mental health and substance use treatment and intervention. We also need to advocate for the Commonwealth to grant jurisdiction to the Somerville District Court to open a Homeless Court Diversion Program that makes long-term stability the goal of our city’s efforts, as has been successful in Suffolk County.

As the primary caretaker for a Somerville senior, I’ve seen how challenging it can be for older residents to navigate the city and stay connected with their community. When my grandmother downsized we experienced firsthand how the lack of accessible housing, broken and uneven sidewalks, and aging infrastructure impacts thousands of families in Somerville. The lack of support for our seniors can lead to larger homes and rental units falling into disrepair, resulting in the loss of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH).

My girlfriend and I have experienced firsthand the difficulties of finding accessible housing for a household with multiple family members with disabilities and routinely face difficulties arranging transportation around the city. Like many couples in Somerville, even with two incomes, we commit almost 40% of our income on rent each month. Our city government needs to continue to try new ways of addressing housing costs, both by investing in subsidized low-income housing and through an array of efforts to lower market rate rents—including changes to our land use policy to further encourage transit-centered development.

Our city faces many challenges. I want to bring my experience as a renter, a primary caregiver to a Somerville senior, and a youth justice-involvement prevention volunteer to city government.

This is the motivation and approach I want to bring to City Hall. To do that, I am asking for one of your 4 votes for At-Large Councilor this fall.

-Jack Perenick