27 Municipal Leaders Across MA Endorse Brookline’s Raul Fernandez

BROOKLINE, MA — On Thursday morning, former Brookline Select Board Vice-Chair and current candidate for State Representative Raul Fernandez released a slate of endorsements composed of municipal leaders from across Massachusetts.

Endorsers include Brookline Select Board Member Miriam Aschkenasy, Boston City Councilors Ricardo Arroyo, Kendra Hicks, Ruthzee Louijeune, and Julia Mejia, Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, and Cambridge Vice Mayor Alanna Mallon.

“We've all served in local offices because we believe that community power can build a better world,” The endorsers wrote in a sign-on letter. "We support Raul’s campaign because he shares that belief. He will bring more transparency and accountability to the State House and respond to the urgency that our communities bring with state-level action on racial justice, climate, education, housing, and economic justice. We need a champion for progressive local initiatives on Beacon Hill, and we hope Raul Fernandez can earn the votes of Brookline residents by September 6.”

“As a municipal elected official, I saw firsthand the way inertia at the State House stymies progress cities and towns make locally,” Fernandez said in a statement. "In theory, the home rule process gives local leaders a voice at the state level — but too often, our Representatives allow bold, progressive home rule petitions to languish for years with no action. We’re all-too-familiar with these roadblocks here in Brookline: had our 2019 home rule petition to enact a real estate transfer fee been acted on in the legislature, we would have already generated $50 million in new funding for affordable housing in Town."

“I’m honored to have earned the support of this slate of municipal leaders, all of whom have been on the forefront of fights to move their communities in a more progressive direction, and I’m excited to partner with them on Beacon Hill,” he continued.

The slate of municipal signers includes Boston City Councilors Ricardo Arroyo, Kendra Lara, Ruthzee Louijeune, and Julia Mejia, Braintree School Committee Member Kelly Cobb-Lemire, Brookline Select Board Member Miriam Aschkenasy, Cambridge Vice Mayor Alanna Mallon, Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, Cambridge City Councilors Marc McGovern and Quinton Zondervan, Fmr. Cambridge City Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, Chelsea City Councilor Damali Vidot, Everett City Councilor Stephanie Martins, Franklin Town Councilor Patrick Sheridan, Holyoke City Councilor Kocayne Givner, Malden City Councilor Ryan O'Malley, Marlborough City Councilor Samantha Perlman, Medford City Councilor Zac Bears, Newton City Councilor Bill Humphrey, Fmr. Pittsfield City Councilor Helen Moon, Salem City Councilor Jeff Cohen, Somerville City Councilors Willie Burnley, Jr., Ben Ewen-Campen, and J.T. Scott, Walpole Planning Board Member Sarah Khatib, Waltham City Councilor Jonathan Paz, Weymouth School Committee Member Dr. Rebecca Shangraw, and Worcester City Councilor Member Khrystian King.

The 27 municipal endorsers join a growing list of endorsers of Fernandez’s campaign, including Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz, two-term Brookline Select Board Member and 2020 Congressional candidate Jesse Mermell, former Congressman Joe Kennedy, 2020 Congressional candidate and Brookline Public Health Advisory Council Chair Natalia Linos, Brookline School Committee Members Mariah Nobrega and Suzanne Federspiel, Brookline Asian American Family Network Chair Chi Chi Wu, SEIU Local 888, Progressive Mass, Mass Alliance, Act on Mass, Incorruptible Mass, Brookline for Racial Justice and Equity, and the Brookline Equity Coalition.