Medford Candidate Profile: Breanna Lungo-Koehn For Mayor

MEDFORD, MA — With the Medford Municipal Election scheduled for Nov. 7, Patch is profiling the candidates.

Here, we learn more about Breanna Lungo-Koehn, who is running for reelection as mayor. She is facing challenger Richard Caraviello.

Lungo-Koehn is in her second two-year term as mayor after being elected in 2019 and 2021. Prior to that, she served 18 years as a Medford city councilor.

Candidates were sent questionnaires and filled out the answers.

Name

Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn

How old will you be as of Election Day?

43

Campaign website

https://Breanna4mayor.com

What city or town do you live in?

Medford

What office are you seeking?

Mayor

Please give us your party affiliation

Democrat

Education

I graduated from Medford High School and received a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Psychology from Endicott College in Beverly, where I graduated Alpha Phi Sigma. I went on to earn a Juris Doctor degree from the Massachusetts School of Law in 2006, and was admitted as an attorney in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that same year.

Occupation

Mayor of Medford

Family

Husband, David (owner of Boston Physical Therapy and Wellness) and three children: Bayley, Kaliway, and Kody, all of whom have attended Medford Public Schools.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

My sister is a school teacher at McGlynn.

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

Yes, I was sworn into office as the 32nd Mayor of Medford in 2020. I am a former city councilor, who was reelected nine times, after winning my seat at age 21 and setting a record as the youngest city councilor in Medford's history.

Who are you seeking this office?

I am proud to call Medford my home and it has been an honor to serve my community as mayor over the last three and a half years. As your mayor, I focused on moving our city forward and delivering for our community. From safely reopening our city and schools as we managed the COVID-19 pandemic to creating the first comprehensive master plan to create a 30-year vision for our future, we have been able to tackle the urgent issues we face while working toward a bright future for Medford.

I am proud of the wins we have secured for our residents, developing Medford's first comprehensive multi-year Capital Improvement Plan to improve our streets, sidewalks, and parks, making historic investments in our public schools, finalizing a Housing Production Plan to prioritize affordable housing, and putting plans in motion to revitalize Medford Square, Clippership Park, the Mystic River Waterfront, and major economic development projects like the billion dollar life science park proposal on Mystic Avenue.

While we've made tremendous progress transforming our city into a more vibrant, accessible and inclusive community, our work is not done, which is why I am running for reelection to continue delivering for Medford.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is the rising cost of living. We urgently need to build more housing that is affordable to our community, address our city infrastructure and transit to help our residents access opportunities in our community and beyond, attract smart growth and economic development to increase our tax base. We have made great strides by creating our Housing Production Plan, which outlines a vision of how we can meet Medford's current and future housing needs.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am the only candidate with the experience and proven leadership to continue to lead our city to meet the challenges we face and continue to invest in our future. I think it is critical that we have leadership that has a comprehensive vision to make life better for those who live here and the ability to work with federal, state, and local colleagues to tackle big regional challenges.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

I will continue to lead on the major challenges and opportunities to secure Medford's future, including improving our public school infrastructure and building a new Medford High School, continuing to address the decades-long backlog of city infrastructure work by repairing and maintaining our streets, sidewalks, tree canopy and parks, working with the state to improve transit service and safety, building more housing and updating our zoning, and growing and attracting economic development to revitalize our squares. I will also continue to build the most hardworking team to help us get all this work done.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I was sworn into office just a few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and immediately had to navigate our city through the public health and economic crisis it created. Not only were we able to safely reopen our city and schools quickly and support our small businesses, but we continued to move our city forward, developing Medford's first comprehensive multi-year Capital Improvement Plan, doing a street and sidewalk assessment, launching a community-driven Comprehensive Plan process to create a 30-year vision for our future, and creating a Housing Production Plan to ensure we are building the housing our community needs and reducing the burdens of high housing costs.

My record in my first three years as mayor has shown that I can deliver on big issues, bringing federal and state dollars and business development into our city, and making our city more accountable, transparent, and inclusive for the people we serve.

It is because of that commitment that I am proud to have the support of Governor Maura Healey. Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, Congresswoman Katherine Clark, Rep. Christine Barber, local labor unions, mayoral colleagues who lead neighboring cities, members of our school committee, and residents across Medford.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Lead boldly. Always do what you think is right after careful thought and a great deal of listening.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am an attorney, mayor, wife, coach, runner and so much more, but my favorite title is "Mom."