Candidate Profile: Beatriz Gómez Mouakad, Ward 5 City Council

SOMERVILLE, MA — Beatriz Gómez Mouakad is one of three candidates running for Ward 5 city councilor in the Sept. 14 preliminary election, which will whittle down the field of candidates ahead of the municipal election in November. There will also be preliminary elections for mayor and City Council in Ward 7.

Somerville Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles over the coming weeks.

Mouakad is an architect and construction project manager with a long track record of community involvement. She and her husband Chico have two children, Isabela and Marco.

Are you running for office in Somerville? Contact Alex Newman at alex.newman@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Somerville Patch.

Age (as of Election Day)

50

Position Sought

Ward 5 City Council

Party Affiliation

Democratic

Family

Chico (husband), Isabela (14 - daughter) and Marco (11-son)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Bachelor of Art Urban Studies Brown University, Master of Architecture Harvard

Occupation

Senior Project Manager Planning and Construction Department - Healthcare (13 years)

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

None

Campaign website

https://www.elect-gomezmouakad...

Why are you seeking elective office?

I care deeply about my community, and that is why I am running for City Council. This is a time of great opportunities for Somerville, and I believe that together, we can build a vibrant, sustainable and equitable future for everyone in this city. I believe my personal experiences as a Puerto Rican woman who is bilingual and bicultural and my professional background will provide a new perspective to city council that will help guide our city to a brighter future.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Housing affordability is Somerville’s most pressing issue. The situation is particularly urgent
for low-income families, who face long waitlists for affordable units and may be struggling to avoid eviction during the pandemic. However, rents are increasingly too high for middle-
income people as well, and buying a home is prohibitively expensive. Somerville has taken
important steps to protect affordable units and add more, but it’s not enough. We need
tailored policies to expand housing options for both low- and middle-income people; there’s no silver bullet – we’ll need to combine financial incentives, direct investment and zoning rules, and build coalitions to win reforms that require state approval. The City should aggressively pursue state and federal funding for affordable housing development and get creative, looking at mixed-use buildings, sites that could be redeveloped, and options to reduce costs – from improvements to the permitting process, to the use of prefabs. We also need to recognize other factors that affect affordability. We need to boost our commercial tax base, so we don’t have to rely so heavily on residential property taxes. We also need to improve energy efficiency, especially in lower-cost and older units. This is hard work, and we’ll have to keep refining and improving our strategies. What I bring to the table is hands-on experience in affordable housing development, urban land use planning and construction management.

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

There are two key differences. One is that I have technical expertise and over 25 years’ work
experience in architecture, sustainable construction, project management, and land use
planning. That is a skill set that we sorely need on the City Council, which no one else on the
ballot has. I can dig deep into technical details, ask hard questions, and advocate more
effectively for my constituents – whether we’re dealing with a developer, or planning a road
redesign. The second key difference is that I am a bilingual, bicultural Latina with a proven
track record of uplifting the voices of immigrant families in our city and fighting for equity and inclusion. This isn’t theoretical for me; it’s my life. That’s why I have continued to volunteer with Padres Latinos de Somerville even during my campaign, because these families can’t wait for equitable access to quality education, safe housing, health care, and City services. Working closely with vulnerable families will make me a more effective advocate on the Council.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

The City tried hard to help those most impacted by the pandemic, providing food assistance
and taking several steps to keep people from losing their homes. However, they failed to
recognize the impact of school closures on low-income families, who are disproportionately
people of color and immigrants. Many women had to stop working to stay with their children, at enormous economic cost, and many students have fallen far behind, because they lacked the technology or the supports they needed to learn. Inadequate language access also left many families struggling to access resources they were entitled to. The City should have done a comprehensive risk assessment, based on scientific data, and considered the equity implications of its policies. Now it’s crucial to support mothers who may need job training to rejoin the workforce, as well as better access to daycare and after-school activities. Children need targeted support to help them make up for the lost learning and avoid failures that could set them back for life. And the City needs to re-evaluate its outreach methods to ensure consistent, high-quality translation, increase multilingual staff, and work directly with the community to improve communication with families. The City also needs to reassess it school infrastructure management and investment as some schools had to close due to poor conditions and years of deferred maintenance. Finally, we cannot forget the impacts on local businesses. Some have already closed, and others are struggling. We need to provide support to ensure that we don’t lose these valued parts of our urban fabric.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

My campaign is based on a premise that for our city to be a successful city we need to be
diverse, equitable and sustainable. This means making sure that housing is a human right and anyone regardless of income, race, accessibility need, or sexual orientation has a decent place to live. Development must be sustainable and equitable: our streets need to work for all, and we need to embrace and understand our cultural and language differences. With this premise I would prioritize affordable housing, climate change, safe streets and greater equity across our city.

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

My 25 years of experience as an architect working in affordable housing, sustainable development, construction management and planning and my commitment to the community since I arrived in Somerville in 2003 are proof that I am ready to take on the job as City Councilor. In my professional career I have worked with public agencies (Boston Housing Authority, Boston Transportation Department, DCR, Boston Planning and Development Agency, Mass Housing, Cambridge Housing Division, Boston Department of Housing and Economic Development, Cambridge Historic Preservation Commission, etc.) represented tenant groups, advocated for affordable housing development, worked with transportation agencies to improve pedestrian and bicycle access, and advocated for preservation of seafood industry in the Seaport. Through that work I learned that making policy is not about slogans; but about creating the right narrative, providing the data and working together to earn community and government support. Since my arrival in Somerville in 2003 I have been volunteering for different community groups or government appointed positions (Maxwell Green Design Review Committee and Somerville Design Review Committee) which shows my commitment to the community. My work with Padres Latinos de Somerville shows how much I care for advocating for the underrepresented and that I am willing to give a voice to all in Somerville.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Don’t be afraid to admit your mistakes. None of us is perfect, but in politics, often there’s a
sense that you can never admit you were wrong or that you failed. Yet how else can we
improve and succeed? We also owe it to our constituents to be honest and forthcoming. It’s
how we build trust, so we can work together to build a better future.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I come from a very diverse family, and for my entire adult life, I have lived and worked with
people from very different backgrounds, with a wide range of perspectives. That’s one of the
things I love about Somerville: the rich tapestry of our community. I have strong values, and I
am passionate about equity, inclusion and sustainability. But life has taught me that everyone has something to teach, and everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. As a Councilor, I will listen and be responsive and accountable to all my constituents – even when we disagree. I have a track record of bringing people together, bridging divides to achieve the best results.