Candidate Profile: Kristen Strezo, City Councilor At-Large

SOMERVILLE, MA — Kristen Strezo is one of eight candidates running for city councilor at-large in the Nov. 2 municipal election. Voters will elect four candidates for at-large seats. There will also be a citywide election for mayor and elections for city council and school committee in certain wards.

Somerville Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles this week.

Strezo was first elected as a councilor at-large in 2019. She previously served two terms as chair of the Somerville Commission for Women.

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)

41

Position Sought

Somerville City Council At-Large

Party Affiliation

Progressive Democrat

Family

I am a single mother of two children, ages 8 and 12.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No, I am the only member of my family who works in politics.

Education

I attended DePaul University where I received my Bachelor of Arts degree and went on to receive my Master's in Journalism from Harvard University, Extension school.

Occupation

I currently serve as a Somerville City Councilor At-Large and have for the past 2 years.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

I currently serve as a Somerville City Councilor At-Large, and have for the past 2 years. Before that, I served as two terms as chair of the Somerville Commission for Women.

Campaign website

kristenstrezo.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

Our community faces a housing crisis, with rising rents, decades-long waiting lists for affordable housing units, and a lack of interpreter services. Between 40-50 applications seeking rental assistance come in every month, and many of these households have children residing in them. As someone who lives in an affordable housing unit, I feel this crisis personally. I chose to run for office to ensure that every Somerville resident can feel the dignity and security of being able to stay in their chosen community.

I spent over twelve years as a sandwich-generation caregiver bringing up my 2 young children while caring for my elderly grandmother. My grandmother had ADA accessibility needs, and finding housing that was both accessible and affordable was virtually impossible. My family had the blessing of winning the affordable housing lottery, and it changed the course of my family in such positive ways. It allowed our family to just breathe and not constantly worry about housing and ADA accessibility. It’s a blessing I’m grateful for EVERY DAY. I want every Somerville family to know this ease.

My lived experience also informs my fierce advocacy for women, families, and seniors. As a single mother, I cared for both of my children throughout the pandemic shutdown, which led me to center the need for affordable and accessible childcare in the post-pandemic recovery plan that I introduced. Recently, I worked with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley’s office to put forward a resolution affirming reproductive freedom in Somerville, and it passed unanimously in the City Council. Providing women and families with the support that they need is a priority for me.

I advocated fiercely for my grandmother and her healthcare needs throughout the time that I cared for her, and I do the same for Somerville seniors. I have spent my first term pushing the Somerville Housing Authority to expedite maintenance in senior residence units, urging the MBTA to provide transportation options to Somerville community events for seniors, fighting to establish a Senior Subcommittee in the Council, and visiting senior residences in our community to make sure their voices are heard.

Lastly, I am a Jewish woman. For me, serving my city is my tikkun olum, repairing the world.

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

My first priority is building our community up out of this pandemic. In my first term as City Councilor, I introduced a post-pandemic recovery plan highlighting how the shutdown disproportionately impacted women -- particularly women of color -- who are most commonly employed in retail, hospitality, food service, and caregiving positions. Accordingly, I called to increase affordable and accessible childcare options, job mentorship programs, and support for women- and POC-owned small businesses. In less than a year, women lost an estimated three decades of job progress. We urgently need more job creation programs, mentorship opportunities, and more deliberate support.

Now it’s time to guide this post-pandemic economic recovery plan into action. The City Council and mayoral administration have strongly supported this plan since it was introduced. In my next term, I will advocate to establish a committee responsible for enacting and funding these new programs and ensuring that racial and social justice is centered in these efforts.

Our community desperately needs to heal emotionally, to come together, reconnect, and share each others’ presence. Somerville is so lucky to have a vibrant arts community that we have celebrated all summer and fall through events like Art Beat, PorchFest, and Honk! Our community feels like the most authentic version of itself when we come together and share music, art, and amazing food from our small businesses.

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

Unlike other candidates, I have actually served as your City Councilor At-Large. I have been in office for the past two years. I was sworn in right at the start of the pandemic and haven’t had a chance to slow down. Looking ahead to the new mayoral administration and half the City Council turning over, my experience is going to matter. I already know the rules and the procedures, and I have established relationships with important community partners like the Somerville Community Land Trust, the Welcome Project, and CAAS. I’ve laid the groundwork for progress in my first term, and I’m just getting started.

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

I was sworn in during the pandemic, and I got right to work. My goal was to sustain everyone in the community, ensure that everyone felt safe and supported by the city, make sure everyone can stay in our community, thrive in our community and protect our small businesses.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

In addition to supporting women and families and expanding affordable housing options in the community, accessibility is a critical issue for me. I am committed to ensuring that our bikers, seniors, students, and residents with ADA-accessibility needs can safely navigate our city. The tragedies that have occurred in our streets, particularly along the McGrath Highway, could have been prevented with protected infrastructure for pedestrians and bikers. We currently have a shortage of crossing guards for our students throughout the city, which jeopardizes their safety and is unacceptable. I also have been working closely with the MBTA to guarantee transportation options for seniors on the weekends so that they can attend our community’s events, like Honk! and Porchfest. I believe that these events and our artist community are critical to our community healing from the trauma of the last year and a half, and that healing should be accessible to all community members.

Climate justice is also vitally important to me. Before I was a City Councilor, I was closely involved in the STEP air quality study, which revealed the appalling disparities in air quality and noise pollution in some of our low-income and POC neighborhoods in Wards 1 and 4. This is a climate justice issue. In my first term, I have been pushing the state to construct sound barriers along the I-93 corridor to mitigate this public health issue. East Somerville has fewer parks and less tree coverage than the West side of the city, in addition to dealing with the I-93 coordior. My climate action plan will center equity and ensure that our entire city is safe and healthy through this climate crisis.

The next City Council will be tasked with allocating ARPA funds coming in from the federal government. I hope that they will be invested in addressing our housing crisis and our post-pandemic recovery. I ran for office to ensure that all Somerville residents can feel the dignity and security of housing. I hope to allocate ARPA funds toward increasing the affordable housing stock -- particularly the ADA-accessible and 3 and 4-bedroom housing stock -- and ensuring that the Office of Housing Stability has the resources it needs and that its staff feels supported.

I also hope to allocate ARPA funds toward the programs I have introduced to build our community up out of this pandemic, including childcare programs, job mentorship programs, and support for women- and POC-owned small businesses. I am interested in exploring how we can couple union jobs with the construction and maintenance of affordable housing units.

We have so many community partners who have been integral to supporting our city throughout the pandemic. I hope that we can pay it forward and allocate some of the ARPA funds to better supporting organizations like the Welcome Project, Community Action Agency of Somerville, and Project Soup.

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

In just the past two years, I have passed numerous board orders and resolutions, following the lead of my constituents.

I am particularly proud of my work on affordable housing issues, women’s advocacy issues, and environmental issues. I have testified numerous times at the Massachusetts Statehouse in support of the Transfer Fee that would give communities throughout the Commonwealth the option to invest in affordable housing projects, introduced a resolution in support of extending the statewide Eviction Moratorium, and also expanded funding and staff for the Office of Housing Stability in anticipation of the increased housing needs during the pandemic.

Last February, I introduced a proclamation for Women’s Advancement, Equity, and Opportunity that was unanimously passed by the City Council. This proclamation targets those who were especially affected by the pandemic, and I believe has the ability to most positively impact the Somerville community. The proclamation includes an economic plan that better supports the Somerville community, most specifically, women, parents, guardians, and caregivers who statistically, in every way, were hit the hardest by the pandemic. The proclamation expands childcare, job mentorship programs, and support for women and minority-owned businesses, so women and residents of color can thrive in the post-pandemic recovery. In less than a year, women lost an estimated three decades of job progress. We urgently need more job creation programs, mentorship opportunities, and more deliberate support.

Working for inclusion in our schools and supporting our students with special needs has also been a priority of mine. Somerville playgrounds will soon see communication boards installed throughout the city resulting from a Council Board Order that I introduced earlier this year in collaboration with Somerville parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). These communication boards will allow ASD children and other non-verbal children to communicate with their caregivers and other children on the playground. I have been told by special needs parents in our city that the boards help affirm that their children are part of our community and are visible. And inclusion matters. These boards help normalize that ALL children play in our community. I am extremely proud of this work.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

I am inspired and guided daily by the Jewish concept of tikkun olam -- repairing the world -- and my Jewish community here in Somerville. They inspire me to do as much good in the world as possible.

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

This is about all of us. I have been told I am a consensus builder in this community, and that is an enormous compliment to me. I have received endorsements from a diverse spectrum of leaders -- including Mayor Joe Curtatone and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley -- and organizations -- including Sunrise Somerville, the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus, the Bay State Stonewall Democrats, and 9 unions-- across our community. We are a vibrant city of 81,400 people, brimming with creative ideas, passions, and interests. I follow your lead -- I want to hear from you!