After Nearly 20 Years, Somerville Has A New Mayor

SOMERVILLE, MA — Somerville has a new mayor for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Voters elected Ward 7 City Councilor Katjana Ballantyne over her colleague, Councilor At-Large Will Mbah. Ballantyne will succeed longtime mayor Joseph Curtatone, who did not run for re-election after 18 years at City Hall.

"I am honored and humbled to be the next mayor of Somerville," Ballantyne said in a statement Tuesday night. "Somerville voters showed they want bold, inclusive leadership to move us forward on covid recovery, affordability, climate change, and more. I look forward to working together with everyone in Somerville, to keep making Somerville a city where we can all thrive together."

Mbah congratulated Ballantyne on her victory and thanked his supporters, whose belief "inspired me and sustained me over the past six months," he said. Mbah added that he will continue to fight for affordable housing and racial equity in Somerville.

"While I had hoped for a different result, the people of Somerville have spoken, and I respect their decision," Mbah said.

See the results of the mayoral race below. Patch will continue to update this story with results from the contested city council and school committee races.

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Election Results

Unofficial results. Winners printed in bold type. Candidates for re-election are marked with an asterisk (*). Percentages may not add up to exactly due to rounding.

Mayor

• Katjana Ballantyne - 9,997; 55.84 percent
• Will Mbah - 6,726; 37.57 percent
• Write-in - 1,180; 6.59 percent

City Councilor At-Large (vote for 4)

• Kristen Strezo (candidate for re-election) - 10,277; 17.74 percent
• Willie Burnley Jr. - 9,712; 16.76 percent
• Virginia Hussey - 3,857; 6.66 percent
• Charlotte Kelly - 9,675; 16.7 percent
• Justin Klekota - 5,511; 9.51 percent
• Tracey Leah Pratt - 5,094; 8.79 percent
• Eve Seitchik - 6,458; 11.15 percent
• Jake Wilson - 7,049; 12.17 percent
• Write-in - 302; 0.52 percent

Ward 2
City Council

• JT Scott (candidate for re-election) - 1,661; 65.06 percent
• Stephenson Aman - 887; 34.74 percent
• Write-in - 5; 0.2 percent

Ward 3
School Committee

• Sarah Phillips (candidate for re-election) - 2,057; 81.76 percent
• Daniel O'Connell - 446; 17.73 percent
• Write-in - 13; 0.52 percent

Ward 5
City Council

• Tessa Bridge - 1,527; 47.88 percent
• Beatriz Gómez Mouakad - 1,647; 51.65 percent
• Write-in - 15; 0.47 percent

Ward 7
City Council

• Becca Miller - 1,244; 44.93 percent
• Judy Pineda Neufeld - 1,513; 54.64 percent
• Write-in - 12; 0.43 percent

School Committee

• Sara Dion - 1,471; 57.46 percent
• Greg Nadeau - 1,074; 41.95 percent
• Write-in - 15; 0.59 percent