Somerville Candidate Profile: Ben Wheeler For City Councilor At Large

SOMERVILLE, MA — The municipal election is fast approaching in Somerville, and the city council race is highly contested.

Somerville Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles leading up to November.

Ben Wheeler is running for City Councilor At Large in Somerville.

Age

45

Position sought

Somerville City Council At-Large

Party affiliation

Democrat

Family

My wife Kate and I live in Somerville with our two daughters, both students in Somerville Public Schools.

Education

B.A. in History and Computer Science, Columbia University 2002; M.Ed., Harvard 2022

Occupation

Technology educator; former Senior software engineer and learning designer at Scratch, a Boston nonprofit that brings creative coding to millions of children.

Previous or Current Elected Office

None

Campaign Website

benwheelerforsomerville.com

Why are you seeking elected office?

I’m running because I want City Hall to work better for people. That means listening closely, communicating clearly, and following through. Somerville is full of good ideas and hardworking people—it deserves a government that matches that energy and care.

The single most-pressing issue facing our city is housing affordability, and this is what I intend to do about it:

We need more homes people can afford, near transit and in walkable neighborhoods, while protecting tenants and longtime residents from displacement. I’ll support zoning for new housing, investing in public-owned and nonprofit-owned housing, and better oversight of how developers treat neighbors.

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

I’ve run a small business and built education tools used around the world, and that experience shaped how I solve problems. Running a business teaches humility: lasting solutions come from working directly with the people who need them. You listen, try something, measure, and improve. I’ve lived that as an employer, as a trainer of hundreds of teachers, and as a project leader for Scratch. I’ve also helped organize unions, and fought for housing and justice reform. I believe in building from the ground up, with residents as true partners.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists, and treating violence affecting anyone as a serious problem; support for working families, by pushing to expand preschool for younger children, and working to expand our afterschool and early evening offerings for students; responsive government, with processes that communicate to residents, listen, and respond.

The best advice ever shared with me was

Ignore things that are unimportant, even if they’re urgent.

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

The smartest people I've ever known are people who admit they don't know things readily, and often—they learn the most. I can't promise that you and I will always agree, but I'll tell you my full thinking behind my positions and priorities, I'll admit my ignorance, I'll always be reachable, and I'll always be curious.

See Also:

Somerville Candidate Profile: Wilfred Mbah For City Councilor At Large

Somerville Candidate Profile: Emily Hardt For Ward 7 City Council

Somerville Candidate Profile: Jack Perenick For City Councilor At Large

Somerville Candidate Profile: Kristen Strezo For City Councilor At Large