Mbah, Ballantyne Set For Somerville Mayor's Race

SOMERVILLE, MA — Two city councilors will face off in the race for mayor this fall.

Somerville voters headed to the polls Tuesday to whittle down the field of candidates for mayor and city council in Wards 5 and 7.

Councilor At-Large Will Mbah received nearly 4,500 votes, the most of any mayoral candidate, followed by Ward 7 Councilor Katjana Ballantyne with over 4,100. Mary Cassesso closely trailed Ballantyne, receiving 4,083 votes.

Mbah released the following statement Tuesday night:

"I want to express my deepest gratitude to all voters who came out, all of our volunteers who knocked doors, and to my opponents Katjana Ballantyne and Mary Cassesso, who both have run honorable campaigns. Only in Somerville, could an immigrant from Cameroon be elected City Councilor and now have the opportunity to make this city a place for all those who dream of a better life. I’m incredibly proud of the grassroots campaign we ran, all without taking a dime of developer money. I look forward to using the coming weeks to speak with voters about my progressive vision for Somerville, which will include dramatically expanding our affordable housing, a Green New Deal for Somerville, a commitment to make developers pay their fair share, and making public transit accessible, efficient, and free for everyone."

In November, Somerville will elect a new mayor for the first time in nearly 20 years after Mayor Joseph Curtatone announced he would not seek re-election. Four mayoral hopefuls ran in Tuesday's preliminary for two spots on the ballot in November.

"Thank you to the Somerville voters who nominated me," Ballantyne tweeted. "We’ve shown that Somerville voters want the next mayor to share our progressive values, be an inclusive leader, and have the skills and experience to lead our dynamic city on day one."

Voters in Wards 5 and 7 also narrowed down the pool of city council candidates.

See the unofficial results below. Bolded candidates will move on to the general election.

Results

Mayor

• William Tauro - 2,215
• Will Mbah - 4,498
• Katjana Ballantyne - 4,162
• Mary Cassesso - 4,083
• Write-in - 18
• Blank - 58

Ward 5 City Council

• Tessa Bridge - 1,221
• Todd Easton - 339
• Beatriz Gómez-Mouakad - 1,160
• Write-in - 8
• Blank - 108

Ward 7 City Council

• Judy Pineda Neufeld - 934
• Alex Anderson - 354
• Maria Koutsoubaris - 214
• Becca Miller - 902
• Write-in - 8
• Blank - 102

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