With an official declaration of candidacy Wednesday by Serena Hollmeyer Taylor, the election to replace departing Somerville city councilor Ben Ewen-Campen has become a proper race: Taylor will run against Derrick Rice, who declared in September for Ewen-Campen’s seat representing Ward 3.
Taylor is a longtime nonprofit leader – president emeritus of the Somerville Homeless Coalition and one of the founders of the Somerville Non-Profit Collaborative – and a self-described community advocate and social entrepreneur. As a member of mayor Jake Wilson’s transition committee, she advised the incoming administration on issues of homelessness, health and human services.
The experience at nonprofits, she said, will help advance her priorities of building more housing, helping longtime residents stay in their homes and improving residents’ quality of life through better streets, safer transportation and investment in parks and public spaces.
“These are the issues that affect our neighbors every day, and they deserve practical solutions,” Taylor said in a press release. “As a nonprofit leader, I don’t have the luxury of playing politics. I have to bring people together, listen and actually solve problems. That’s exactly the approach I’ll bring to the City Council.”
Ewen-Campen leaves at the new year because on Sept. 1 he won a Democratic primary for the 27th Middlesex state representative seat, which Erika Uyterhoeven is leaving to fill a state Senate seat. There is another year in Ewen-Campen’s two-year term when he steps down, and city laws say there must be a special election for ward council seats empty more than 180 days before the end of a term.
Nomination papers for Taylor, Rice and other candidates – there is also a special election due to fill the Ward 2 seat of the the departing JT Scott – become available Nov. 16. Candidates have two and a half months to qualify (with 50 signatures from registered voters in their ward, filed by 5 p.m. Dec. 9) and campaign for a preliminary election to he held Feb. 2. The final election that follows is March 24.
Ward 3 encompasses the neighborhoods around Union Square, including Central Hill, Prospect Hill and Spring Hill, and Taylor said she has been a Union Square-area resident since 2011. She is also a local grad: She holds a master’s degree in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
The coming months will be spent meeting with Ward 3 residents, listening to their concerns and sharing her vision for Somerville’s future, Taylor said.
She began her campaign with prepared endorsements from Sarah Phillips, former Ward 3 School Committee member, who said Taylor “knows how to build coalitions and get people who might otherwise disagree to work together”; and Kate Byrne, a member of the Somerville Nonprofit Collaborative, who called Taylor brilliant, thoughtful and thorough. “She will serve Ward 3 conscientiously, as a strong progressive and with intentional caring,” Byrne said.
While Rice’s announcement as a candidate pointed to work in the public interest on privacy and security, and a background of union organizing and as a nonprofit board member, Taylor has a biography of volunteerism in addition to her nonprofit leadership. “Following Hurricane Katrina, she spent three months in Biloxi, Mississippi, helping families rebuild their homes and advocating for a fair federal disaster response. In Vermont, she worked with community organizations and state leaders to advance marriage equality and stop an attack on transgender civil rights,” according to her campaign materials.
Taylor says her experiences have reinforced the importance of finding common ground and focusing on achievable goals.
“Rising housing costs, concerns about our vulnerable neighbors and the everyday challenges of getting around our city are real. We need to make sure that our city government listens, works collaboratively and stays focused on solving problems,” Taylor said. “I love Somerville, and I believe we can make our city an even better place to live for everyone.”
The Rice campaign website is here.
