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The City Council is the City’s legislative branch. Members are elected every two years on the odd-numbered years. Four members serve at large, and seven members represent individual wards. The Council passes ordinances on a broad range of issues, from setting zoning laws to creating boards and commissions. It also has the power to approve or disapprove the Mayor's budget appropriations.
Message the Council via the City Clerk:
publiccomments@somervillema.gov
Message All Councilors Directly:
citycouncil@somervillema.gov
93 Highland Ave.
Somerville, MA 02143
United States
(Scroll down for member list)
Councilor | Position |
| Jon Link | City Councilor At Large |
| Wilfred N. Mbah, Vice President | City Councilor At Large |
| Kristen Strezo | City Councilor At Large |
| Ben Wheeler | City Councilor At Large |
| Matthew McLaughlin | Ward One City Councilor |
| Jefferson Thomas (J.T.) Scott | Ward Two City Councilor |
| Ben Ewen-Campen | Ward Three City Councilor |
| Jesse Clingan | Ward Four City Councilor |
| Naima Sait | Ward Five City Councilor |
| Lance L. Davis, President | Ward Six City Councilor |
| Emily Hardt | Ward Seven City Councilor |
Somerville City Council members at the 2026 inauguration of Mayor Jake Wilson.
The City Council welcomes written testimony to be submitted for Council consideration. Comments may be submitted in person or by mail to the City Clerk’s office at City Hall, 93 Highland Ave, or by email to publiccomments@somervillema.gov. All comments must be received by the close of business on the Friday before a regularly scheduled Council meeting to be included on the agenda for that meeting. Comments not received by the deadline will be submitted to the next meeting. The City Council typically meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month.
All written testimony must include the following:
If you would prefer that your comments not be included on the agenda, you can contact your Ward or At Large City Councilors directly. Their contact information can be found at the top of this web page.
Visit the City's Legistar Meeting Portal to:
Ordinances, Rules, & Regulations
View the City of Somerville Municipal Code at EnCode Plus to explore:
| Standing Committees | Commissions and Committees |
Standing Committees(Chair listed first, Vice Chair second) | |
| Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters | Wilfred Mbah, Ben Ewen-Campen, Jon Link, Emily Hardt, Matthew McLaughlin |
| Finance | Ben Wheeler, J.T. Scott, Emily Hardt, Kristen Strezo, Jon Link |
| Housing, Community Development and Equity | Kristen Strezo, Jon Link, Naima Sait |
| Land Use | Ben Ewen-Campen, Matthew McLaughlin, Naima Sait, Jesse Clingan, Lance Davis |
| Legislative Matters | J.T. Scott, Kristen Strezo, Ben Ewen-Campen, Wilfred Mbah, Lance Davis |
| Licenses and Permits | Emily Hardt, Ben Wheeler, Lance Davis |
| Public Health and Public Safety | Matthew McLaughlin, Jesse Clingan, Kristen Strezo |
| School Building Facilities and Maintenance | Jon Link, Naima Sait, J.T. Scott |
| Sustainability and Infrastructure | Jesse Clingan, Emily Hardt, J.T. Scott |
| Traffic and Parking | Naima Sait, Wilfred Mbah, Ben Wheeler |
Commissions and Committees | |
| 90 Washington Street Civic Advisory Committee | Matthew McLaughlin, Ben Wheeler |
| Affordable Housing Trust | Emily Hardt |
| Bicycle Advisory Committee | Jon Link |
| Gilman Square Civic Advisory Committee | Jesse Clingan, Matthew McLaughlin |
| Memorialization Committee | Lance Davis |
| Municipal Job Creation and Retention Trust | Wilfred Mbah |
| Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee | Ben Ewen-Campen |
| Safe Consumption Site Task Force | Jon Link |
| Somerville Redevelopment Authority | Ben Wheeler |
| Traffic Commission | Naima Sait |
| Wage Theft Advisory Committee | Wilfred Mbah |
| Winter Hill and Brown School Construction Advisory Group | Kristen Strezo |
| Winter Hill School Building Committee | Jesse Clingan |
| Winter Hill Urban Renewal Plan Committee | Jesse Clingan, Kristen Strezo |
View City Councilor and Committee meeting minutes from July 2022 to present day on the City's Legistar Meeting Portal.
View City Councilor and Committee meeting minutes from 2010 to July 2022 on the City's IQM2 Meeting Portal.
View City Council (formerly the Board of Aldermen) meeting minutes from 1872 to 2021 as annual PDFs in our archive.
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