Burhan Azeem is running for his third term on the Cambridge City Council. Councillor Azeem is an MIT graduate who grew up in an immigrant family fearing eviction. Before pursuing elected office, he was on the board of A Better Cambridge, and he founded statewide housing advocacy non-profit Abundant Housing Massachusetts. He also worked as an engineer and a volunteer EMT. In his first term, he co-sponsored the policy order that ended parking minimums and fought to expand the Affordable Housing Overlay. This past term, he played a key role alongside Councillor Siddiqui in ending exclusionary zoning, making Cambridge a nation-wide leader in tackling the housing crisis. Burhan understands the critical role building more housing plays in fighting climate change.

Dana Bullister is a Boston area native, Wellesley College graduate, and longtime Cambridge renter. Dana has worked as a data scientist and product manager, applying her skills to help both citizens and small businesses. She is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the intersection of design and policy at Northeastern University. Her campaign’s mission is to help all Cambridge residents have the opportunity to thrive. Not having a car, Dana relies on public transit, biking, and walking, informing her service on the commercial parking control committee. Dana understands how Cambridge’s housing shortage pushes neighbors out of town, breaking community ties forcing too many to drive long distances into work. An avid member of the local innovation ecosystem, Dana also serves as chair of the board of directors for the YWCA Cambridge, which provides safe and affordable housing to our most vulnerable.

Marc McGovern is a 5th-generation Cantabrigian, father, and social worker who has served as Mayor and Vice Mayor of Cambridge. Since joining the Council in 2013, he has led on housing issues, including increasing the linkage fee to fund affordable housing, providing municipal housing vouchers, and expanding the Affordable Housing Overlay. As a social worker of 30 years, he has worked with some of Massachusetts’ most vulnerable families and knows the difference stable housing can make in a person’s life. Marc understands that the “character” of Cambridge is not the look of its buildings, but the character of the people who live in those buildings. Marc is committed to building more housing as the key to making Cambridge a thriving, diverse, multi-cultural city.

Ned Melanson is a public defender at Cambridge District Court and disability advocate​​ who was born in Holyoke, MA, went to college in Pittsburgh, and graduated from BC Law. As a renter living on Allston Street in Cambridgeport for the past 5 years, he has experienced Cambridge’s affordability challenges firsthand. Ned is a walker, cyclist, Red Line-rider, and all-around progressive urbanist. As a housing advocate who previously volunteered with A Better Cambridge, he supports more homes, more affordable homes, and more tenants' rights. Ned has also made standing up to federal overreach a key part of his campaign. As a lover of all things outdoors and protector of the environment, Ned understands how building more homes in Cambridge preserves New England’s incredible natural beauty.

Sumbul Siddiqui grew up in Cambridge public housing and worked in Legal Aid before serving as a Councillor and as Mayor. She has advocated on behalf of Cambridge’s most vulnerable and consistently led on displacement, tenant protection legislation, and the creation and preservation of affordable housing. During her terms as Mayor from 2020 to 2023, Sumbul guided the city through unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, launching a Disaster Relief Fund, organizing testing and vaccine sites, and chairing the School Committee through multiple school reopenings. She is also a passionate advocate for Cambridge’s income assistance and universal preschool programs. Most recently, she played a key role alongside Councillor Azeem in ending exclusionary zoning and legalizing multifamily housing in all neighborhoods – keeping Cambridge a nation-wide leader in taking on the housing crisis.

Denise Simmons is a lifelong Cantabrigian who has served on City Council since 2002 and has served three terms as Mayor, including the current term. As a longtime chair of the Housing Committee, she played a key role in shepherding both the original 100% Affordable Housing Overlay and its 2023 expansion, and supported tripling the linkage fee that commercial developers pay into the Affordable Housing Trust. She has led on funding legal services for tenants facing eviction and pushed for the creation of the Housing Liaison to the City Manager position, a key role providing services to residents facing housing insecurity. Denise is a proud member of the LGBTQ community and a staunch advocate for Cambridge’s senior population and the housing challenges they face.

Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler is a renter, a tenant organizer, the son of an immigrant, and a democratic socialist, fighting for housing justice and tenants’ rights. In his 2020-2021 term as City Councillor, he helped pass the original Affordable Housing Overlay and increase the City’s affordable housing linkage fee. He has worked as a governance director for the Working Families Party to craft legislation on affordable housing, childcare, and more. Jivan supported expanding the AHO, ending exclusionary zoning, and utilizing Cambridge’s Prop 2.5 levy capacity to put millions more towards affordable housing each year. Jivan is a statewide leader for strengthening tenant rights, including passage of a state law that ends forced renter-paid broker's fees.

Ayesha M. Wilson is a social worker and lifelong Cambridge resident. She worked as a teacher-counselor with the Cambridge Housing Authority’s workforce program. Prior to joining the Council, she served two terms on the school committee, where she worked on the City’s universal pre-K program, advocated for the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, and secured funding for new school social workers. She grew up in public housing at Jefferson Park and held a Section 8 voucher. She supported ending exclusionary zoning and increasing affordable housing in her first term. Through her work and lived housing experience, Ayesha understands the challenges faced by those who cannot afford childcare and housing in Cambridge and will center the voices of those who face being forced to leave Cambridge because they can no longer afford to live here.