Who I’m Voting For: Alanna Mallon
Lots of folks have asked me who I’m voting for next week and how to think about voting strategy in Cambridge’s unique proportional representation elections.
So I’m going to do two things. First, I’m going to start a series on who I’m voting for and why, which will begin below. I’m also going to write up a voting guide that describes my thoughts on how to bring about the best City Council we can get.
So without further ado, here is my first post on who I’m voting for.
Over the past few years, I have come to appreciate Alanna as a Cambridge City Councillor, a Vice Mayor, an apparel designer, and as a dedicated parent. But mostly what I appreciate about Alanna is that she’s an advocate, always working to help the people in Cambridge who need the help most.
Alanna has spent the past 18 months helping our most vulnerable neighbors cope with the challenges of just trying to get by each day during the pandemic. She delivered groceries to the housebound and designed programs to feed hundreds. She stayed up late booking vaccine appointments for seniors and ensured that the City was opening up new pathways for vaccines and testing. Her policies are always guided by people, and her work as an individual advocate providing constituent services during the week culminates at Monday night Council meetings with bold, informed, progressive policy proposals that help our neighbors where it counts most.
Alanna does the right thing, no matter the cost. She’s been key to Cambridge’s work toward implementing a non-police public safety department, and the progress we should see on that just after the election will owe much to her efforts behind the scenes. She’s been a leading voice for more housing and led with others on the AHO. She’s led on bike safety, and she’s made her case for prioritizing resident safety despite hostility towards bike infrastructure. She’s attended sessions of the East Cambridge Neighborhood Conservation District study committee and spoken out about the flaws in the process perpetuated by some of the most powerful interests in Cambridge.
On a personal level, I have experienced how Alanna serves the city first hand. When I woke up to learn that I’d been the subjected to homophobic sexual harassment by an East Cambridge Planning Team board member, not fifteen minutes passed before I had a phone call from Alanna checking in on me ask asking what I needed. She was a fierce ally of the LGBTQ+ community and never wavered in her support, even when the issue turned bizarrely political and the neighborhood groups pushed back.
Because that’s who she is. Alanna’s politics are personal, they’re guided by people. Alanna has earned my vote more times than I can count, and so long as she’s on the Council, I know that the city will have an advocate who is thinking about the people who need her the most.
