Ben Wheeler

Education Principals and parents need afterschool staffing, allowing kids to safely use gyms and playgrounds beyond school hours; principals have told me that even a single paid security guard could enable dozens of children to stay and use facilities until the early evening. Education We need to expand our successful pre-Kindergarten programs—which make innovative use of a mix of public and private facilities—so that all families can find a spot near them, and we can start offering preschool to 3 year-olds. Housing I support developments like the mixed affordable/market apartment buildings planned for the old Star Market on Broadway, and the all-affordable housing building proposed for the old A Auto Body site on Medford St. These can help us keep neighbors together, and make our city more affordable for everyone. Education Raising teacher pay is an investment well worth making, to recruit the next generation of great talent, and to keep teachers’ expertise in our community long-term. Infrastructure / Transportation I also dream of making buses free. Yes, this would require paying the MBTA huge sums, but we should keep trying to negotiate them down to a workable deal. Free buses would load faster, increase ridership, and decrease car traffic—a virtuous cycle. Government Reform I’m committed to harnessing the expertise and goodwill we have, right here in Somerville. That means relying less on expensive outside consultants, and empowering city employees who deeply understand their work. Government Reform Our city has made great progress with its messaging infrastructure; the Somerville City Alerts system is a great way to learn about events and interruptions relevant to us, via email or text. We should expand on this by putting public digital signs in key locations, as many other cities do.