On Monday, October 16, The Boston Globe released a report detailing the accounts of eight women who had previously worked for the mayor’s office and alleging that current Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui fostered a toxic work environment. The report spanned a total of six months. Only two of the mayor’s past employees chose to identify themselves “for fear the mayor would hinder their careers or credibility,” according to The Globe.
Though the report spanned several months, it was released less than a month before the November elections for the City Council and the School Committee. Some have wondered if the article’s release was intentionally timed or done for political reasons, including Siddiqui herself in an email to the Harvard Crimson. “The specific accusations referenced in the article are mischaracterizations, most of them leveled anonymously, and motivated perhaps by politics,” stated the mayor.
Siddiqui is seeking both a fourth term on the Cambridge City Council and a third as mayor. This year has seen a considerable number of candidates on the ballot for the City Council, with 24 candidates vying for 9 seats, only 7 of whom are incumbent.
Adrienne Klein, one of these new candidates, is one of these former aides. Klein also was harmed by a policy implemented under Siddiqui’s jurisdiction in terms of her bid for election. She was forced to resign from the role of director of constituent services after a new policy required city employees to resign or go on unpaid leave of absence if they were both working for the City Council and running, over concerns regarding conflict of interest. Klein told the Harvard Crimson that she chose to speak out because she believed “so many that [she] worked with weren’t able to because of fear of retaliation.” Another of the aides who alleged that Siddiqui cultivated a negative work environment, Theo Skeadas, also ran for city council in 2021, although she was unsuccessful. Skeadas claimed that the circumstances contributed to the fact that she did not get a seat on the council.
In an email sent to the Register Forum, Siddiqui claimed the allegations were “mischaracterizations.” Additionally, Siddiqui stated that she was “surprised by the one-sided nature” of The Globe’s report. However, she also stated in the same email that she “take[s] any concern as an opportunity to reflect and improve [her] supervisory skills.”
While this experience can’t be an easy one for any parties involved, especially considering the proximity to election day, hopefully this will be taken as an opportunity to learn and grow.
This article also appears in our November 2023 print edition.
