On Tuesday, November 4th, 2025, the City of Cambridge will choose nine city councilors to serve until 2027. According to The Harvard Crimson, just over 21,000 Cantabrigians voted during the 2023 local election—a small portion of Cambridge’s approximately 75,000 registered voters. While this low turnout may imply that Cambridge residents aren’t affected by the City Council’s actions, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
The City Council’s actions affect nearly every aspect of life in Cambridge, from bike lane and road maintenance to funding for public parks, programs, and sports teams. Additionally, the City Council is the only way residents can affect the city government because Cambridge hasn’t elected a mayor since the adoption of the current “Plan E” charter in 1941. The executive branch is instead led by a “city manager” appointed by the council. This year, there are 20 candidates—including eight incumbents—vying for nine open seats. Because there are so many contenders, each aspiring councilor needs to differentiate themselves to gain the advantage.
One way candidates distinguish themselves from their competitors is by seeking the endorsement of a variety of groups associated with specific issues. The three largest endorsing groups are A Better Cambridge (ABC), Cambridge Citizens’ Coalition (CCC), and Cambridge Bicycle Safety. Each of these are associated with a super PAC: a fundraising group with no legal limits on spending.
In terms of policy, ABC and CCC are both focused on housing, though they have opposing policies. ABC seeks to ensure “housing abundance” by building more homes, whereas the CCC wants to “protect lower density residential neighborhoods” from large buildings. Either group’s endorsement is a massive boon to a candidate. Former City Councilor Quinton Zondervan—the councilor elected without either endorsement—told The Harvard Crimson “I think for new candidates, it was definitely impossible to get elected without being endorsed by one or the other[.]”
This year, the CCC endorsed incumbents Ayesha Wilson and Catherine Zusy, along with challengers Elizabeth Bisio, John Hanratty, Peter Hsu, Zion Sherin, and Louise Venden. On the other hand, ABC endorsed incumbents Burhan Azeem, Marc McGovern, Sumbul Siddiqui, Denise Simmons, Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, and Ayesha Wilson, and challengers Dana Bullister and Ned Melanson.
In past years, the third major group—Cambridge Bicycle Safety—endorsed anyone who signed their pledge to finish the construction of separated bike lanes. However, this year they used a survey to determine who to endorse at two different levels. Their “Bike Champions” consist of incumbents Azeem, McGovern, Siddiqui, and Sobrinho-Wheeler; and challengers Al-Zubi, Bullister, and Melanson; while their “Bike Supporters” are incumbents Nolan and Zusy, Battle, Hsu, and Rivkin.
This article also appears in our September 2025 print edition.
