By Stephanie Hirsch

Election season is a stressful time in the city, most especially for the people at the center of the storm. This month, I want to give a huge shout-out to the brave and committed people who ran for office the first time. That group included 10 people, and nine of them were women. They shared some reflections on their experiences with me.

The best part of campaigning 

Everyone who ran agreed – hearing from so many different Somerville residents made the experience meaningful. Mayoral Candidate Marianne Walles said: “One of my favorite parts was sitting

and talking to people. A lot of people feel like they aren’t being heard by anyone.” (Marianne is pictured here on a day when she was out door knocking.)

At-Large Council Candidate Kevin Jura said he enjoyed “learning more about the city and the residents and getting a chance to see different parts of the city, both by door-knocking and by making a point to visit every part of the city.”

Ward 6 School Committee Candidate Ellenor Barish shared a similar view: “One thing that made a big impression on me was how people shared their struggles and trusted me with their stories. I was honored and also felt the weight of this responsibility.”

At-Large Council Candidate Kristen Strezo said: “Campaigning is a full-throttle experience. I am forever changed for the better because of my first campaign. I feel like I’ve made over 5,000 new Somerville friends.”

Ward 3 School Committee Candidate Mary Marshall echoed that point: “Listening to neighbors and parents around ward 3 was interesting and an education on what they want from our schools.”

Ward 3 School Committee Candidate Michele Lippens said she “was constantly surprised at how willing people were to open their doors and engage in conversations about our public schools, education, and politics.” Michele shared one memorable evening: “During a particular exhausting afternoon door-knocking, I was invited in for dinner by a gracious family who said, ‘Did you have dinner yet? Why don’t you join us and we can talk more about school committee?’ We had a great conversation discussing all things education. Their son even weighed in on the conversation. I

particularly love hearing from our kids. (I hope they read this and remember me!)” (Michele is pictured here with another awesome Ward 3 candidate Mary Marshall and other sign holders).

Some challenges

There were some harder parts of campaigning. Marianne found that public speaking was more challenging than talking to people one-on-one. Campaign activity requires off-the-cuff, unstructured public speaking. However, Marianne found that she got better at it the more she had to practice it.

Also, for Marianne, hearing about people’s challenges worried her, but as a long-time social worker in the area of child welfare, she relied on her experience to know what to do. “When I heard about people’s struggles, I ended up using my social worker skills. I was the social worker at the door.” In her career, Marianne has gained a great deal of experience in working with very difficult situations, finding the good where it’s possible, and accepting what can’t change, and that ability is key in campaign and elected life as well.

Mary said that sometimes she found it both challenging and interesting to connect with people who don’t have students in the schools and to figure out how they can get involved in thinking about school issues.

Michele mentioned that running for office taught her about “how much work (and money) it takes to run for public office, even at the local level.” It’s especially tricky for public employees because campaign finance laws limit what candidates can do. The volume of the work also meant less time with family and friends for candidates. And the job itself, especially with low pay, can be challenging for many people who don’t have another significant source of income, making both campaigning and working as an elected official out of reach for many.

What they heard on the trail

As the candidates talked to residents, here are some themes they heard. “We need to do more around subsidies and help for low-income residents,” Marianne said. For example, “There are seniors who live in housing, but the housing may be falling apart and the residents do not feel respected by the building management.”

Kevin was a bit surprised to see how much people talked about rats. Even though it’s such a different type of issue, it was as much on people’s minds as worries about affordability.

(Pictured here is a “wordle” of words that have appeared in emails to the City Council received over the last year).

Advice for elected officials

Coming out of the intense campaign experience, the candidates offered me and my colleagues this advice. Kevin said: “Don’t be afraid to stand up and vote for what you think is best for the city and not best for a particular ward or interest group, even if it means going completely against public opinion.”

Both Michele and Marianne emphasized the importance of continuing to listen and to meet people where they are at. As Marianne said, “We take for granted that everyone will email or use social media, but they don’t. We need more face-to-face contacts, and not just during campaign season. There are people who have unheard voices, and they are struggling. Many don’t belong to any particular group, so there’s no one to advocate for them.”

Michele shared a similar view: “Personal conversations are a powerful way to engage our community, and those who won seats should continue to find meaningful and equitable ways of reaching out and hearing from those who typically do not feel like their voice matters.”

The stakes are as high as they could be. As Marianne said: “Residents are being forced out. If we don’t start making changes now, that pattern will continue and accelerate. Progress is good, but not at the expense of others.”

Advice for our community

The candidates also shared some lessons learned for everyone.

Marianne said that the experience of campaigning reinforced one of her own values – that people are different and we should practice our community values of inclusion and tolerance. As residents, whether elected officials or not, we can always try to remember that: “There are two sides to every story, and don’t be quick to judge.”

Kevin had this piece of advice for all of you: “If you think have something to contribute, don’t be afraid to run.” Worst case scenario, according to Kevin, “it was a wonderful life experience and you can learn a lot.”

What’s next?

The candidates will be thinking about a future run, but haven’t made up their minds. Kevin said, “Don’t think I’m going away – we’ll see what happens.”

Kristen said about her first campaign: “The support I’ve received has made me even more committed to making sure all voices are heard.” She said that she’s heading into the new year “even more devoted to my city.”

Mary said that the experience affirmed for the importance of the work that she has been doing and will continue to do. The PTA, the primary advocate for students with a citywide presence, has become “a force to be heard for these schools.”

She summarized the experience like this: “The final feeling I have about the whole experience is that I ended up a winner in so many ways.  I have been working with students, teachers and parents for so many years and to have so many of them come out and support me was incredible.  The real prize was hearing from all of the students, that would come to the door with their parent and recognize me and tell me who I was and what I do.  That is a feeling I will never lose. I had students that graduated that knew me from elementary school that reached out to thank me. I never need a title to do for these kids, but I wanted my voice to be heard on another level, so I went for it.  To say I lost the campaign is definitely a yes, but I won in so many ways that I can’t even express.  And I am definitely not done fighting the fight for our kids.”

Michele said: “The best part was finding my voice, developing relationships with my neighbors and my team, and the many positive conversations I had with our community. I now realize how easy it is to get involved and I know I will continue to use my voice to uplift our community.”

Thank you for your courage and commitment! 

Thousands of residents gave their votes to these candidates (including 5,357 for Marianne!) Voters put their faith in these candidates, believing that the new candidates could make a change and tell each resident’s story, including stories of the “unheard voices.” Regardless of who won at the ballot box, the concerns of those voters – as well as the many people who did not vote – matter. We as a community and its representatives will need to find a way to listen.

And a final note to everyone in the community, take Kevin’s advice and consider running in the next election cycle! Our community and democracy will be stronger for your willingness to follow these candidates’ footsteps by taking a leap of faith and making an investment of time and heart in advocating for our residents.