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Here’s what non-incumbent Medford City Council candidates have to say about their campaign goals

By Estelle Anderson, Alex Boyle, Tvisha Goel, Ananya Shah, Evan Vezmar, Dariush Raissi and Julian Glickman | November 3

The Daily is conducting interviews with City Council candidates ahead of the municipal election on Nov. 4 where residents will be able to choose up to seven candidates. This story will be updated with additional interviews as they are completed. All interviews have been edited for length and clarity.  

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Local

Medford School Committee candidates share platforms

By Arinze Ezem-Osakwe, Julian Glickman and Jessica Michael | October 29

The Daily is conducting interviews with Medford School Committee candidates ahead of the municipal election on Nov. 4 where residents will be able to choose up to six candidates. This story will be updated with additional interviews as they are completed. All interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

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Local

Medford residents to vote on new city charter in November

By Evan Vezmar | October 23

Medford residents will vote on a new city charter during the Nov. 4 election after the Massachusetts state legislature voted to approve, and Governor Maura Healey signed, the charter on Sept. 19. The charter, which establishes the city’s government, was last changed in 1986 and was only two pages long.

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Local

Ballantyne, pushed out of mayoral election, leaves November race to Wilson and Burnley Jr.

By Matthew Sage and Josh Litvak | October 21

On Sept. 19, Somerville residents voted to deny incumbent Mayor Katjana Ballantyne another chance to hold onto the city’s top executive position, signaling widespread disapproval of her four-year tenure. 

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Local

Davis Square Neighborhood Council hosts learning session on development, zoning and transparency

By Jake Ren | October 16

The Davis Square Neighborhood Council hosted a co-learning session in the Joyce Cummings Center on Monday for community members to educate each other on the inner workings of development and zoning in Davis Square and the leverage residents have over such changes.  

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Local

Somerville School Committee candidates share their platforms

By Anika Parr and Alexandra Tse | October 14

The Daily is interviewing candidates for the Somerville School Committee before the municipal election on Nov. 4. All interviews are edited for length and clarity.

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Local

Somerville residents air grievances on Davis Square public safety, homelessness at annual meeting

By Anika Parr | October 10

The city of Somerville hosted a meeting on Oct. 6 to discuss public safety and homelessness in the Davis Square and Seven Hills area. Residents continued to express concerns and frustrations despite city officials outlining steps they have taken to address the issue.

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Local

New 'Eat Out in East' initiative aims to support local businesses in East Somerville amid increased ICE activity

By Angela Palma and Josué Pérez | October 9

Eat Out in East, a new initiative led by Somerville Ward 1 City Councilor Matthew McLaughlin, intends to get residents to support local businesses — many of which are immigrant-owned — in East Somerville. The program comes amid increased activity from Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Massachusetts, particularly in Somerville.

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Local

Some Medford residents experienced issues at polling stations during September preliminary election

By Evan Vezmar | October 9

During the Sept. 16 preliminary elections for Medford City Council, multiple Medford residents were told that they were no longer active voters on the voter roll. Massachusetts law requires cities to send a census every January, requiring all registered voters to confirm that their place of residence is accurate, with voters only being marked as active voters after the Medford Elections Commission receives the census. However, when some voters went to the polls in September, they were told they were inactive, despite having mailed the census.

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Local

Medford School Committee reviews policy for generative AI use in classrooms

By Carly Cohen | October 9

The Medford School Committee approved the first reading of a new policy, “Use of Generative AI in Medford Public Schools,” on Sept. 22. Though the policy still must pass a second reading before it is formally adopted, the committee voted to include it in the school handbooks, offering guidance on how teachers and students can choose to responsibly use artificial intelligence while the committee takes time to adopt the policy.

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Local

Upcoming election events in Medford and Somerville

By Josué Pérez | October 8

With just 27 days left before the municipal elections in Medford and Somerville, several events have been organized to give candidates for city council, School Committee and mayor an opportunity to share their platform with prospective voters and face off against competing candidates.

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Local

Somerville to decide on mayoral term extension and major charter overhaul in November

By Anika Parr and Theo Weller | October 7

Two questions will appear on Somerville’s Nov. 4 general election ballot: one proposing to extend the mayoral term from two years to four, and the other proposing updates to the city charter, which has remained largely unchanged since 1899.

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Local

Somerville City Council delays ballot mailer information statute ahead of November election

By Niki Wang and Alexandra Tse | October 6

On Nov. 4, Somerville residents will decide whether or not to adopt the city’s first new charter in more than a century and whether to lengthen the mayor’s term from two to four years. However, voters will not receive mailed explanations of the ballot questions after the City Council postponed adopting a state statute that would have required it.

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Local

Medford community calls for transparency on Tufts’ financial contributions to city

By Ananya Shah and Julian Glickman | October 2

Efforts to access a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes agreement between Tufts and Medford have reignited discussions over the university’s role in its surrounding communities. Tufts, which is exempt from property taxes on most of its Medford/Somerville campus due to the Dover Amendment, a Massachusetts law that negotiates agreements with the two cities to make voluntary financial contributions as a substitute for taxes.

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Local

Medford to update signage and street design via wayfinding survey

By Evan Vezmar | September 26

Medford is planning a citywide update to its wayfinding — the system of signs, markers and design elements that help guide people through an area — to improve navigation and highlight local landmarks.

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Local

Over 100 protest reported housing of ICE agents outside Hyatt Place Medford

By Anika Parr and Zach Halverstam | September 24

Residents protested Tuesday night outside the Hyatt Place in Medford in response to reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents staying at the hotel. The demonstrations were a follow up to a similar protest on Saturday on the Hyatt’s premises.

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Local

Ketanji Brown Jackson hosts event at Chevalier Theater

By Carly Hope | September 18

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson spoke at an event at the Chevalier Theater in Medford on Sept. 11. One of the latest stops on her book tour, the venue was full of attendees. 

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Local

LIVE UPDATES: Incumbent Ballantyne ousted in 2025 Somerville preliminary election

By Anika Parr and Alexandra Tse | September 16

Polls have closed across the City of Somerville as it holds its preliminary election Tuesday. The mayoral, City Councilor At-Large, City Council Ward 7, and Ward 3 School Committee races will be narrowed before the municipal election on November 4. After the preliminary election, the top two candidates will remain in each position pool except for the councilor at-large race, where eight candidates will advance to the general election.

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Local

LIVE UPDATES: Unofficial results are in for 2025 Medford preliminary election

By Evan Vezmar and Julian Glickman | September 16

Polls have closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday as Medford voters will narrow down a large field of at-large City Council candidates from 17–14 tonight as the city decides on the body’s composition for the next two years.

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Local

Residents, officials concerned over sale of 21-acre Medford property to MBTA for bus facility

By Julian Glickman | September 12

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority closed on a 21-acre property at 440 Riverside Ave. in Medford, where it intends to store and maintain buses, frustrating residents and officials who worry about its impact on the neighborhood and a missed opportunity to build a supermarket. Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced on Aug. 25 via Facebook that the MBTA had closed on the property.

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