This year’s primary election will be held on Tuesday, September 3rd. The only competitive race specific to Somerville is the 27th Middlesex District race between incumbent State Representative Erika Uyterhoeven and Kathleen Hornby.
If you are not registered to vote, or if you are marked inactive (many people are), you should check the online voter registration portal to verify your registration status, or register to vote if you aren’t already. The deadline to register to vote in this year’s primary election is Saturday, August 24th.
There will also be early voting starting from August 24th. See Somerville’s election calendar for more info on what dates early voting will be held on. If you would like to vote by mail instead, anyone may request a mail-in ballot with no excuse required. If you haven’t received a vote by mail application, you can print out this form and mail it in yourself to be sent a ballot.
We sent out a short list of questions to both candidates. Here are their answers.
 Kathleen Hornby pdf of answers |  Erika Uyterhoeven pdf of answers |
| 1. How do you get around Somerville? | |
| When I first moved to Somerville in 2006, I walked or relied on public transportation. I began cycling more in 2009 and became a year-round bicycle commuter in 2012. I only began driving regularly when my daughter was born, but still walked and took public transit for most of my trips around Somerville, then put her in an infant seat once she was old enough. I bought an electric Taga trike when my son was born in 2017 so that I could carry both of them. We upgraded to an Urban Arrow in 2021 and that became my primary mode of transportation with the kids (as well as for commuting downtown); otherwise, I’m on an acoustic bike, walking, or taking the bus. The only times that I drive for trips within Somerville are on occasions of truly atrocious weather (cold doesn’t count!) | Locally in Somerville, I bike most often to get around. The only time I use the MBTA or a car is when I have to wear more formal business attire for the State House. At some point, I want to make the plunge and get an ebike so that I can wear business attire and still ride my bike into the State House. I mainly use my car to travel to prisons throughout the state. |
| 2. A number of people have been killed in the last few years whilecrossing the street on state-owned roads like McGrath Hwy and Mystic Ave. How will you work with the Mayor and City Council of Somerville to ensure that state agencies like MassDOT work to make their roads safer for all users? | |
| I am deeply committed to implementing Vision Zero policies across the city of Somerville, particularly at intersections which we know are exceptionally dangerous. I know all too well the challenges of working with state agencies like MassDOT; the good news is, I literally know those agencies well, and have strong partnerships with Somerville’s Mayor and City Council members. I will push state agencies to provide regular updates, which I will share both with the City government and with community members. I will also advocate for design changes based on feedback from those stakeholders. Finally, I will fight for state and federal funding to invest in safety improvements and keep projects moving forward. | I have consistently met with advocates, fellow state legislators, city electeds, and city administration about some of the most dangerous roadways throughout Somerville and strategized on how we can improve them. I’ve worked closely with all stakeholders on how we can best convey and persuade MassDOT to make these direly needed changes. This includes requesting more public hearings to elicit input from residents most impacted by these dangerous roads and intersections, as well as supporting walking tours, rallies, and community events to raise awareness, build community power, and make clear demands. We have also worked with the federal delegation to push for funding to ensure these improvement projects can move forward and be completed. |
| 3. The MBTA has been providing substandard service for Somerville residents for a long time and especially since 2022 when the federal government mandated slower service due to safety issues. As state representative, how will you advocate for better quality of service from the MBTA for Somerville residents? What should the MBTA or other state or city agencies do to help mitigate impacts on Somerville residents while efforts to fix public transit are happening? | |
| Having worked with the MBTA for years as Chief of Staff for two Cambridge State Representatives, I am well-positioned to advocate for better service for Somerville residents. I will work to ensure that we keep our current bus routes and to increase their frequency and I will also push for north-south routes and crosstown routes to serve the Mystic Ave EJ community. In addition, I will make sure that the subway lines serving Somerville continue to show improvements in reliability, speed, and accessibility. To help mitigate impacts on Somerville residents, I will advocate for a fare-free bus program. | Our city is deeply interconnected with our state’s public transit infrastructure in that we have the Orange, Red, and Green Lines, and many major bus lines all running through Somerville. In order for people to fully utilize these modes of public transportation, we must continue to work on the decades of repair backlogs to reduce slowdown times and increase the amount of on-time trains. This can only be done through increased funding for the MBTA. I have been a vocal advocate for funding over $1.6 billion more annually into the MBTA so that we can have a safe, reliable, and free public transportation system that will reduce the number of cars on the road. Until these repairs are completed and we have to impose temporary changes to train service, the MBTA must inform residents of upcoming repairs and shutdowns with advance notice and provide shuttle service that runs consistently and on time and is fully staffed. This is why I am very pleased that through our advocacy, the Healey administration under Phillip Eng’s leadership has grown its depleted workforce of bus operators for the first time in years and has authorized a more competitive labor contract with the union, which included a $30 per hour starting wage for bus drivers ($8 higher than the previous contract). |
| 4. What specific issues that advance safe streets for vulnerable users would you prioritize for state legislative action? | |
| I would prioritize enabling municipalities to impose additional registration fees on heavy passenger cars, trucks and SUVs; installing automated enforcement cameras on both school buses and transit vehicles and as a pilot program on municipal roads; and establishing a grant program to expand access to e-bikes. I would also work to ensure complete, timely implementation of An Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities. | I think the three most important issues are: 1. fully funded, reliable, and free MBTA, 2. reducing involvement of law enforcement in traffic stops, especially pretextual traffic stops, and other forms of street safety enforcement involving pedestrians and cyclists (such as jaywalking or cyclists running a red light), and 3. safe, protected infrastructure for bus, bikes, and pedestrians. Since taking office, I have fought for more funding for the MBTA and will continue to push for a fully funded rail system. I want to see the MBTA continue to make the vital repairs that it has been and remove all slowdowns throughout the system. Traffic stops are the most common way residents come in contact with police and cause harm to our community from racial profiling to police brutality disproportionately targeting Black and Brown people. In just the last five years, police officers killed more than 400 people during traffic stops who were not armed. Yet, there is growing evidence that traffic stops do not effectively reduce serious and fatal crashes and they have not been proven to improve public safety. As such, I believe we must pass legislation that reduces the involvement of law enforcement in traffic stops, such as automatic traffic enforcement, replacing law enforcement’s role with civilian alternatives and other ways to reduce pathways of residents involvement in the criminal legal system. As an example, last session we passed the Work and Family Mobility Act as a step towards reducing the risk of family separation and so that a routine stop is less likely to lead to arrest and to ICE detention for immigrant neighbors. Rather than traffic enforcement, the root solutions require investing in infrastructure improvements. People often do not take the bus because it can be slow and unreliable. The more bus lanes we have, the faster buses become while increasing the number of on-time arrivals. We also must continue to build out fully protected bike lanes and make intersections safer for all users including pedestrians and cyclists. These improvements have a compounding effect because when people have safe, reliable, and cheaper alternatives to cars, they are more likely to use them and this reduces the number of cars on the road, further reducing congestion and our carbon footprint, and making it even safer for those choosing alternatives to personal vehicles. |