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As election season builds toward November 4, Allstonia sought to get a sense of where each candidate for City Council at-Large, which represents every neighborhood in Boston, stands on issues specific to Allston-Brighton.
With input from readers, we compiled a questionnaire and sent it to all eight candidates. On Election Day, voters will select up to four on their ballot. Once the votes are tallied, the four candidates with the most votes will serve as the Councilors-at-Large.
Seven out of the eight candidates responded to our questionnaire: Erin Murphy (incumbent), Henry Santana (incumbent), Marvin Mathelier, Julia Mejia (incumbent), Alexandra Valdez, Ruthzee Louijeune (incumbent), and Frank Baker. We’ve included their responses at the bottom of the page.
One candidate — William Onuoha — did not respond to our survey by the deadline.
Click below to get each candidate’s perspectives on your issue of interest:
- Affordable Housing Development
- Rent Control and Stabilization
- Jackson-Mann and Capital Funding for Allston-Brighton
- Transportation and Enforcement
- Rat Czar
- Immigration Enforcement
- Community Engagement
Attain the files of responses, organized by candidate here.
Affordable Housing Development
Six of the seven candidates support requiring developers to include an even higher percentage of affordable units and limit density when it poses safety risks. In 2023, the Boston Planning and Development Agency passed a measure that increased the requirement for income-restricted housing from 13 percent to 20 percent.
Marvin Mathelier writes that the city should set a “gold standard” of at least 20% affordable units for on-site projects in Allston-Brighton. He referred to the Enterprise Research Complex’s Phase A rate of 25% affordable housing as a benchmark that he will enforce. At the same time, Mathelier writes that “density must track real-world capacity. Where those systems are strained, projects must mitigate or scale accordingly.”
Incumbent Julia Mejia, who is running for her fourth term as Councilor-at-Large, calls on the city to go beyond the 20% requirement. “In my first campaign, I turned heads when calling for 50%, but I truly believe that if we want to be serious about housing Bostonians that we need to be bold in our approach,” she writes. Mejia also emphasizes that units considered “affordable” are often still out of reach for people at the highest risk of housing insecurity.
Henry Santana, an incumbent running for his second term, writes that his office will prioritize “inclusionary zoning, community-driven planning, and funding for affordable housing initiatives to ensure that new development benefits everyone.” He shares that as a renter himself, he supports greater protection for renters, including working with Inspectional Services to investigate instances of unsafe living conditions.
Ruthzee Louijeune, who serves as the current City Councilor President, writes that “increasing affordability isn’t just about more units — it’s about equitable units, located where people can access transit, jobs, schools and community assets.” She believes that development should consider both the short-term and long-term effects in a neighborhood. “The goal should be to build neighborhoods that are livable and inclusive — that means affordable housing and responsible planning,” she writes.
An incumbent running for her third full term, Erin Murphy supports increasing the requirement for percentage of affordable housing units, but she advocates for responsible growth. “If density outpaces what our infrastructure, schools, and first responders can handle, that’s not smart development. I’ve consistently called for balancing housing production with public safety, infrastructure, and open space, and for ensuring that residents have a real voice in shaping development,” she writes.
Alexandra Valdez writes that housing should be “abundant and equitable” and that she will be working on “building more housing for all Bostonians while protecting the character and safety of our communities.”
The lone candidate to not support increasing the percentage of affordable housing was Frank Baker. Instead, he believes that the 20% requirement should be “adjusted to spur a slowed down development cycle.” (Return to top)
Rent Control and Stabilization
Five of the seven candidates — Henry Santana, Marvin Mathelier, Ruthzee Louijeune, Alexandra Valdez, and Julia Mejia — say that they support some form of rent control or stabilization while Erin Murphy and Frank Baker oppose.
Mejia writes that she was one of the first ten signatories on a ballot initiative to end the ban on rent control. “Rent control slows gentrification and helps maintain the character of our neighborhoods,” she writes. She will target rent control for larger units while pairing it with more investment in new housing.
Louijeune writes that she supports rent stabilization as part of a multi-prong strategy to prevent displacement in Allston-Brighton “It is far less expensive to keep a resident in their home than to create new housing for them,” she writes.
Mathelier sees rent control as a “first step for development that addresses lack of affordable housing.” He supports a “local-option rent stabilization framework with guardrails — reasonable caps, small-owner carve-outs, and vacancy/rehab allowances.”
Citing his support for the 2023 Inclusionary Zoning, Santana points to zoning reform and construction of more affordable housing to prevent displacement. However, he believes that these policies do not go far enough and advocates for “a bigger toolkit” to build more housing and protect tenants from unfair evictions. “I’m committed to exploring every option, including rent control, to make sure Boston remains a place where working families can build a life,” writes Santana.
Valdez writes that she supports rent stabilization and building more housing. In addition, she supports providing small homeowners (individuals and families with a single-family or multi-unit home) with greater protections to maintain homes and stay financially secure.
The two candidates that oppose rent control or stabilization advocate for alternative means to increase affordability in Boston.
While opposed to rent control, Baker writes that he will support a tax incentive for small landlords to give breaks for their renters.
Murphy writes that rent control “discourages investment, limits housing options, and makes it harder for working families to find a place to live in Boston.” She believes that “the real solution is building more housing, keeping it affordable through both new production and preservation, and cutting the red tape that slows everything down.” (Return to top)
Jackson-Mann and Capital Funding for Allston-Brighton
All seven candidates agreed to prioritize city funding in order to reopen and rebuild the Jackson-Mann community center. Similarly, each of these candidates supports allocating more of the city budget for improving infrastructure in Allston-Brighton, which placed last in neighborhood funding during the previous capital budget.
Marvin Mathelier was the only candidate to set a potential completion year for Jackson-Mann re-opening, writing that a 2029 opening would be an “an ambitious but plausible target contingent on scope, bidding conditions, and construction sequencing.” He plans to look into auditing and allocating unused dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for the reconstruction. Mathelier is also championing a “geographic-equity scorecard” for the capital budget.
Two of the four incumbents Councilors-at-Large — Julia Mejia and Erin Murphy — said they voted against the capital budget in part due to the lack of investment in projects in Allston-Brighton, including funding the re-opening of Jackson-Mann community center.
“Allston-Brighton is one of Boston’s largest neighborhoods but ranks near the bottom in capital spending, and that’s unacceptable,” writes Murphy. “I’ll keep fighting to make sure Allston-Brighton receives the fair share of investment it has long been denied.” Murphy mentioned that she chaired a community meeting earlier this year to raise the attention about Jackson-Mann to the Wu administration. She writes that she will push for construction funding and a maintenance plan for the community center.
“Allston-Brighton is a massive neighborhood in Boston that deserves investment relative to the needs of the community, just like every other part of our city,” Mejia wrote. She writes that she will take “marching orders from the people living the realities” and is committed to ensure that the City listens to residents’ needs while moving toward a concrete timeline.
Henry Santana, who attended the Winship School in Brighton as a kid, writes that “investing in our youth is the most strategic investment we can make.” He calls for the design process for Jackson-Mann to begin in order to set a clear timeline for its reopening. Regarding the capital budget, Santana believes that more funding will help Allston-Brighton thrive and aims to put housing at the “front and center” for additional capital funding for Allston-Brighton.
Alexandra Valdez, who writes that she benefits from the Boston Centers for Youth and Family as a mother, believes that “every neighborhood deserves a vibrant community center where families can gather, learn, and grow.” She writes that voters can expect that she makes reopening Jackson-Mann a priority while advocating for funding to maintain staff and programming. Regarding capital budgeting, Valdez believes that “we can’t pick and choose which communities get resources.” She plans to advocate for “a data-driven approach that meets the needs of Allston-Brighton while supporting equity across all neighborhoods.”
Ruthzee Louijeune believes that as City Council President, her priorities were to make sure that every neighborhood has the resources to thrive in the capital budget. “Equity demands that neighborhoods of the size and importance of Allston‐Brighton receive investment that matches their population, needs and potential. Sometimes based on immediate needs, neighborhoods get disproportionate infrastructure attention while other neighborhoods are left with deferred maintenance, aging facilities and unmet needs,” she writes. Regarding the Jackson-Mann, she plans to work across different departments and the Allston-Brighton community to make renovation plans that are responsive to the neighborhood’s needs.
Frank Baker writes, “We will do whatever we can to push the process along to be able to open the community center as soon as possible.” He supports allocating more of the city budget for Allston-Brighton but did not expand on his answer. (Return to top)
Transportation and Enforcement
All seven candidates support stronger enforcement of the bus and bike lanes as well the expansion of bike lanes.
Four of the candidates — Erin Murphy, Henry Santana, Alexandra Valdez, and Marvin Mathelier — pointed to the use of cameras as a means to enforce traffic violations, such as illegal parking and speeding. Murphy and Santana also indicated their support for speed humps, which Mayor Wu expanded this past summer. Valdez advocated for better signage, including multi-lingual signage and clearer lane markings.
Ruthzee Louijeune believes that enforcement needs to be paired with community education campaigns for residents, businesses and visitors to understand the rules and their rationale. She also calls for greater separation between cars and bikes along the road to ensure that cars don’t encroach upon bike lanes.
Baker writes that he would support measures for stronger enforcement and bike lane expansion provided that community voices and businesses are considered as part of the process.
While acknowledging the need for safer streets, Julia Mejia urges caution when it comes to enforcement. “I support making our city safer for every resident,” she writes. “That said, we have to ensure these efforts don’t end up unfairly punishing low-income residents or people of color, as history has shown can happen.” Mejia writes that exact enforcement will be made after “a comprehensive and accessible community engagement process.” (Return to top)
Rat Czar
Six candidates supported the creation of a rat czar to help mitigate the rodent issues throughout Boston. Many of the candidates believe that the “rat czar” would serve as a point person working between different departments as well as hold these departments accountable.
“This isn’t just about reacting to 311 calls. It’s about prevention, better sanitation, secure trash, construction protocols, and targeted enforcement, guided by on-the-ground conditions in hotspots like Allston-Brighton,” writes Erin Murphy, who sponsored a rat czar ordinance with City Councilor Ed Flynn.
In addition to supporting the rat czar, some candidates like Julia Mejia, say that Boston needs better waste management, including consistent trash pickup schedules and accountability for landlords and tenants who neglect responsibilities in removing waste.
Ruthzee Louijuene marked “unsure” for the creation of a rat czar, saying that she was focused on working within existing systems to address rodent growth. “I don’t know if the answer is more bureaucracy or if simply more resources for code enforcement, more rodent resistant trash cans, and carbon monoxide, for example, would be a better option,” writes Louijuene. (Return to top)
Immigration Enforcement
Five of the seven candidates do not support policies that allow for the City to cooperate with Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE). Many of the candidates say that cooperation with ICE undermines trust in their communities.
“Cooperation with ICE in matters outside of criminal law and public safety jeopardizes that trust, undermines community policing, and can lead to our communities being excluded from critical services,” writes Ruthzee Louijeune.
Julia Mejia, who is an immigrant and grew up with a mother that was previously undocumented, writes that “I will continue to use every tool available to protect immigrant families and ensure Boston remains a city where everyone, regardless of their status, can thrive.”
Frank Baker did not provide a yes/no/unsure response to the question, but he did write that he believes the city should have a liaison through the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC).
Erin Murphy was the only candidate to vote “yes” on supporting policies that allow City cooperation with ICE. “Public safety is our top priority, and that means law enforcement agencies must be able to communicate and cooperate when it involves serious crimes or threats to our community,” writes Murphy.
Murphy and other candidates, like Mejia and Henry Santana, say that they stand by the Trust Act, a city ordinance that restricts local law enforcement cooperation with ICE to cases that impact public safety.
“Our approach should focus on targeting dangerous criminal activity, not ordinary residents who contribute so much to our city,” writes Murphy.
While there were differences in opinion surrounding cooperation with ICE, all candidates support policies that protect immigrants from harassment from ICE in Allston-Brighton. Mejia, Alexandra Valdez and Marvin Mathelier advocate for strengthening the protections in the Trust Act.
“Boston has always been a city built by immigrants, and our policies must reflect that history of inclusion, compassion, and fairness,” writes Valdez, who is an immigrant herself.
Earlier this year, Mejia convened with over 70 community leaders to discuss and formulate ways to “overcome the fear that continues to paralyze our immigrant communities.” She held a rally outside of City Hall in support of immigrants when Mayor Wu testified before Congress.
“As your bold, independent voice on the Council, I will always use my microphone to defend our communities and ensure that Boston remains a city where immigrants are valued and free to live without fear,” writes Mejia. (Return to top)
Community Engagement
Each candidate proposed a variety of ways to continue engaging with the Allston-Brighton community if they become Councilor-at-Large.
Erin Murphy writes that there was “no place have I shown up more than Allston-Brighton,” committing to attending community meetings and holding regular listening sessions.
Marvin Mathelier hopes to hold monthly office hours as well as work to create a capital project tracker for developments, like the Jackson-Mann. In a similar vein, Henry Santana will hold coffee hours at @Union on Harvard Avenue to hear from residents.
Frank Baker writes that “The most important role as a city councilor is to respond to community concerns, whether through phone call, email, or showing up. That is what I will do for Allston-Brighton.”
Many of the candidates, like Ruthzee Louijeune, Julia Mejia and Alexandra Valdez, hope to partner with local community organizations and politicians and attend community and civic meetings. Louijeune will provide updates about initiatives specific to the community. Mejia emphasized her commitment to improve delivering results for neighborhood investments, such as the Jackson-Mann and policies that prevent displacement.
“Allston-Brighton represents the best of Boston, a diverse, creative, and hard-working community that continues to grow while holding on to its neighborhood pride,” writes Valdez. “As City Councilor, I will make it a priority to stay deeply connected to Allston-Brighton residents by being present, listening closely, and showing up not just during election season, but all year long.” (Return to top)
Survey Responses (in the order that they appear on the ballot)
To see the full responses from each candidate, click on the link below.
Will Onuoha (did not respond)
