Welcome to June... which means it's budget season on the City Council! Thanks to all who have already shared their ideas and input with me that helped to shape my budget priorities that I submitted back in March. The Mayor has now presented her budget (more on that below) and the next few weeks are filled with department budget hearings where we get to ask questions of city staff before our final cut night and vote on the budget.

Spring is here (although you wouldn't know it if you stepped outside this week!). I'm so looking forward to some more sunshine and warmer weather soon.

A huge thanks to those who joined us for our joint Ward 7 office hours recently at Yego Coffee. They are celebrating one year of being open and we were so glad to be able to host office hours there to honor one of the newest ward 7 businesses to open.

There is much going on here in Ward 7 and across the city so read on for some important updates and upcoming events and opportunities to get involved. As always, if there are questions you have about issues in our community, please do reach out. 

City Councilor Judy Pineda Neufeld, whose ward includes Teele Square, said the property is one of the topics she gets asked about the most.

It has been an incredible honor to serve the people of Somerville’s Ward 7, and I am very proud of all I have accomplished thus far in my first term.

Welcome back to our Ward 7 Newsletter! As many of you know, I had a baby in April of this year and life with a new little one has kept me busy! I have so enjoyed showing Isaac the beauty of this great city, from walking the community path extension, to visiting the West Branch library for storytime, and going to his first Fluff Festival recently.

I’m excited to introduce you all to our newest Ward 7 constituent! My baby boy, Isaac, was born on 4/10/23 and my husband and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I am spending this precious time bonding with him and getting settled into life as a new mom and will be slower to respond to emails and requests.

Happy belated Valentine's Day! This year is flying by and it's already time to start thinking about and talking about next fiscal year's budget! Once again, City Councilors are being asked to submit their own budget priorities by the end of March.

Ward 7 city councilor Judy Pineda Neufeld echoed the concerns of several community members who spoke about residents who walk to the Stop & Shop on Broadway and what increased traffic could do to an already hard-to-use intersection and crosswalk.

A Somerville homeowner attempting to rent rooms in his house to Tufts students has faced unexpected resistance from the city government on the grounds that his request to house unrelated students is unlawful. The homeowner, who requested that the Daily not identify him by name, has been appealing to the Somerville City Council for months.

Happy new year! Looking forward to another year of serving you on the Council. We're already kicking off with a busy start to the year, and I'm excited to have been officially sworn in as the City Council Vice President! Looking forward to serving alongside Council President Ben Ewen-Campen.

The City of Somerville has passed a new ordinance that expands bereavement leave for city employees to include up to five days of paid recovery following a miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion. Passage of the ordinance was led by City Council Vice President Judy Pineda Neufeld.

Happy December! I hope you and your loved ones are healthy and safe as we head into the holiday season. I wanted to be sure to start this newsletter (our last of 2022!) with a few personal and professional announcements!

Last week, we had a glass-shattering historic election here in Massachusetts! And believe it or not, it's been just over a year since I was elected to the Somerville City Council. We have so much to celebrate together and I hope you received my save the date for our end of year virtual celebration! I'm looking forward to sharing some highlights from the City Council and hopes and plans for next year.

Happy Fall! The weather has certainly changed (although we have held out on turning on our heat yet... anyone else?) and I'm looking forward to voting for nearly all women on my ballot in a few weeks on Election Day! Don't forget to vote this year! More on how to vote below.

Happy September! The last couple of months have flown by me, between budget season, community events, a short vacation, AND a move to a bigger apartment (still in Ward 7!).