Somerville-based entrepreneur and community advocate Jason Mackey announced on Feb. 20 his candidacy for mayor, joining other candidates, including the incumbent Mayor Katjana Ballantyne; City Councilors at-Large Jake Wilson and Willie Burnley Jr.; and perennial candidate William Tauro.
Mackey ran unsuccessfully against incumbent State Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven of the 27th Middlesex District in 2022. After suspending his campaign, at the time he told the Daily, “I’m sure I’ll run for office in Somerville again but certainly not anytime soon.”
Now, frustrated by what he deems a lack of action on behalf of the Ballantyne administration, Mackey is launching a campaign that promises to bring a “sense of urgency” to the city’s government.
“I’m running because I want to make decisions. I think we need to take action. We need to do things. We have so many challenges facing Somerville and the Commonwealth more broadly. We can’t afford to have leaders that do nothing or take half-measures,” Mackey said.
Still, Mackey declined to identify what he deemed to be specific failures of the Ballantyne administration.
“I am working on an entire page of our website in which we’ll talk about and outline all of the specific issues which I believe are failings of our current administration. … I’ll give some specifics which will shine a spotlight onto exactly why you have two city councilors as well as me running against our current mayor,” he said. “Overall, it’s the inability to make a decision which has stood out the most to me, and that’s the reason that I believe I’ll be the best candidate.”
To date, Mackey is the only major candidate to join the race who has not previously held citywide office, and he views his private sector experience as a unique asset for municipal governance.
“I’m not a city councilor. I don’t have that experience, and I don’t believe one needs that experience, but what one does need to have is the practical, pragmatic and rational approach to governing and the executive experience to make decisions,” he said.
While Mackey has yet to publish a full policy platform, he identified eradicating homelessness and tackling the housing affordability crisis as central to his aims for a term as mayor.
“I believe in a housing-first policy for addressing homelessness. … I want to be as aggressive as we can in ending homelessness in the city of Somerville, as well as working with our neighbors to help them eliminate homelessness as well,” he said.
Mackey further emphasized the importance of collaboration and compromise in developing municipal policy.
“I would hope to compromise where we can to get stuff done,” he said. “That includes housing, and that includes working with our neighbors in Medford, Arlington, Cambridge, Boston and coming up with collaborative strategies to address the housing crisis and the homelessness crisis.”
As a member of Somerville’s Ward Committee and Human Rights Commission, Mackey says he has become familiar with the workings of municipal government. Still, he characterizes himself as a proud outsider to Somerville’s political scene.
“I’ve always tried to be as honest, pragmatic, open and candid as I can, and I think that candor is what really would make me an outsider. I’m willing to speak truth to power and just be honest about all sorts of issues,” he said.
A Somerville resident of 15 years, shares Mackey’s sentiment that the issue of homelessness needs to be addressed.
“There have been a lot of problems with things going on at the library, homeless people in Davis Square, more crime and potholes,” she said.
She isn’t familiar with Mackey but is nonetheless happy to see competition in the upcoming race.
“I’d like a new mayor. I don’t think [Ballantyne] does a lot. I think she talks a lot but doesn’t do a lot for Somerville,” she said.
Zachary Yaro, a resident of Davis Square, is happy with some of Ballantyne’s work.
“I definitely do appreciate that the Ballantyne administration has been really supportive of things to do with street safety and transit initiatives because I know there’s a lot of pushback against traffic calming measures, micro-mobility, bike lanes and things like that,” Yaro said.
Altogether, Mackey feels optimistic about his campaign this time around.
“I’m excited about this race. I think … the city is at a crossroads. I think we can continue down the same path we’ve been on, and we can keep doing more of the same, or we can try something new. That’s what I hope to bring,” he said.
