davis_square | Introducing myself: Elizabeth Weinbloom, candidate for Ward 6 Alderman (Reply)

Hello Davis LJ! I'm Elizabeth, and I'm running for the Somerville Board of Aldermen in ward 6 (the greater Davis Sq area). I'm a tenant, an educator, a cyclist, and an artsy type -- you can find my complete bio below the jump. I intend to run an open-source campaign, publicly discussing issues of interest to the ward and Somerville generally. You can join the conversation on my campaign Facebook page and Twitter, but I'm also happy to chat here on LJ.

Please don't hesitate to ask any questions about me and my ambitions for Somerville, and I would love to hear about your priorities, concerns, and ideas. I've been lurking on this community for awhile now, by the way, and I really appreciate everyone's engagement with the various commercial vacancies and turnovers in the square - thank you for being an excellent resource! This is going to be an interesting race, with four candidates trying for the open Ward 6 seat; put Thursday, September 17 on your calendar for the primary.

To get the conversation started: what's your biggest priority for ward 6 right now?

Elizabeth has chosen Somerville as her home and community since 2009.

Her involvement in local politics grew out of a desire to ensure that households like hers can continue living in Somerville into the future. The many developments that make Somerville ever more desirable also make it ever more expensive; changes must be made to keep our neighborhoods livable for a diverse community of renters, students, immigrants, young families, retired people, and artists.

Elizabeth came to the area in 2003 to study at Harvard, having grown up in the New York suburbs. Her first apartment was in Union Square, and she continued renting in Union while completing her studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. At the start of 2014, she began making her home in a rented house on Chandler St with her wonderful roommates.

Elizabeth is a registered Democrat, but she would love the opportunity to choose a viable progressive third-party in federal elections. She is a feminist and strives to be an ally to people of color and the LGBTQ community. She intends to run an open-source campaign, focusing on public discussion of community priorities.

The arts community was Somerville's first draw for Elizabeth, and she is involved in the local arts scene as a creator, performer, and consumer. She has produced several large-scale public events in Somerville, including collaborating with the Somerville Arts Council to create the Ides of March street fair last spring and producing the Disco Ball at the Somerville Armory. Elizabeth is a core member of a Somerville-based living room theater troupe, as well as an amateur cellist, a blues and swing dancer, and an occasional playwright, and her household has hosted performances for Porchfest and throughout the year.

Elizabeth's current career is in education and she holds a master's degree in educational technology. Her work as an instructional designer – developing lesson plans, teaching guides, and online courses – requires Elizabeth to be a quick study, working with subject matter experts to gain a thorough understanding of previously-unfamiliar content; these skills will help Elizabeth serve Somerville as she can quickly learn about and digest new issues for action. Elizabeth's work has the added benefit of being flexible and remote, which will make her highly accessible as a resource for ward 6 residents.

Elizabeth walks, cycles, and rides the MBTA to get around. She is a Hubway member and thinks the bike-share network is a fantastic supplement to traditional public transportation, but Hubway's host communities must push the network into expanding into lower-income neighborhoods. Improving bike lanes and signage will be of particular importance in her advocacy for Ward 6, as well as making public spaces more accessible for people with mobility impairments.

Elizabeth holds a bachelor's degree in social anthropology, which she mainly employs through focused travel. Although her traveling will be curtailed by her commitment to the city of Somerville, her connections and experience will help her engage with other municipalities' approaches to common problems, pushing Somerville to be a leader among small cities. She also speaks tolerable Spanish.