Denise Simmons

Cambridge City Councilor and former mayor E. Denise Simmons is tackling affordable housing, civic unity, worker support, public safety, and education in her campaign for a tenth term on the council.

Simmons has spent the past several decades in Cambridge government, serving two terms as mayor and nine as a councilor. She currently serves as the chair of the Civic Unity Committee and co-chair of the Housing Committee. Earlier this fall, she received an approval rating of 40.7 percent among Cambridge residents, second only to Mayor Marc C. McGovern, according to an Emerson College poll.

A lifelong resident of Cambridge, Simmons has witnessed the issue of affordable housing many of her constituents struggle with, according to a statement to Cambridge Civic.

“I have learned many important things about this process just by virtue of doing the work so often,” Simmons wrote.

Simmons did not agree to be interviewed for this article.

In April 2018, Simmons co-sponsored a policy order that budgeted $100 million for affordable housing over the next five years. She also developed an Affordable Housing Search Guide and has led efforts to pass a proposed 100 percent affordable housing overlay. The overlay, which has proved controversial among candidates in the 2019 municipal election, would allow developers to more easily acquire permission to build affordable housing in Cambridge.

After a city council hearing in July 2019, Simmons told The Crimson that she was concerned people might try to “trivialize” the issue of affordable housing in Cambridge.

“This is where people are going to live, where they are going to raise their children, where they're going to make their memories. It's their home,” Simmons said at the time.

Simmons — who was the nation’s first African American, openly lesbian mayor and Massachusetts’ first African American female mayor — wrote to Cambridge Civic that she prioritizes fairness and diversity, and hopes to push for more inclusion in city employment going forward.

“Cambridge prides itself in being a beacon of tolerance and a community that draws strength from its great diversity,” Simmons wrote to Cambridge Civic. “The City, as an employer, must also adhere to those ideals, and I certainly hope to be leading these most important discussions and meetings in the coming year.”

Simmons, who owns Cambridgeport Insurance Agency, also wrote to Cambridge Civic that she is dedicated to fostering a local economy through supporting local business owners and employers. She has long backed “green collar” jobs, those that are well-paying and environmentally sustainable.

Simmons wrote to Cambridge Civic that one of her “proudest achievements” over her career in city government has been bridging her commitment to growing local businesses and her care for future generations. During her first term as mayor, she helped create the Girls Only Leadership Development Program, which connects eighth grade girls from across Cambridge with mentors in various careers including business and politics to discuss college readiness and jobs.

“I care very much about what kind of city we’ll be leaving to our grandchildren, and to our grandchildren's children,” Simmons wrote.