Charles Franklin

Charles J. Franklin is placing digital equity, fair housing, and climate change preparedness at the heart of his campaign for Cambridge City Council.

An MIT graduate, software engineer in Kendall Square, and resident of Inman Square, Franklin has studied, worked, and lived in Cambridge for eight years.

According to his campaign website, Franklin’s candidacy reflects his desire to improve the city that he loves.

“Many of us want the same thing - a thriving and diverse community. I want to help bridge our gaps so we can get there together,” the website reads.

Franklin did not agree to be interviewed for this article.

Franklin said in his candidate video with Cambridge Community Television that this means making digital equity — an issue he has advocated for as a founding member of Upgrade Cambridge, a grassroots organization for municipal broadband — as one of the priority issues of his campaign.

“I first got involved with Cambridge politics with my advocacy for municipal broadband. Internet is essential for both educational and financial success,” Franklin said in the video. “Yet, many of our poor, elderly, and minorities do not have access to internet or have low quality that does not suit their needs.”

“That’s why I helped found Upgrade Cambridge. We are a group that tries and advocates to close the digital divide in Cambridge,” he added.

Franklin’s campaign site said he plans to help increase internet access by bringing municipal broadband to constituents’ homes and providing quality service regardless of ability to pay.

In the same CCTV video, Franklin also took a strong stance on housing equity.

“People who have lived in their neighborhoods their entire lives are now being priced out. We have the ability and the financial stability to solve many of these problems,” he said in his campaign video.

Franklin wrote on his campaign website that he plans to address affordability concerns by allowing for the conversion of single family homes to multi-unit buildings, requiring 20 percent inclusionary housing for buildings with five or more units, and using Cambridge-specific metrics to determine income thresholds.

He also recognized the role that zoning laws have in affordability in his CCTV statement.

“We can change our zoning laws to be more sensible as well as increase affordability directly by using our funds to build on the city’s land, which they can own and operate,” he said in the video video.

Franklin has also pointed to climate change preparedness as one of the hallmarks of his campaign.

On his website, Franklin wrote about policy ideas such as switching to 100 percent renewable energy, providing more electric vehicle charging stations, requiring new commercial buildings to be solar and green-roof ready, and designing climate infrastructure according to current and future floodplains in Cambridge.