Cambridge Education Association Endorses Six Challengers — And No Incumbents

Six challengers seeking seats on the Cambridge School Committee received endorsements from the Cambridge Education Association on Wednesday — the latest indication that the union is fed up with the current district leadership.

Candidates who completed a questionnaire from the CEA and attended their forum last Wednesday were eligible for endorsement. The two incumbents who met those requirements — Elizabeth C.P. Hudson and David J. Weinstein — did not receive endorsements.

The CEA offered endorsements to candidates committed to transparency, fully funding education, including educator and caregiver voice in decisions, providing living wages to all staff, and creating a school choice policy based on racial and social justice.

Their endorsements included Luisa De Paula Santos, Caitlin E. Dube ’05, Jessica D. Goetz, Lilly Havstad, Jane S. Hirschi, and Arjun K. Jaikumar.

The CEA criticized incumbents for their work on the school choice policy, superintendent search, and educator pay.

“None of the incumbents have shown a commitment to including educator or caregiver voice in decision making. They haven’t done their job when it comes to school choice. They have opposed living wages for paras during contract negotiations,” CEA president Christopher Montero said. “When it came to all of our top issues, they've had a chance to do the right thing, and they haven't.”

Many parents blamed Cambridge’s school choice system — created to increase diversity in schools — for the closure of the Kennedy-Longfellow Elementary School at the end of last year. While the School Committee has not reformed the system since its closure, they have worked to increase paraprofessional pay — bumping it up by 20 percent in July 2024.

The lack of incumbents on the CEA’s endorsement list is not a surprise. The union published a statement in August urging Cambridge residents to vote all current School Committee members out of office.

“It is clear we need to elect new School Committee members on November 4,” the CEA wrote in an August statement calling for a halt to the superintendent search.

But Hudson said she is not worried about the lack of support — going so far as to say she was not seeking the CEA’s endorsement despite filling out their questionnaire and attending their forum.

“I'm never going to stand down from a question that the faculty ask,” Hudson said about her choice to attend the forum.

“I didn’t get their endorsement last time, and I don’t expect it this time,” she added.

Only one current School Committee member — Caroline M. Hunter — received a CEA endorsement in the last election cycle.

Weinstein did not respond to a request for comment on the CEA’s endorsements.

Endorsed challengers were generally not surprised by the CEA’s lack of incumbent endorsees and have positioned themselves as a needed change from the current committee.

“I think that there is a pretty widespread desire among educators and among voters for new leadership in the district,” Jaikumar said. “If I didn't think the district was in need of at least some new leadership, I would not have run, and neither would the other 12 challengers who have run this cycle.”

Candidates are running in one of the most crowded races in recent memory, with eighteen candidates vying for six seats. Endorsed candidates see the CEA’s support as recognition of their commitment to supporting educators in the district.

“When you have 18 candidates running for School Committee in a historic election, that signifies a desire for change,” Dube, a former Crimson magazine contributor, said. “I hope the voters see and value the endorsement of educators, and that that plays a vital role in who’s elected on November 4.”

— Staff writer Ann E. Gombiner can be reached at annie.gombiner@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Dionise Guerra-Carrillo can be reached at dionise.guerracarrillo@thecrimson.com.