Cambridge Super PACs Throw Their Weight Behind Council Candidates, Leaving Incumbent Vulnerable

Updated September 9, 2025, at 3:23 a.m.

Two major Cambridge super PACs threw their support behind slates of candidates on Thursday, leaving incumbent Patricia M. “Patty” Nolan ’80 vulnerable in the upcoming November election.

A pair of advocacy groups — the Cambridge Citizens Coalition, founded in response to the city’s rapid development, and Cambridge Bicycle Safety — endorsed a slate of candidates for Cambridge City Council and School Committee, representing a significant boost for both incumbents and challengers.

The two super PACs associated with the organizations spent more than $110,000 in the last election cycle — using the funds to help candidates advertise via yard signs, canvassing, and digital campaigns. Eight of the nine current councilors were endorsed by one of the two groups.

Last year, the CCC endorsed Nolan, Paul F. Toner, Ayesha M. Wilson, and Catherine “Cathie” Zusy. But this year, the CCC only endorsed Zusy and Wilson, depriving Nolan of resources and the institutional backing of a powerful political player.

Nolan said that she was “disappointed” and “surprised” that she was not offered an interview by the CCC.

“I am very much at risk,” Nolan said, referring to her reelection chances without the CCC’s endorsement.

Suzanne P. Blier, president of the CCC and a Harvard professor, said the CCC decided to not endorse Nolan because of her February 10 vote to allow multifamily zoning citywide.

CBS and the CCC’s endorsements are closely tied to access to super PAC backing. While the CCC, a nonprofit organization, makes candidate endorsements, the CCC super PAC uses its funds to support the endorsed candidates through political consulting and promotion, and it lists the nonprofit’s endorsees on its website. The CBS super PAC likewise uses its funds to support CBS’s endorsees.

The CCC opposed legislation that abolished single-family zoning in Cambridge. Blier wrote in an email that the CCC “has long supported” multifamily zoning, but was concerned about details of the legislation relating to design and the environment.

“We had made it very clear to councilors that we had endorsed that the upzoning was an absolutely critical one for us,” Blier said. “That played an important role in our decision, which was an incredibly difficult one.”

But the CCC did endorse incumbent Ayesha M. Wilson, who also voted yes on the same proposal.

“She’s always been incredibly responsive,” Blier said of Wilson. “She’s always been very thoughtful and taken some of these issues into account.”

Robert Winters, a civic blogger with more than three decades of experience in Cambridge leadership, was also not endorsed by the CCC — despite being endorsed last election cycle. He faced criticism for reposting and liking Islamophobic and transphobic tweets during his 2023 run. Winters said he was not interested in the CCC’s endorsement and prioritized his “independence” over the credential.

“Being associated with any of these endorsing organizations ties my hands and restricts my ability to comment on the pros and cons of these organizations,” he wrote in an email to The Crimson.

The CCC also endorsed Elizabeth Bisio, John Hanratty, Peter Hsu, Zion Sherin, Louise Venden, and incumbent Catherine “Cathie” Zusy for the Council.

The CCC also specified their School Committee endorsements, incumbents Richard Harding Jr. and Elizabeth C.P. Hudson — along with challengers Jane S. Hirschi and Jia-Jing Lee.

They stated their endorsements will ensure “scholarly excellence, accountability, and transparency, as well as ongoing support for our students teachers.”

“I can absolutely sign on to that, and I’m happy to sign on to that. I’m not signed on to any other part of their platform,” Hirschi said.

Cambridge Bicycle Safety split their endorsements into two tiers, based on surveys completed by the candidates. Five candidates, including Nolan, Zusy, Hsu, LaQueen A. Battle, and Stanislav Rivkin, were categorized as “Bike Supporters.”

Bike supporters include candidates who support the completion of the bike network, the Cycling Safety Ordinance Network, by November 2026.

For the first time, CBS endorsed Zusy for her commitment to completing the CSO network on schedule, even though they “don’t see eye to eye with every single action that Cathie Zusy has taken.”

CBS went on to do a qualitative review of the candidates answers and endorsed seven candidates — Burhan Azeem, Marc C. McGovern, Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, Sumbul Siddiqui, Ayah Al-Zubi ’23, Dana R. Bullister, and Ned S. Melanson — as “Bike Champions.”

Bike Champions also pledged to complete the CSO network by November 2026 but also “responses to other transportation-related topics in CBS’s questionnaire.” CBS specified incumbents endorsed as Bike Champions “had a perfect voting record on bike safety.”

Despite completing the survey, neither Timothy R. Flaherty or Zion Sherin were endorsed by Cambridge Bike Safety. Flaherty indicated that he would not accept an endorsement if offered, and his responses — expressing hesitance about the installation of CSO network bike lanes and supporting “strategic use of police details” rather than a citywide traffic circulation plan — clashed with many of the group’s priorities.

Bullister, who supports completing the CSO on schedule but identified concerns with the quality of materials the city has used, said failing to fix the lack of bike safety “would be an abject failure on the part of our city.”

“This endorsement signifies that I do stand with Cambridge Bike Safety to ensure that we never have to hear about another very preventable death in our community,” she added.

Cambridge Bike Safety also released the candidates’ survey responses, shedding more light on their stances on developing pedestrian infrastructure and environmental protections.

“I just really encourage people to go and read those responses if they have a few minutes, because they really give you good insight into what people are thinking and where they stand on some really specific issues,” Melanson said.

Correction: September 9, 2025

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Cambridge Citizens Coalition super PAC endorsed candidates in the City Council race last Thursday. In fact, the nonprofit wing of the Cambridge Citizens Coalition — which is independent — made the endorsements, though the CCC super PAC supports the nonprofit’s endorsees.

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

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