Marc on the Issues

ANIMAL WELFARE

I have always loved animals, and since I've been on the City Council, I've been an advocate for animal rights and welfare, taking on the pet shop lobby and bad breeders and working for more parks for our city's dogs. After the passing of our dog, Bunker, last year, this past June we decided that we were ready to open our hearts and home again, and welcomed Henry to our family. Henry is a rescue from Virginia, who has special needs and was abandoned when his previous owner went to jail. My work and advocacy for animals earned me the honor of being named the MSPCA’s 2016 Local Legislator of the Year. This year, Mass Voter’s For Animals endorsed me as their #1 choice for Cambridge City Council and stated, “Marc McGovern is one of the most dedicated -- if not the most dedicated -- elected official in the state when it comes to animal protection. Time after time, he has shown his commitment to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves. He has made it a point to understand animal protection issues completely and fight for the strongest measures to pass. His actions have also proven to be a role model to other lawmakers across the state.”

Housing

Greater Boston, and Cambridge in particular, is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country for almost a decade. That has led to a regional housing crisis, with rapidly rising cost of housing, more evictions, and increased displacement. Currently, there are close to 7,000 people who live or work in Cambridge on the Cambridge Housing Authority affordable housing waitlist.

Housing is essential. When a person has stable housing, their physical health, mental health, educational, and employment outcomes are better. When you have a crisis, you deal with that crisis boldly and not by nibbling around the edges. People need and deserve housing now.

Since joining the Council 10 years ago, housing and affordable housing in particular, has been my number one issue. I’m proud of my record, ranging from leading on increasing the Inclusionary Zoning percentage to 20% (the highest in the state), to increasing Incentive Zoning that increased the financial contribution commercial developers must pay to the Affordable Housing Trust from just over $4.50 per square foot, to $33 per square foot, generating millions of additional dollars that has, and will continue to be, put towards the creation and preservation of affordable housing.

In October 2020, the City Council passed the Affordable Housing Overlay. I am proud of being the lead sponsor. This ordinance gives height, density and permitting advantages to those who develop 100% affordable housing. In the three short years since this has passed, there are currently over 600 units of 100% affordable housing in some stage of development. These units are going to change people’s lives for decades to come. The AHO is now being modeled in other cities around the country.

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

When people think of Cambridge, they tend to think about our great universities, our thriving biotech industry, and progressive politics. It would be easy for people to think that everyone in Cambridge is thriving. Sadly, that is not the case. A city-commissioned study in 2014 showed that despite increased wealth in Cambridge, our poverty rate is well above the State average. Many people in our community are struggling to pay their rent, pay their bills, and put food on their tables. 

I was proud to join Mayor Siddiqui and Vice-Mayor Mallon on the creation of the Cambridge RISE program, a pilot program that is granting $500 per month for 18 months to families 250% below the federal poverty line. This program has allowed caregivers to go back to school, to get caught up on their bills, to stabilize their housing, and provided a little breathing space for families that are financially burdened.

Education

As a graduate of the Cambridge Public Schools, a parent of 2 current students and 2 graduates of CPS, and a 4 term Cambridge School Committee member, I have a deep knowledge of the CPS system and am deeply committed to public education. Over my time on the Council, I’ve been able to take concrete steps to improve CPS, through providing free breakfast for all CPS students, increasing CPS funding for staff positions that allow our students to succeed, and starting a college savings program so all CPS students have the resources to go on to higher and further education.

This past term, I served on the Mayor’s Early Education Task Force that developed a plan to bring, free, universal pre-kindergarten to every 4 year old in Cambridge. We know that children who receive high quality, early childhood education, do better in school. This new initiative, starting with a budget of $24 million dollars, will change children’s lives. I am so excited to have this begin in September 2024, and I look forward to continuing to work on this issue and expand this program to even earlier ages in the near future.

This term I also worked to address our long after school waiting list. Quality after school is essential for children and families. Children benefit from being in nurturing, enriching environments, and parents need to be able to work and know their children are being well cared for. My leadership led to an increase of over 200 after-school slots to be available in September 2023, and called on the Department of Human Services to develop a plan to expand after-school opportunities to every child who wants them.

ENVIRONMENT

As a father, I am terrified at the world my children will inherit. Over the past three terms I have worked to take action on our environment, working with my colleagues and environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and Mothers’ Out Front on issues, including banning single-use plastic bags, identifying gas leaks, moving Cambridge toward 100% renewable energy, creating a solar incentive program and expanding charging stations for electric vehicles. To cut down further on emissions in our city, we need to take more action on Smart Meters, public transit investment, and converting the city’s fleet to electric vehicles. The biggest action we need to tackle is clear — requiring new buildings to be more sustainable and look at how we retrofit and renovate current buildings — to start cutting down on the 80% of city emissions that come from our labs.

HOMELESSNESS

Despite a great deal of wealth in Cambridge, our homeless population continues to grow. I have spent much of my time on the Council working to combat this epidemic. We know that the best way to resolve homelessness is to build more homes, but that is complicated and takes time. Sadly, our homeless don’t have time. This is why I created the Metro Boston Homeless Summit, a series of meetings held between the cities of Cambridge, Boston, Somerville, Medford and Malden to address homelessness on a regional basis.

We need short and long term goals. While we address our need for more housing, there are people cold tonight. People hungry tonight. People in need tonight. That is why I opened the city’s first warming center for the homeless, providing shelter to over 500 individuals during the winter months. It’s why, for the past 5 years, I have launched the Winter Warmth Drive, raising close to $100,000 to purchase blankets, socks and sleeping bags each year for our homeless friends and neighbors. One major obstacle for our homeless to access housing programs, is a lack of official documentation. So this year, I took concrete action, and started a program that provides funding and assistance for Cambridge’s homeless to obtain the documentation they need to access housing. 

If we are going to move our homeless off the streets then we need a coordinated and shared effort. In addition to housing, Cambridge needs to take more action to help those struggling with substance use disorder by opening inpatient treatment beds and overdose prevention centers.

Safe STREET INFRASTRUCTURE

The streets of Cambridge were not built for the volume and multiple modes of transportation we see today. Simply put, our streets are not safe enough for drivers, bicyclists or pedestrians. I was the lead sponsor on the Cycling Safety Ordinance, an ordinance that requires our city to implement the Bike Safety Network by 2027. I know this has been controversial, but we must make our streets safer for all users, including cyclists.