Mark Niedergang endorses Katjana for mayor
Ward 5 City Councilor Mark Niedergang endorses Katjana Ballantyne for mayor of Somerville, citing her progressive values, proven experience, and inclusive leadership.
"The challenges of leading and managing the City of Somerville at this period in time are immense. There is so much change and development occurring. That is why I am supporting Katjana Ballantyne for Mayor: she is ready and able." -Ward 5 City Councilor, Mark Niedergang
"On affordable housing, Katjana led and managed the process to redevelop the decrepit Clarendon Hill (North Street) Public Housing Development. This will result not only in the replacement of those 200 public housing units but the construction of an additional 100 workforce housing units and 300 market-rate units. As part of this project, she helped secure state funds for important roadway improvements that will enhance safety and traffic flow on Powderhouse Boulevard and the rotary where it meets Alewife Brook Parkway."
-Ward 5 Councilor Mark Niedergang
"Katjana has been the foremost leader on environmental and climate change issues on the City Council, sponsoring key ordinances and zoning amendments. For example, she championed a zoning amendment to require LEED Platinum building efficiency requirements for large, new commercial development; she worked for three years with Green and Open Somerville and the Administration to develop the Native Planting Ordinance; she authored and sponsored a resolution supporting the Green New Deal that lays out a detailed roadmap for a Somerville Green New Deal"
-Ward 5 Councilor Mark Niedergang
"Another strength that Katjana would bring as Mayor is her broad range of professional experience. She worked in a large international business and in many small non-profit organizations. The small non-profit organizations that Katjana has worked for dealt with many issues that are important in Somerville–affordable housing, job training, climate change and environmental justice, violence prevention, youth-at-risk, and others. She was the Executive Director of a small non-profit. Small non-profits have to deal with major organizational challenges as well as the issues they work on — and without the large budget or staff that the Somerville city government has. This teaches a leader to be resourceful, to do more with less, to prioritize, and to get the most important things done."-Ward 5 Councilor Mark Niedergang
"Katjana’s family does not have a car. This is remarkable for a family of five, one of whom is her 90-year-old father. It demonstrates her personal commitment to safe streets and to changing the way that people get around town. She submitted excellent responses to the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition questionnaire, which also covers affordable housing, real estate development, and climate change issues" -Ward 5 Councilor Mark Niedergang
"In evaluating candidates, I seek out the views of community leaders in Somerville whose advocacy, hard work and values I respect and admire. The endorsements and testimonials on Katjana’s website are impressive. I know many of these people well and regard their opinions highly. There is also great racial and cultural diversity among her endorsers. I encourage you to take a look at these two pages on her website: testimonials and endorsements"-Ward 5 Councilor Mark Niedergang
