Mayor Ballantyne has decidedly resisted regional trends of cuts and layoffs. Instead, over the three years of her administration, she’s increased the school budget by 27 percent. In the fiscal year 2025 budget, she added over 35 net full-time equivalent positions to Somerville Public Schools. For our mayor, investing in youth doesn’t stop at the classroom. Her administration has invested heavily in expanded after-school programs and new youth opportunities, and she started a school year expansion of the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program.

Mayor Katjana's leadership on infrastructure investments is transforming Somerville into a modern, sustainable, and equitable city. By prioritizing key areas such as public safety, transportation, water and sewer infrastructure, schools, and open space, she is laying the foundation for a thriving community for generations to come. And thanks to her strong fiscal management, she has earned Somerville’s first S&P Global, triple A bond rating so Somerville can afford to keep fixing what’s broken.

In Mayor Katjana’s eight years as a councilor and as the twice-elected president of the city council, Katjana has sponsored, supported and voted for many initiatives to make housing and Somerville more affordable such as; The Office of Housing Stability, Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) requiring 20% affordable units in new housing development, The 2000 Homes Program, The Ordinance for Condo Conversion, The Affordable Housing Overlay District Zoning Amendment, The Short-Term Rental Ordinance, The Community Land Trust, The Fair Housing Commission, On-Campus Housing for students, and more.

To help Residents to have access to good, local jobs, Mayor Katjana has,
Created pay equity standards for all employees union and non-union employees
Launched a Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot to aid our lowest-income residents – the first of its kind in Somerville.
Committed more than $5 million in pandemic relief to local businesses
Committed $500,000 in grant support for the nonprofit Arts at the Armory
Created development carve outs of up to 550,000 square feet of new arts space to propel our vibrant arts community. We will work with our arts community to seize these opportunities
Created and expanded workforce training, through our schools’ adult learning center, SCALE, and our City Division of SomerPromise
Expand job training for all ages, including launching “Let’s Get Workin’: a partnership between DPW and the High School’s Center for Career and Technical Education to offer paid, hands-on job training in professions like HVAC, plumbing, and carpentry
Launched new efforts to market businesses and skill-building support training.
We hired our first ever Digital Bridge Coordinator to build internet and device access as well as digital literacy for our most vulnerable neighborhoods. Digital literacy helps residents to find good jobs