Photo:Candidates endorsed by Our Revolution Somerville. From left: Payton Corbett (candidate for mayor), Ben Ewen-Campen (candidate for Ward 3 Alderman), JT Scott (candidate for Ward 2 Alderman), Will Mbah (candidate for Alderman-at-Large), Mary Jo Rossetti (candidate for Alderman-At-Large), Bill White (candidate for Alderman-At-Large). Not pictured: Matt McLaughlin (candidate for Ward 1 Alderman), Jesse Clingan (candidate for Ward 4 Alderman), Mark Niedergang (candidate for Ward 5 Alderman), Lance Davis (candidate for Ward 6 Alderman). 

FIRST CHURCH SOMERVILLE UCC– On July 30th, 75 members of Our Revolution Somerville (ORS) voted to endorse a slate of candidates running for office in Somerville. Twenty-three candidates for local office, from the mayor’s seat to school committee, sought endorsement from ORS. Both candidates for Ward 3 Alderman – Bob McWatters and Ben Ewen-Campen – applied for endorsement. Ben Ewen-Campen received the endorsement from ORS along with 9 other candidates running for local office. 

Ben Ewen-Campen addressed ORS members at the meeting, outlining his vision for promoting progressive politics locally in Somerville. ORS is a local chapter of Our Revolution, a national organization founded in 2016 in the wake of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign. ORS members will promote candidates elected to the ORS slate and will hold door knocking campaigns throughout Somerville from now until the election. 

Candidates seeking endorsement provided responses to 36 questions posed by ORS on topics such as campaign finance reform, regulations for real estate development, and whether candidates would support allowing non-citizens to vote in municipal elections. Six of the 23 applicants had indicated on their applications that they would accept campaign contributions from for-profit developers and developers’ close associates. Completed questionnaires from all candidates are publicly available on the ORS website, ourrevolutionsomerville.com . 

Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. You can learn more about Ben Ewen-Campen and his campaign by visiting https://www.benforward3.com .