Somerville — Catia Sharp, a candidate for the seat to be vacated by Representative Denise Provost, today filed a formal objection with the Ballot Law Commission requesting an inquiry into Erika Uyterhoeven’s eligibility to appear on the ballot in the 27th Middlesex district in the September 1st primary.

”Multiple residents of the district brought up concerns that Ms. Uyterhoeven registered to vote in Somerville months after she would have needed to be a resident to be eligible for this seat. The timing of this move raises questions that can only be resolved by the state’s Ballot Law Commission,” said Catia Sharp. “I felt I owed it to those I hope to represent to raise the issue. The people of Somerville deserve transparency.”

“The State Constitution is clear: it requires candidates for State Representative to live in the district for one full year prior to the date of the election. In the last year, it appears Uyterhoeven voted in Cambridge, not Somerville, in the November 2019 municipal elections, and registered to vote in Somerville on January 12, 2020, the same day that outgoing State Representative Denise Provost publicly announced her retirement,” said Kate Cook, an election lawyer who has reviewed the inquiry.

In March 2020, Uyterhoeven, 33, purchased a two-family home in the Union Square neighborhood for $980,000, but has not updated her campaign filing or voter registration to this address.

Sharp, age 30, moved to Somerville seven years ago. “As a renter struggling to pay down my student loan debt, I understand the problems of being able to afford to stay in Somerville and I have made that my priority. The way one views this city’s most pressing challenges is through the lens of lived experience, and this makes a big difference on Beacon Hill, where most people don’t have that experience. I spent many sleepless nights grappling with what’s right for this community; this is not a decision that I have taken lightly. I am running to say that truth matters, the people of our community matter, and personal ambition doesn’t.”

Democrat Catia Sharp knows firsthand how our broken social safety net and a lack of access to opportunity leaves people unhoused, criminalized, and institutionalized. She wants to be a State Representative who can advocate for all the people in the 27th Middlesex, not only the privileged few. Catia Sharp is an idealist and reformer with a career of experience in government. Catia’s background in state budgeting, health care reform, criminal justice reform, and public management makes her uniquely qualified to meet the challenges our community is facing, and to carry on the legacy of Somerville’s progressive champion Representative Provost.