To say it's been a whirlwind of a month since my last newsletter would be a gross understatement! But I don't have to tell you all that. I know, from your messages and calls, how anxious and worried we all are about the impact of the actions of the federal administration on our city and residents. 

Somerville leaders also pushed back, saying that the cut to funding would not impact the city's values.

"Our message today is simple, Somerville is a welcoming city like Chelsea. We will not be intimidated or coerced into policies that betray the safety, dignity, and trust of our residents," Somerville City Council member Judy Pineda Neufeld said.

“Somerville has proudly upheld our identity as a sanctuary city for nearly four decades, reaffirming our commitment in 2016 and 2019, and again just this year. The federal government’s attempts to coerce us into betraying our immigrant neighbors are unconstitutional, morally unacceptable and a danger to our full community,” said Judy Pineda Neufeld, Somerville City Council President.

Winter is here and so is the start of another City Council session!  Honored to share that I have been elected and sworn in as the new City Council President for this year. And, we made history at the Somerville Midterm Ceremonies, as it's the first time in our city's history that the Council President, School Committee Chair, and Mayor are all women!

Somerville City Council President Judy Pineda Neufeld, who coauthored a resolution passed by her colleagues late last year reaffirming the city’s sanctuary status, said the directive wouldn’t change that commitment.

“I’m lucky to sit on a council where we all agree that we want to protect our immigrant families and neighbors from what’s coming,” Neufeld said.

History was made Monday in Somerville after votes by the City Council and School Committee affirmed new leadership, installing three women as the city’s top leaders for the first time.

Ilana Krepchin of Ward 2 was sworn in as chair of the committee; Judy Pineda Neufeld of Ward 7 was sworn in as president of the council, a role previously held by member Ben Ewen-Campen.

City Council President, Judy Pineda Neufeld delivers her address at the 2025 Midterm Ceremonies on January 6, 2025.

This resolution was specifically meant to support the policies outlined in the 2019 Somerville Welcoming Community Ordinance, which, according to City Councilor and resolution sponsor Judy Pineda Neufeld, is one of the strongest policies of its kind in the state.

The resolution was brought forth by Councilor-At-Large Wilfred Mbah and Ward 7 Councilor Judy Pineda Neufeld, and directs city departments to reject any federal funds that have conditions that could be used to deport residents.

City Councilor Judy Pineda Neufeld said earlier this month that the city had been flooded with concerned calls since the election.

"We are not going to turn our back on our immigrant neighbors and families and we are going to do everything we can," she said.

At that meeting the council approved a mayoral request for $68,228 more to go to the University of Massachusetts at Boston to administer the pilot program and research its impact. With the 15-month extension, the total to the school will now be $484,132, according to a draft copy of the contact.

The extension will help “understand what it would take to expand the program,” council vice president Judy Pineda Neufeld said in a call Monday.

Fall is in the air and there are lots and lots of important updates and upcoming meetings that affect Ward 7 coming up this month. Read on for more and be sure to mark your calendar for our next Ward 7 Joint Office Hours on October 19th. Details below. 

As always, there is no shortage of updates and important news to share with you about Ward 7 and all across the city. Please be sure to save the date for our next Ward 7 Community Meeting on September 24th at the West Somerville Neighborhood School cafeteria. I will be there, along with the Mayor and key city staff where you'll get to hear updates and ask questions, and most importantly, meet your neighbors!

There was a time city councilor Judy Pineda Neufeld could roll out her picnic blanket and take her toddler to her closest Somerville park relatively worry free. Now Neufeld joins her Ward 7 constituents in expressing concern around open drug use and harassment seen in Davis Square and Seven Hills Park.

Another June newsletter! There is a lot going on both in Ward 7 and across the city that I didn't want to delay in sending some updates to you all. Please read on for more!

Welcome to June... which means it's budget season on the City Council! Thanks to all who have already shared their ideas and input with me that helped to shape my budget priorities that I submitted back in March. The Mayor has now presented her budget (more on that below) and the next few weeks are filled with department budget hearings where we get to ask questions of city staff before our final cut night and vote on the budget.

Spring is here (although you wouldn't know it if you stepped outside this week!). I'm so looking forward to some more sunshine and warmer weather soon.

A huge thanks to those who joined us for our joint Ward 7 office hours recently at Yego Coffee. They are celebrating one year of being open and we were so glad to be able to host office hours there to honor one of the newest ward 7 businesses to open.

There is much going on here in Ward 7 and across the city so read on for some important updates and upcoming events and opportunities to get involved. As always, if there are questions you have about issues in our community, please do reach out. 

City Councilor Judy Pineda Neufeld, whose ward includes Teele Square, said the property is one of the topics she gets asked about the most.

It has been an incredible honor to serve the people of Somerville’s Ward 7, and I am very proud of all I have accomplished thus far in my first term.