To the editor:

As someone across from Mass + Main who’s benefited from Cambridge’s commitment to its residents, I wanted to share my thoughts following an Oct. 7 debate at MIT of its alumni running for City Council – Candidate Mariko Davidson, Councilor Nadeem Mazen, and Councilor Leland Cheung.

Mariko Davidson struck me as intelligent and genuine. She lacks a practical understanding of the complexity of the issues she champions, but I do not doubt she could quickly learn on the job. However, if I have learned one thing in life, it is that a person’s judgement is revealed by the company they keep. Joining Mazen’s slate suggests that either she bought into Mazen’s rhetoric or willingly allowed herself to be used to transfer votes to Mazen. Davidson needs to come into her own if she wants to help lead our city.

Mazen’s claims compared to his record clearly indicate he’s not ready. He stands for transparency, yet his campaign finance reports are woefully incomplete, resulting in multiple reprimands from the State Office of Campaign and Political Finance. He criticizes his colleagues over their donations, yet he’s raised multiples more than any other from out of state.

Another example: Mazen recently proposed to eliminate the Residential Exemption tax credit, which would add a considerable tax burden to our house-rich / low-income residents. He later added a caveat that residents could lower their taxes by proving their need. Despite tough talk on how hard it is to for regular citizens to navigate government, Mazen never considers the undue burden his proposal would put on those who are already stretched thin.

Mazen radically stated that supply and demand don’t apply to the Cambridge housing market, despite every economic and housing expert agreeing that Cambridge’s gentrification results from supply not meeting demand. How does he think Cambridge can have more affordable housing, if he’s unwilling to build more housing?

Cambridge deserves better. If you were thinking of voting Mazen, vote Mariko instead.

— Kolby Fenner, Mass. Ave.