Background

A vibrant local economy improves the quality of life for all residents and makes our city more attractive to tourists who bring revenue for further investment in our city.

Business owners today are facing an existential crisis. Some estimates suggest that 40% of our local businesses will fail to reopen following this crisis, and an additional 25% within the year. By November 2020, 37% of small businesses in Massachusetts had closed. For residents, this means a non-negligible loss of our Cantabrigian identity and the rich local character that makes this city ours. It’s easy to blame this tragic shift on the pandemic, but the truth is, it’s been going on much longer. Small-scale entrepreneurialism has been declining across the U.S. since the 1960s, a shift that also corresponds to rising wealth inequality. While the 1950s and 1960s saw over 150,000 new businesses created annually, this number was less than 20,000 in 2020. Given that small businesses employ nearly half of working Americans, it is an important tool both for employment and social equity as a route to upwards economic mobility for minorities whose loss we should not take lightly.

Building Resilient Local Economies

Cambridge is home to an estimated 900-1100 small businesses, many of whose struggles I have seen firsthand as Director of Cambridge Local First*. As City Councillor, I pledge to:

• Compile and publish a list of available economic resources for small business loans and grants.

• Publish clear and detailed information on the Cambridge website to help small business owners navigate available grant and loan application processes and apply for federal financial relief.

• Increase city contracts with local and independent businesses

• Reduce red tape for small businesses seeking different kinds of operating licenses and permits to make it cheaper and easier for small businesses to get up and running.

• Support the state-wide initiative to cap app-based restaurant meal delivery commissions and fees.

Addressing Disparities in Funding

Small business ownership is the primary vehicle for upward economic mobility for working Americans, especially for immigrant, minority, queer, and women business owners. However, these groups routinely face discrimination and are left severely underfunded. As a Councillor, I will:

• Form partnerships with local banks to offer small business loans and offer programs intended to improve access to credit for traditionally marginalized groups, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+ people, and women.

• Collect demographic data for financial institutions and work to increase the diversity of bank executives, investors and other roles that oversee capital.

• Establish City grant programs for entrepreneurs of color.

• Support calls for a statewide public bank.

To read more about my family’s own experiences, click here.

Supporting Workers

Cambridge must take action to center the needs of workers in our economic policy and strengthen worker protections. As a Councillor, you can count on me to fight for worker dignity, address the root causes of wealth inequality and support the right to collectively bargain. Some actions include:

• Developing support systems for creating new cooperatives and employee-owned companies.

• Expanding enforcement of workplace standards, including anonymous feedback from workers to mitigate the fear of retaliation.

• Securing hazard pay for essential and frontline workers in both the public and private sectors.

• Growing and diversifying our transportation infrastructure to accommodate the needs of essential workers.

• Prohibiting the City from contracting with companies with a history of worker safety violations and/or wage theft.

• Opposing any contracts that would replace union jobs with private contractors.

• Pushing back against right to work laws that disempower workers and jeopardize labor unions.

• Identifying avenues for affordable parking for workers who drive into Cambridge, at least for workers employed at businesses with 10 or fewer employees.

Youth Empowerment

Building a strong, resilient city begins with investing in our youth and ensuring all generations feel the benefits of economic empowerment. Explicitly investing in our city’s youth is a pathway to greater community safety, lowering wealth inequality and boosting a more equitable economic system. As a Councillor, I will put a concerted focus on expanding year round youth employment opportunities with the City. Additionally, I will work to grow apprenticeships and vocational training opportunities for students entering the workforce after high school.

*To learn more about my work in this area for CLF, check out our website.