Samuel Gebru
2017 Candidate for Cambridge City Council

Home address:
812 Memorial Dr. #614A
Cambridge, MA 02139

Contact information:
Tel: 617-500-7456
Email: smg@gebruforcambridge.com (Samuel)
action@gebruforcambridge.com (campaign)
website: https://gebruforcambridge.com
Twitter: @GebruForCambMA
Facebook: facebook.com/GebruForCambMA
Social Media Join the conversation at #InclusiveCambridge and #TeamGebru

Mailing Address:
Gebru for Cambridge
P.O. 392011, Cambridge, MA 02139

Campaign HQ
Phone: 857-998-4034
Address: 485 Massachusetts Avenue, 3rd Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139
Buzzer: 3003
Hours: Mon-Fri, 10am-8pm; Sat, 10am-7pm; Sun, 12-7pm

Send contributions to:
Committee To Elect Samuel Gebru
P.O. Box 392011
Cambridge, MA 02139
Or
Donate online at: https://gebruforcambridge.com/donate

Background:
Samuel M. Gebru is an Ethiopian American social entrepreneur, community organizer, and consultant. He is a candidate for Cambridge City Council in the November 7, 2017 election. A proud resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Samuel has demonstrated broad passion for and leadership in community organizing, policy work, and advocacy on a range of issues.

Samuel began his career in public service as a 13-year-old committed to maternal health issues in his native Ethiopia. He raised funds for women suffering from obstetric fistula, a devastating childbirth injury common in developing countries. His efforts led to 11 women undergoing fistula repair surgeries at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

While at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS), Samuel launched Youth View Cambridge, the student-run television news magazine. His student leadership included spearheading the successful multicultural student campaign to recognize a Muslim holiday on the Cambridge Public Schools District’s official calendar. He has worked on municipal and state election campaigns, and served as a legislative intern to Massachusetts State Senator Steven A. Tolman.

Samuel serves as founder and managing director of Black Lion Strategies, a consulting practice that works to strengthen U.S.-Ethiopia relations, and as executive producer of Boston Ethiopia Week, a new annual celebration of Ethiopia and Ethiopian Americans in the Boston area. He is frequently invited for local and international media appearances and speaking engagements on issues including the African immigrant community in Massachusetts, Ethiopian affairs, and U.S.-Ethiopia policy.

Samuel founded and led the Ethiopian Global Initiative from 2006-2016. Based in the U.S., the nonprofit convened change makers in Ethiopia and abroad. The Initiative’s mission was to serve as a catalyst and connector, working to create an environment where passionate and innovative young leaders could discuss and seek solutions to Ethiopia’s most pressing challenges.

Samuel serves on the Board of Directors of the Cambridge Community Center, a multi-service organization and frontline resource for children, youth, and families. Committed to supporting youth leadership, he launched the annual Samuel M. Gebru Leadership Award at CRLS, recognizing a graduating senior for broad experience in and passion for public service. He was previously board secretary of the CRLS Alumni Association and a board member of Africans in Boston, where he advocated on behalf of African immigrants in Massachusetts. Samuel served on the Artist Selection Committee for Cambridge’s Prince Hall Memorial, honoring Prince Hall, the noted African American scholar, abolitionist, and founder of Black Freemasonry.

Samuel was previously appointed to serve as the first youth on the Executive Committee of the Cambridge Family Policy Council, an intergovernmental and multi-sector city board chaired by the Mayor that recommends policies on children, youth, and families to the City Council. He helped develop the Council’s strategic plan, served on its Youth Involvement Subcommittee, and participated in three delegations representing the city at conferences of the National League of Cities. He was part of the Youth Involvement Subcommittee’s widely endorsed campaign to lower the voting age in Cambridge’s municipal elections to 17. Although the effort failed in the Massachusetts Legislature, Samuel remains a consistent advocate for youth leadership and civic participation.

In late 2016, driven by his commitment to ensuring that all of Cambridge's students become productive members of society, Samuel was a member of the transition team for newly hired Superintendent of Schools Kenneth A. Salim, where he served as a voice for recent CRLS alumni. In January 2017, Samuel founded the Black Caucus of the Young Democrats of Massachusetts, the state chapter of the Young Democrats of America, to ensure that Black millennials have an opportunity to meaningfully participate in the Democratic Party.

Samuel was born in Sudan to Ethiopian parents and raised in Cambridge since moving with his mother in 1995 at age three. He is Ethiopian Orthodox Christian and multilingual. In his spare time, Samuel enjoys reading and writing, traveling, and exploring new cuisines.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse
The 2017 Cambridge Needs Assessment identified mental health--in particular Behavioral health and substance Abuse--as one of the city’s top priorities, and the number one health priority, requiring comprehensive and immediate action. In this respect, many of our residents’ basic needs are not being met in this respect. There is a critical need for local policy to address mental health and substance abuse terms of overall public health and quality of life while prioritizing the needs of our most vulnerable and underserved communities. Even more urgently, something needs to be done to stem the increasing tide of deaths from the opioid epidemic, a national crisis that has hit New England communities hard. Our city deserves a holistic approach to these issues, focusing on education, prevention, treatment, and harm reduction.

As your City Councillor, I will:

• Direct tax revenues from recreational and medicinal marijuana to support existing outreach and prevention efforts.
  Massachusetts residents have spoken, and recreational and medicinal marijuana use is now legal within the commonwealth. It is now up to cities to decide what to do with income from the legal marijuana economy. I will vote to direct tax revenues from medical and recreational marijuana to increase funding to the Cambridge Prevention Coalition’s Opioid Prevention and Education Network (OPEN), and reach out to other regional members of OPEN to do the same. I will vote to allocate funds to expand the Reality Check program to educate youth on the dangers of prescription opioid and benzodiazepine abuse as well as alcohol and marijuana abuse, and to educate parents on how to properly secure their prescription medications. Additionally, I will push to expand the CPC to include members from the varying communities of people who use drugs (PWUD). It is critical that the recovery and harm-reduction communities work with PWUD so that their perspectives are heard and understood and they can be partners in their own treatment and recovery.
• Expand access to naloxone for the public and first responders.
  I am encouraged by the news that Cambridge Police officers have recently been equipped with naloxone (trade name Narcan), a life-saving medication the timely use of which can prevent and reverse opioid overdose. CPD officers have already saved multiple lives thanks to this crucial new tool. Increased deployment of Narcan has been credited with our state’s 5% decline in deaths from opioid overdose in the first half of this year. With the increasing prevalence of synthetic opioids like fentanil and carfentanil, more doses of Narcan are needed per overdose, and the window in which they must be administered is shrinking. CPD officers currently carry Narcan in their vehicles, and only one or two doses. Lockboxes contained Narcan have been suggested, but they take time to open, time that people who are overdosing do not have. I will vote to make Narcan a standard element of all first responders’ kit, and work with nonprofits to provide doses of Narcan to the public at designated outreach locations modelled after successful programs in communities like Gloucester.
• Increase funding to treatment and outreach programs that have proven to be effective partners in addressing the opioid epidemic.
  Needle exchange and overdose prevention programs are at the frontlines of the opioid crisis. Besides helping to prevent transmission of bloodborne infections like Hepatitis C and HIV, they serve as vital centers for outreach and education efforts, and can help direct people who use drugs to treatment facilities. Although misunderstood, needle exchanges are a crucial component of our response to the opioid crisis. [The Aids Action Committee of Massachusetts, which operates one such location program in Cambridge, has been a critical ally.in this regard.] As city councillor, I will do everything in my power to ensure that existing needle exchanges stay open, and work to coordinate efforts between the CPC, external nonprofits, and community stakeholders to ensure that addressing the opioid crisis is a collaborative effort.
• Partner with the wider Massachusetts medical and public health communities to explore innovative solutions to prevent further deaths from opioid overdose.
  The Community Needs Assessment stressed the need for legislators to remain open to “bold and innovative approaches” when it comes to addressing our greatest challenges. When it comes to the opioid epidemic, I take that very seriously. I am open to exploring whatever solutions are recommended by the Massachusetts Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and experts in the harm-reduction, recovery, medicine, and public health communities. When it comes to saving lives, no potential solutions should be rejected out of hand. Our neighbors, our children, are loved ones, our friends--these are the people suffering from the opioid epidemic. They deserve no less.

Resistance
Now more than ever, our cities and towns need to take the initiative and stand up for civil rights, civil liberties, and democracy. The Trump administration has already taken steps to crack down on legal and undocumented immigrants, reproductive rights, and LGBTQ+ protections. Trump’s attorney general has made it clear that local communities like Cambridge are our own when it comes to criminal justice reform, civilian oversight, and racial and gender identity-based profiling. In response, the City Council must work proactively to protect our residents from federal overreach, and to prevent further erosion of our civil liberties. We must take a stand to keep Cambridge the safe, inclusive, and welcoming community that it has always been, and mobilize whatever resources we can to remain a city where all can live and thrive.

As your city councillor, I will:

• Demilitarize our police force, promote community-based policing, and maintain civilian oversight to prevent racial profiling.
  The increasing militarization of the police has been amplified nationwide. Just recently, the Trump administration reauthorized the unrestricted transfer of surplus military equipment to local police departments. Our own police department already possesses 25 fully-automatic M16A1 rifles received from the Department of Defense, as well as a BearCat armored personnel carrier. I stand with the ACLU in saying that military-grade hardware has no place in day-to-day policing, and contributes to the escalation of an us-versus-them mentality. I will vote to ban any further acquisition of surplus military equipment, and order a review of existing policies with respect to its use.
  Although new technologies like body cameras have the potential to increase public safety and civilian oversight, I was deeply concerned by the City Manager’s decision to reject the proposed surveillance ordinance. We have a right to know what the impacts of any such technology are before it is implemented. I will vote in favor of a new surveillance ordinance, and work to preemptively ban the use of facial recognition software in conjunction with surveillance technology, on the grounds that it further perpetuates race- and class-based profiling and discrimination.
  
  Although some may be surprised to hear it, Cambridge is not immune to the individual ramifications of structural and institutional racism. It is painfully obvious to many that racial profiling by the Cambridge police remains an issue. In some cases, investigations by internal review boards are insufficient and impartial, and statements from the Office of the Attorney General have made it clear that investigating systematic discrimination in policing is not a priority at the federal level. As such, I will support external investigations - when and where appropriate - when they are called for by constituents, fellow councillors, or interest groups, to both help us find the facts and learn how to move forward as a city.
• Uphold and protect the dignity, rights, and liberties of our LGBTQ+ residents
  I am committed to making Cambridge the most inclusive environment it can be for LGBTQ+ persons. In a city that trains police forces and builds city commissions to work on these issues, it is not acceptable that we still lack inclusive bathrooms throughout most of the city. Inclusivity trainings, such as ones used for the LGBT police group or created by the LGBTQ+ Commission, should be accessible to all. Elderly LGBTQ+ persons should feel comfortable with their identities among caretakers and peers in group homes. I will work with the City Council to adopt an inclusive bathroom ordinance ,and implement the best practices advocated in the LGBTQ Seniors Housing Report. I will support the joint efforts of the LGBTQ+ Commission and the Human Rights Commission to make education on LGBTQ+ issues and identities more accessible to the public. I will seek funding to maintain outreach programs for LGBTQ+ youth and homeless individuals. I will vote to appoint an Executive Director for the LGBTQ Commission to streamline and coordinate all these efforts for maximum efficiency and efficacy.
• Stand with state legislators and nonprofit organizations to protect reproductive rights and maintain access to contraceptives.
  As the executive branch and Republican-controlled Congress seeks to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal ACA provisions requiring insurers to cover birth control, maintaining access to family planning services in the face of federal opposition will be a major priority. I will vote for a resolution to support efforts in state legislature to expand insurance coverage of contraceptives. I will support and expand existing family planning outreach and education in Cambridge schools and hospitals. I will stand strong with Planned Parenthood to ensure that clinics remain open and accessible in the face of anti-choice protesters.
• Tear down barriers to participation in local government to ensure and ensure all of our residents’ voices are heard.
  Immigration status should have no bearing on whether or not residents have the opportunity to have a voice in the governance of our city. We cannot wait for Beacon Hill to take the lead on this. I will propose a home rule petition to extend voting rights in municipal elections to include permanent residents and naturalized citizens. Once passed by our city council I will work with our Cambridge delegation in the General Court to ensure the passage of the petition in both the House and Senate.
  In the face of coordinated nationwide efforts to enact voter suppression laws, registering to vote should be nowhere near as difficult and confusing as it often is. I will pressure the State House to enact legislation for automatic, opt-out voter registration, and to vote for an ordinance requiring landlords to provide tenants with voter registration forms upon signing a lease. Alongside automatic voter registration, early voting has been proven to increase participation in the democratic process. I will advocate for expanding early voting to include municipal elections.
  
  Voting sites inaccessible to those with disabilities are ableist, discriminatory, and an impediment to the democratic process. I will allocate city resources to make voting sites accessible to disabled Cambridge residents.
  
  City bureaucracy is difficult enough to navigate without a language barrier. We have a wealth of information informing residents of their rights and the resources available to them, yet so much of it is difficult to find and often exists only in English. I will provide translations of city legal and informational documents in the languages (Amharic, Kreyol, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish) spoken by our largest immigrant and minority communities, and ensure they can be fully utilized. I will always work to streamline and unify.
• Maintain and protect our status as a sanctuary city.
  We must work to protect undocumented residents, crucial to our culture and economy, from the threat of deportation by ICE. I will ensure city offices refuse to cooperate with Trump’s unethical and un-American crackdown on the undocumented. I will vote to ban ICE officers from entering schools and other city-owned buildings without a warrant. I will vote to direct CPD officers not to question detained individuals about their immigration status. I will vote to establish a city fund to provide legal aid and assistance to those facing deportation proceedings. Unlike criminal courts, immigration courts do not guarantee public counsel. I would propose following New York City’s lead in creating a pilot program to guarantee due process to those threatened with deportation. Moreover, I will vote to use city funds and personnel to coordinate existing efforts by the Community Engagement Team and other nonprofits to reach out to immigrant communities, ensure they are aware of their rights and the resources, and empower them to serve as advocates and activists themselves.
• Improving Government Accessibility
  I will make the part-time role of City Councillor my full-time job. The challenges of our city require committed leadership and constant attention to detail. I will explore ways to increase government transparency, accessibility, and accountability through greater investments in open data and new methods of communicating with all residents.
• Fostering Civic Engagement
  Residents should have more opportunities to determine how they are governed. I am a coalition builder and will foster stronger partnerships with our city's nonprofits, businesses, universities, and other key stakeholders. I will explore ways to replicate innovative approaches to public engagement such as Participatory Budgeting in other areas of city government. I will push the City Council to convene meetings outside of City Hall in our neighborhood youth centers and other community spaces. I will also revive the initiative to expand voting rights to 17-year-olds in local elections to increase voter engagement among our next generation.
  

Economic Justice
Cambridge is a city of great wealth and great economic inequality. While our renowned status as a technology and education hub creates enormous economic opportunities, they have not been shared equally. Efforts are made to give back, but they are often not enough. Despite our technological, educational, and commercial successes, income inequality remains one of our main challenges. Instead of serving merely to increase corporate profits, economic development should be harnessed to promote economic sustainability, neighborhood stability, public health, and human dignity. To make lasting change, we must promote reinvestment in our community and lead the course of our economic growth.

As your City Councillor, I will:

• Ensure that new economic development will benefit all Cambridge residents.
  Recognizing residents’ very real concerns about the influence of private funding on city policies surrounding housing and economic development, I will vote for a referendum to explore public campaign financing for city-wide elections. I will support legislation like New York City’s Small Business Jobs Survival Act to protect local independent businesses in the face of increasing rents, taxes, and other costs. I will vote to create vacancy and underutilization fees to prevent real estate speculation and encourage long-term development and efficient land use. I will enact financial measures to link institutional and corporate profits with funding for crucial economic justice programs, including municipal broadband.
• Facilitate local, collective decision-making.
  Cambridge residents need not only have their voices heard by elected officials, but must also become active participants in the decision-making processes that affect us all. It is time for all of us to have a say in how our city’s wealth is shared. Every city policy should be developed and implemented with input from everyone it will affect. I will vote to expand our existing participatory budgeting program, involvement in which will become even more accessible with the successful implementation of municipal broadband.
• Create opportunities for long-term, high-quality employment.
  I will work to forge partnerships between residents, city government, and the private sector to create partnerships for long-term employment of Cambridge residents, especially those who far too often have been left behind. I will collaborate with specific local partner bring regular job fairs and skills training to our underserved neighborhoods and communities. I will collaborate with the School Committee to push for the creation an integrated Computer Science for All program, ensuring that today’s children are prepared for tomorrow’s economy. Every child in Cambridge deserves to be equipped with 21st Century Skills—the tools to make it in our innovation economy. Our city’s economic competitiveness is based on workforce development, and our residents should benefit more from the private sector growth in our city.
• Bridge the digital divide.
  30% of Cambridge Housing Authority residents do not have access to the Internet. For too long, our city has not been serious about expanding high-speed municipal broadband, especially to underserved neighborhoods. I will work to leverage public-private partnerships to expand broadband networks throughout our city.
• Support working people in the collective struggle for unionization and a living wage.
  The Trump administration is determined to gut federal worker protections. State and local governments need to step up to ensure that Cambridge worker people. I will partner with unions and other workers’ organizations to improve enforcement of our wage theft ordinance. I will vote to enact legislation to improve working conditions and ensure that companies in the sharing economy are treating their contractors equitably. I will work to create legal frameworks to expand collective bargaining rights. I will vote in support of grassroots local and national efforts by groups such as Fight for 15, to ensure that all Cambridge residents can afford to support themselves and their families.
• Small Business Resource Center
  Small businesses remain the backbone of our nation’s economy. I will work to create the Small Business Resource Center, a one-stop shop, to ensure that Cambridge is a city where small businesses can start, thrive, and sustain. Whether it’s the next technology startup or the third-generation neighborhood mom-and-pop shop, all entrepreneurs need information, capacity, funding, and open access to city services.
  

Environment
Environmental justice is a crucial component of my vision for a diverse and inclusive Cambridge. I understand that conservation and preservation alone are not enough and that we must work together to be proactive in protecting ourselves,our communities, and the environment as a whole from the consequences of global warming. Broad concerns about the global impact of climate change cannot supercede local efforts to improve the welfare of our residents, especially those who are most vulnerable. Social, economic, and public health concerns must be taken into account, recognizing that safeguarding the natural world includes protecting those who live in it.

As your City Councillor, I will:

• Preserve the urban forest, one of our most important natural resources.
  The many trees in Cambridge enhance air quality; reduce noise pollution and energy consumption; shade our residences, streets, and parks; and generally improve the city’s livability and residents’ quality of life. Still, our wonderful urban forest is at risk from heat stress, storms, and pest insects. I will work with environmental groups and the Department of Public Works to effectively manage this valuable natural resource and ensure that all our residents continue to benefit from all the urban forest provides. I will ensure that all trees lost to climate change are replaced with native species to ensure that our fragile ecosystem is not further disrupted.
• Encourage reuse, renewal, and recycling
  I will work with nonprofits to expand our urban gardens and increase participation in existing program by schools, businesses, and residences. I will expand our composting program to cover renter households, and increase the scope of what residents can recycle. I will streamline regulatory framework to allow for off-grid and microgrid power generation using solar power and other renewable resources. I will vote to acquire more electric school buses to reduce fuel costs and air pollution. I will reach out to educational institutions and the private sector to explore solutions to reduce energy use and waste production.
• Improve energy efficiency in existing buildings, especially public housing and low-income homes.
  As summers get hotter and winters get colder, heating and cooling costs will only continue to increase. Leaky insulation and inefficient heating & cooling systems increase the economic and public health costs for all our residents. I will seek funds to expand the scope of existing programs that provide fuel assistance and weatherization so that more families can be eligible to receive these critical benefits. I will reach out to low-income and immigrant communities to promote awareness of the resources available to mitigate the energy burden faced by so many.
• Promote sustainable new housing and economic development.
  If implemented correctly, the bold and ambitious Net Zero Action plan will improve livability and efficiency while reducing our carbon footprint. I support the implementation of financial mechanisms to incentivize the creation of energy efficient and affordable new housing, and discourage expensive and energy-efficient new construction. I will collaborate with nonprofits, educational institutions, and industry partners sector to support renewable energy generation, create green job programs, and find the best ways to accelerate sustainable innovation. I will work to implement pilot programs testing these initiatives as early as possible and in the neighborhoods where they can have the greatest impact. I will oppose the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure within city limits, and audit existing infrastructure to prevent further fossil fuel leaks.
• Promote sustainable alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle transportation, including ridesharing, bicycling, and high-occupancy public transit.
  Public mass transit is an be effective, efficient, and environmentally friendly alternative to commuting by car. However, there are often valid social and economic reasons that public transit usage is not more widespread, including fare increases and deteriorating infrastructure. Making public transit more convenient and accessible must be a cornerstone of the city’s environmental agenda. I will work with the MBTA to increase service on the neglected Kendall Square bus routes and to implement transit priority on high-traffic streets like Massachusetts Avenue and Mount Auburn Street. I will partner with neighboring local governments to encourage a feasibility study on regional Bus Rapid Transit. I will explore sources of funding to subsidize T passes for low-income residents, and ensure that new transit will serve all of our neighborhoods. I will work to facilitate business membership in Transportation Management Associations to promote alternative modes of transportation through initiatives like commuter shuttles and the MBTA Corporate Pass. As our zoning regulations are overhauled, I will work to ensure that new zoning facilitates transit-oriented development.
  
  Increasing number of Cantabrigians use bicycles for work, recreation, exercise, and transportation. Recent fatal accidents have been tragic reminders of urgent need to ensure cyclists safety. To that end, I applaud and fully support the city’s Vision Zero plan, and will vote to accelerate the rollout of protected bike lanes and implement other safety measures like bike boxes and shared-priority lanes. I will work to ensure that redevelopment efforts in areas like Inman Square follow through on promised traffic calming and bicycle safety measures, and encourage traffic enforcement of bike lane violations throughout the city. I will vote to maintain and improve existing cycling infrastructure, including repainting bike lanes and restoring public bike repair stations. I will work with developers to provide repair equipment and sheltered bike parking in new housing developments.
• Devote myself to the struggle against environmental racism, because climate justice is social justice.
  Along with low-income and renter households, households of color are some of the hardest-hit by the consequences of a rapidly-warming planet. Far too often, the conversations surrounding climate change are shaped by the needs of the wealthy and privileged, erasing the concerns of those impacted by climate change the most. There is a deep disconnect between these communities and the mainstream climate movement, ignoring the potential for collaboration and collective action. As a City Councillor, I will forge alliances between existing climate activist movements and the neighborhoods most affected by climate change. I will support creating a City Commission on Environmental Justice to ensure the needs of these communities are taken into account in the development and implementation of City policy.
  

Housing and Development
Housing is a universal human right. Despite our city’s relative prosperity, 13% of all Cambridge families with children live in poverty. One third of households headed by single mothers live in poverty. Our housing market increasingly forces many out of Cambridge. For families, it upsets the education and upbringing of their children. In 2015, only 4% of the available rental housing with two or more bedrooms was affordable to a family making $75,000 per year.

As your next City Councillor, I will work on:

• Housing for All
  Cambridge's recently-passed inclusionary housing requirement of 20% for all new housing developments of 10-or-more units must be enforced. I support the construction of more higher-density and transit-oriented housing and will work with the city's partners to develop more housing on city-owned and vacant land. Areas of specific focus for me include Alewife as well as Central, Kendall, and Porter Squares. I will fight to preserve and expand housing opportunities for residents of all incomes, especially low and middle-income/workforce. In addition to creating more rental units, we must create more homeownership units, building pathways to wealth and equity for Cambridge residents.
• Expanding the "Housing First" Approach
  I support greater investments in Cambridge's "Housing First" program so that we can provide more housing for our most vulnerable residents, including the homeless, disabled, seniors, and veterans. Permanent supportive housing is celebrated as a national best practice and I will work with local and regional partners to ensure that our city's Department of Human Service Programs remains a model for excellence.

Education and 21st Century Skills
Cambridge is rightly known for our excellent public school system, which combines a comprehensive academic curriculum with a robust arts program and an overarching commitment to the progressive values that we all hold dear. As your City Councillor, I will support the School Committee in its mission to ensure that every student, no matter their background, is granted equal opportunity to excel.

In this respect, my priorities are to:

• Provide funding for universal prekindergarten so that every child enters primary school with the preparation needed to thrive and grow.
  Research indicates that disparities in early-childhood education are strongly predictive of educational outcomes. Mental plasticity is highest in young children, and initial differences in aptitude and ability that are established early on by disparities in access to such programs are only exacerbated . If we do not invest in our children’s minds and futures as early as possible, we risk losing forever the opportunity to ensure equality of opportunity. Preschool, afterschool, childcare, and other enrichment programs should not be a luxury. I support not only allocating public funds toward this end, but also partnering with nonprofits and the private sector to provide enrichment and educational programs for children of all ages.
• Create a unified Computer Science for All program to ensure that today’s children are prepared for tomorrow’s economy.
  Cambridge is an education and high-technology hub, and the host to several regional headquarters of top tech companies. We are perfectly situated to provide age-appropriate computer science education at all grade levels and replicate the success of similar programs such as Rhode Island’s CS4RI. Every child in Cambridge deserves to be equipped with the 21st-century skills they will need to succeed in our innovation economy. I will work with the School Committee to help unify existing efforts and leverage city, university, and private sector resources to create a citywide computer science education program, one designed to engage with students regardless of their background, interests, and experience. Our economic competitiveness is partly based on workforce development, and our children--especially those from underserved backgrounds--should benefit more from the private sector growth in our city.
• Ensure that our schools remain welcoming and inclusive environments for the whole of our diverse community.
  It is crucial to address systemic racism, classism, and sexism as reflected in public school curricula and staffing and to create a culturally sensitive learning environment. All students, particularly those at CRLS, need to feel like they are learning about their own history, not merely the dominant historical narratives that center the voices and experiences of those who female students, LGBTQ+ students, and students of color may not necessarily identify with. I embrace the School Committee’s core values of inclusion, equity, and diversity, and stand with their significant efforts to uphold these essential principles. I applaud the School Committee’s focus on addressing racial, gender-based, and socioeconomic disparities in educational outcomes, and will support efforts to address the persistent achievement gap. I will work diligently to implement municipal broadband so that our children have equal opportunities to learn outside of the classroom.

Building an Inclusive Cambridge
Cambridge has in many instances served as a model for cities throughout the United States. I am proud of the financial excellence of our city. We can do the things we want to because of our resources. Despite our city’s many strengths, great challenges and inequalities remain. Residents in some of our 13 neighborhoods are being left behind. We deserve a working City Council that will always put its best efforts forward, moving beyond conversations to help realize our collective aspirations. This is my agenda for our city and I look forward to hearing yours.

Together, we can build an inclusive Cambridge!
-Samuel

Contact
Please get in touch with us! You will always hear back from Samuel or a member of our team within 48 hours. [see contact information at top of page]

"I am running for City Council to make sure that no one gets left behind as we plan for our shared future. I believe in a periodic generational change in leadership – new eyes looking at the same problems. As your City Councillor, I will embrace innovation and work to develop creative approaches to solving our city's most pressing challenges." – Samuel M. Gebru

SAMUEL'S AGENDA

INCLUSIVE HOUSING
Housing is a universal human right. Despite our city's relative prosperity, 13% of all Cambridge families with children live in poverty. One third of households headed by single mothers live in poverty. Our housing market increasingly forces many out of Cambridge. For families, it upsets the education and upbringing of their children. In 2015, only 4% of the available rental housing with two or more bedrooms was affordable to a family making $75,000 per year.

As your next City Councillor, I will work on:

Housing for All
Cambridge's recently-passed inclusionary housing requirement of 20% for all new housing developments of 10-or-more units must be enforced. I support the construction of more higher-density and transit-oriented housing and will work with the city's partners to develop more housing on city-owned and vacant land. Areas of specific focus for me include Alewife as well as Central, Kendall, and Porter Squares. I will fight to preserve and expand housing opportunities for residents of all incomes, especially low and middle-income/workforce. In addition to creating more rental units, we must create more homeownership units, building pathways to wealth and equity for Cambridge residents.

Expanding the "Housing First" Approach
I support greater investments in Cambridge's "Housing First" program so that we can provide more housing for our most vulnerable residents, including the homeless, disabled, seniors, and veterans. Permanent supportive housing is celebrated as a national best practice and I will work with local and regional partners to ensure that our city's Department of Human Service Programs remains a model for excellence.

INCLUSIVE ECONOMY
Our city is known for being an intellectual hub and home to Kendall Square, the most innovative square mile in the world. Despite our technological, educational, and commercial successes, income inequality remains one of our main challenges. The successes of our universities and industries must impact the average citizen.

As your next City Councillor, I will work on:

Bridging the Digital Divide
30% of Cambridge Housing Authority residents do not have access to the Internet. For too long, our city has not been serious about expanding high-speed municipal broadband, especially to underserved neighborhoods. I will work to leverage public-private partnerships to expand broadband networks throughout our city.

Computer Science for All
I will work to create an integrated Computer Science for All program, ensuring that today's children are prepared for tomorrow's economy. Every child in Cambridge deserves to be equipped with 21st Century Skills – the tools to make it inn our innovation economy. Our economic competitiveness is partly based on workforce development, and our residents should benefit more from the private sector growth in our city.

Small Business Resource Center
Small businesses remain the backbone of our nation's economy. I will work to create the Small Business Resource Center, a one-stop shop, to ensure that Cambridge is a city where small businesses can start, thrive, and sustain. Whether it's the next technology startup or the third-generation neighborhood mom-and-pop shop, all entrepreneurs need information, capacity, funding, and open access to city services.

INCLUSIVE POLITICS
Our politics must be inclusive. Those at the decision-making table should share our aspirations and vision for a Cambridge that leaves no one behind. I am committed to constituent services and serving as a strategic thinking partner to the City Manager.

As your next City Councillor, I will work on:

Protecting and Expanding Immigrant Rights
Roughly one third of Cambridge residents like me were not born in the United States. Given the current national unrest, state and local governments must do more to protect the rights of all immigrants. I am committed to maintaining Cambridge's status as a Sanctuary City against all threats and supporting the community-led initiative to expand voting rights to non-citizen residents in local elections.

Improving Government Accessibility
I will make the part-time role of City Councillor my full-time job. The challenges of our city require committed leadership and constant attention to detail. I will explore ways to increase government transparency, accessibility, and accountability through greater investments in open data and new methods of communicating with all residents.

Fostering Civic Engagement
Residents should have more opportunities to determine how they are governed. I am a coalition builder and will foster stronger partnerships with our city's nonprofits, businesses, universities, and other key stakeholders. I will explore ways to replicate innovative approaches to public engagement such as Participatory Budgeting in other areas of city government. I will push the City Council to convene meetings outside of City Hall in our neighborhood youth centers and other community spaces. I will also revive the initiative to expand voting rights to 17-year-olds in local elections to increase voter engagement among our next generation.

ABOUT SAMUEL
Samuel M. Gebru is an Ethiopian American social entrepreneur, community organizer and consultant. He is a candidate for Cambridge City Council in the November 7, 2017 election.

A proud resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Samuel has demonstrated broad passion for and leadership in community organizing, policy work and advocacy on a range of issues. While at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS), he launched Youth View Cambridge, the student-run television news magazine, and co-led the successful multicultural student campaign to recognize a Muslim holiday on the Cambridge Public Schools District's official calendar. He has worked on municipal and state election campaigns and served as a legislative intern to Massachusetts State Senator Steven A. Tolman, the current president of Massachusetts AFL-CIO.

Samuel serves as founder and managing director of Black Lion Strategies, a consulting practice that works to strengthen U.S.-Ethiopia relations, and as executive producer of Boston Ethiopia Week, a new annual celebration of Ethiopia and Ethiopian Americans in the Boston area. He is frequently invited for local and international media appearances and speaking engagements on issues including the African immigrant community in Massachusetts, Ethiopian affairs and U.S.-Ethiopia policy.

Samuel founded and led the Ethiopian Global Initiative from 2006-2016. Based in the U.S., the nonprofit convened change makers in Ethiopia and abroad. The Initiative's mission was to serve as a catalyst and connector, working to create an environment where passionate and innovative young leaders could discuss and seek solutions to Ethiopia's most pressing challenges.

Samuel serves on the Board of Directors of the Cambridge Community Center, a multi-service organization and frontline resource for children, youth and families. Committed to supporting youth leadership, he launched the annual Samuel M. Gebru Leadership Award at CRLS, recognizing a graduating senior for broad experience in and passion for public service. He was previously board secretary of the CRLS Alumni Association and a board member of Africans in Boston, where he advocated on behalf of African immigrants in Massachusetts. Samuel served on the Artist Selection Committee for Cambridge's Prince Hall Memorial, honoring Prince Hall, the noted African American scholar, abolitionist and founder of Black Freemasonry.

Samuel was previously appointed to serve as the first youth on the Executive Committee of the Cambridge Family Policy Council, an intergovernmental and multi-sector city board chaired by the Mayor that recommends policies on children, youth and families to the City Council. He helped develop the Council's strategic plan, served on its Youth Involvement Subcommittee and participated in three delegations representing the city at conferences of the National League of Cities. He was part of the Youth Involvement Subcommittee's widely endorsed campaign to lower the voting age in Cambridge's municipal elections to 17. Although the effort failed in the Massachusetts Legislature, Samuel remains a consistent advocate for youth leadership and civic participation.

Samuel was born in Sudan to two Ethiopian parents and raised in Cambridge since moving with his mother in 1995 at age three. He is Ethiopian Orthodox Christian and multilingual. In his spare time, Samuel enjoys reading and writing, traveling and exploring new cuisines.

Sam Gebru is a new candidate this year.

June 29, 2017 - "I am running for City Council to make sure that no one gets left behind as we plan for our shared future. We deserve a working City Council that will always put its best efforts forward, moving beyond conversations to help realize our collective aspirations. The tenets of my plan are: Inclusive Housing, Inclusive Economy, and Inclusive Politics. As your City Councillor, I will embrace innovation and work to develop creative approaches to solving our city's most pressing challenges. If elected, I would make serving on City Council my full-time job.

Together, we can build an inclusive Cambridge!

-Samuel

Read more about my plans for our city at: https://gebruforcambridge.com/agenda

CCTV candidate video (2017)