Facebook comment on my announcement: “I'm a Republican, but in 9 years living in Ward 3, Ben was the 1st candidate ever to come to my apartment when he 1st ran for city council. We had a good conversation. I probably won't vote for him if there's a Republican in the race, but from a constituent services perspective he'd be a areat choice.”
knock every door!
Hi all, I'm going to use this account for City Council/Somerville politics and policy related stuff! Follow meeeeeeeee
Cambridge Day article
“The challenges that we face right now in our state and country can feel overwhelming, but I know that we can make real progress because that’s exactly what we’ve done in Somerville.”
www.cambridgeday.com/2026/03/04/e...
“I’m not naive but I believe progress is possible.”
Somerville city councilor Ben Ewen-Campen is running for state representative in the 27th Middlesex district.
csindie.com/ewen-campen-...
The proventriculus lacks stem cells, but compensates for age-related cell loss via endoreplication Ben Ewen-Campen Perrimon Lab, Harvard Medical School Fly Meeting 2026
I'M RUNNING FOR STATE REP!
🪰If you’re at #Dros26 and are interested in the fly foregut AND/OR want to support scientists in elected office, please come to talk Friday at 9:45am AND/OR support my run for State Representative in MA :)
www.benforward3.com/blog/2026/3/...
Thank you!!
Best news in a while!
Ben has been an incredibly dedicated and effective public servant for Somerville, MA. He is a progressive, competent, and compassionate leader.
Ben is also a phenomenal biologist. If you want to support scientific voices in government, I suggest you donate to his campaign.
oh this is great! I’m not in Ben’s ward but have appreciated the way he’s shown up for our neighbors on city council.
The #ben bias is clear
♥️♥️♥️
This is great news for Somerville and for Massachusetts. Ben is the absolute best.
This is huge! Ben would be a major gain for the State House in Massachusetts.
It is
🔔 I’m thrilled to announce that I’m running for State Rep! We have accomplished an enormous amount of progressive change in Somerville over the past eight years, and I am fired up to bring this work to the State House. I’m so excited to start knocking doors and earning your votes.
Press release 👇
“Chimpanzees Are Really Into Crystals”
“…something beyond curiosity.”
Any time you see an article this magnificent, you can almost guarantee it was written by the great Somerville champ @cjgiaimo.bsky.social
My paper on how the fruit fly foregut uses a modified cell cycle to respond to tissue damage and cell loss is now published :)
www.nature.com/articles/s41... #proventriculus #drosophila
Me too! And the basketball court with the track around the ceiling
“It’s like walking into a postcard where people are in old-timey bathing suits and deep-sea diving suit helmets,” said Ben Ewen-Campen, a city councilor who represents this corner and supports the Y redevelopment.”
Nice piece about idiosyncrasies in the YMCA redevelopment @bostonglobe.com
Would be very interested to hear! Can you shoot me an email/DM?
“Affordable housing construction can go higher in Somerville with adoption of a technology called mass timber, city councilor Ben Ewen-Campen said Monday.” 👇 @csindie.bsky.social
csindie.com/adding-mass-...
screen shot of me introducing my amendment
This week I introduced an amendment to our Affordable Housing Overlay based on a new wood-based construction technology called MassTimber. It not only captures carbon in the structure itself (wood), it can make new affordable buildings more cost-effective. Watch here:
youtu.be/L6toVSgl0WM?...
“Dozens of people, probably most of them children, were killed in a strike that hit a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran.” NO WAR WITH IRAN
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/w...
Yes, but in my experience the utility companies are *really* resistant and it requires a Councilor to work with DPW
to ensure they follow through (can take a *long* time unfortunately)
Very low hanging wires
I think today things finally got resolved. Earlier today Astound was here looking things over. Around 1:30, Comcast came, worked on the wires for a few hours, untangled all the telecom wires, raised them all up, strengthened their connections to the pole. There's a clear separation between Comcast's, Verizon, and Astound. Everything is much higher, appears very safe. Thanks Ben, Ben, Amie and DPW for continued efforts, and a huge
⚡️Low-hanging wires no more! These wires had been hanging so low they were getting caught on trash trucks etc. Finally, thanks to the tenacious work of DPW, the telecom utilities finally came to fix this unsafe situation
…a classic #SmallVictoriesWard3 situation
Current Kennedy “playground” (asphalt court)
alton. SOMERVILLE CITY OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE COMMUNITY SOMERVILLE, MASS KATIANA BALLANTYNE MAYOR 我 COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION FOR Kennedy Schoolyard FY26 Construction Combined Funding Request PROJECT DESCRIPTION City of Somerville OSPCD Division of Public Space and Urban Forestry (PSUF) is requesting funds to construct a new accessible playground at the Kennedy School located at Sartwell and Cherry. This project will implement a design developed in collaboration with the Kennedy School staff, parent groups, and the local community. It is anticipated that the new layout will incorporate space for active recreation, elements to facilitate less structured play, age-appropriate play structures, new tree plantings, green spaces, outdoor classrooms, and quiet areas for student social interaction. The request is for a municipal bond issuance of $2,000,000 as part of the funding for the Kennedy Schoolyard project, as well as $1,000,000 of existing CPA funds to cover the total construction budget of $3,000,000. Debt service on the bond will be paid out of the annual Open Space allocation. ELIGIBILITY Open Space/Recreation: This project would rehabilitate land for recreational use. RECOMMENDATION On 12/29/25 by a vote of 5-o, the Community Preservation Committee recommended that the City of Somerville OSPCD Division of Public Space and Urban Forestry be awarded $1,000,000 of Community Preservation Act funds from the Open Space Reserve for construction of a new schoolyard for the Kennedy School, as described in their FY26 application. By a vote of 4-1, the Community Preservation Committee further recommended bonding $2,000,000 for the Kennedy Schoolyard Construction, under authority of M.G.L. Chapter 44B. Debt service for this project will be paid out of the Community Preservation Act fund. FUNDING CONDITIONS The project will follow the General Conditions outlined in a Memorandum of Agreement between the CPC and PSUF…
♥️APPROVED! Thrilled to vote last night to fund an incredible new schoolyard and playground for the Kennedy School.
Huge thanks to the amazing Kennedy families, PTA, city staff, Ward 5 Councilor Sait and all of YOU! Big chunk paid for by Community Preservation Act, directly from residents.
