2025 Candidate Profile - Mayor - Breanna Lungo-Koehn

AI-generated transcript — the recording is the record.

[Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Hello, my name is Breanna Lungo-Koehn, and I'm running for reelection as mayor of Medford. We have done so many incredible things over the past six years, and as we look towards the next two, I want to build upon these successes and help shape the future of Medford. When I first ran for mayor, I promised you leadership grounded in transparency, equity, and action. Over these years, we've delivered on that promise step by step. We have turned many bold goals into concrete progress. and none of it was possible without your partnership, your ideas, and your energy. Let me share a few of the highlights from the past few years. We advanced charter reform, a multi-year effort to modernize our city's governing document. Through the work of the Charter Study Committee and the Collins Center, we have moved our revised charter through the legislature, senate, and governor's office. It now goes before you this November for a vote, and I urge you to vote yes. It has been four decades since we reviewed and updated our charter, and it is time now for our governing document to be where it should be, with council board representation and much more. We progressed our application with the Massachusetts School Building Authority towards a new Medford High School. We entered the next stage last week when we chose a design architect firm. I cannot wait to begin the community input phase to learn about what you all envision for our students, staff, and our future. Our city team also worked closely with the school committee, city council, and all of you to reallocate resources and support our schools with an override, and that will continue to strengthen our schools into the future. Our sustainability and waste management Our curbside composting continues to grow with over 2 million pounds of food waste diverted from landfills since July 1, 2024. For all this work, our city was recognized with the Outstanding Community Award from the Northeast Recycling Council just last week. Through this initiative and many others, we are making waste reduction and environmental stewardship a part of our everyday life in Medford. We're also working on a land development agreement with Transom Development to build a mixed-use development on the three city-owned lots in Medford Square to bring vibrancy to our downtown through housing, 20% of which will be affordable, gorgeous landscaping, beautiful public art, a grocery store, and parking for our seniors, Chevalier patrons, and shoppers. Medford Square will be home to over 250 more people and families, and we are working with five other developers to add an additional 1,300 units to our housing stock. to help with the affordable housing crisis across the state. And we will progress through the zoning work that needs to be done, but it has to be one square or one quarter at a time with community understanding and input at the forefront and every step of the way. I believe this can be done right if we work together and all have a seat at the table. We are continuing to work through updating our public spaces, our open spaces, public paths, tree canopy, and more. Over the past years, we have made upgrades to dozens of spaces, such as Tufts Pool, Gillis Park, the Clippership Connector Path, Carr Park, and the list goes on, because it's so important to have spaces, including outdoor spaces, for all to enjoy every day. We continue to work through decades of backlogs on our streets and sidewalks, lead pipes, and water infrastructure, with the help of our DPW and engineering teams. Keeping our streets safe and up to date is a priority, even though it is very difficult and expensive to manage. We have and will continue to support our passionate leaders within City Hall and beyond as we continue to make progress on our equity goals. Supporting our most vulnerable is more important now than ever. If I know Medford, I know that supporting each other will not stop because there is more compassion in this community than one realizes. Now, with my five minutes expiring, I will conclude and say that I can't stand here and say every challenge is solved. Far from it, actually. There are many obstacles that lie ahead, but what I can say with confidence is this. We are stronger, more prepared, more united, and more hopeful because of what we've accomplished together the last several years. Together, we will continue this work not for any one person or for any reason specifically, but for Medford as a whole. Thank you for your trust, your voice, and your partnership. Let's keep building a city we are proud to pass on to the next generation. And please do not forget to vote on November 4th. Vote yes for Charter Review, and I respectfully request your vote for my re-election. Thank you for your continued support.