Willie Burnley Jr. Enters Race For Somerville City Council

SOMERVILLE, MA — Willie Burnley Jr., a former campaign staffer for Massachusetts senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, announced his bid for Somerville city councilor at-large Monday. Burnley is a community organizer, renter, cyclist and former union steward for Teamsters 122.

"I'm running for Somerville City Councilor At-Large because I know that there is more that we can do to create affordability, accountability, and accessibility for our residents, more that we can do to stop the displacement and evictions of our neighbors, and more that we can do to live up to our best values of equity, inclusion, and justice," Burnley said in a release.

Burnley is the first person in his family to graduate from college, attending Emerson before he moved to Somerville. He struggled to pay his bills as a freelance journalist, and in 2017, his job was cut and his landlord raised the rent by hundreds of dollars.

Facing eviction by another name – displacement – Burnley said he fought his way back by working in the back of a bakery and has been striving to close the gap between Somerville's stated values and its reality ever since.

In 2018, Burnley joined Senator Elizabeth Warren’s re-election campaign as a field organizer. Willie was one of the 143 young environmentalists arrested during a sit-in with the Sunrise Movement. He stood with queer youth against the "Straight Pride Parade" by holding a counter-rally and helped found Defund SPD, which successfully moved over a million dollars that was used to provide police funding to the Office of Housing Stability, rental and food assistance for residents.

In 2020, Burnley helped re-elect Sen. Markey as his regional organizing director.

Burnley has deep roots in the community through organizing. Locally, he has organized against evictions with CAAS, for permanently affordable housing with the Somerville Community Land Trust and for racial and economic equity as a member of Just Us Somerville, DSA, and Union United.

"My life has been rooted in the dual beliefs that every person can grow into the best version of
themselves when given the chance and that people-powered movements can change the world," Burnley said. "I'm running for Somerville City Councilor At-Large because I believe that together we can build a safer, stronger, and more sustainable city."