CAMBRIDGE, MA- Cambridge City Council has unanimously elected Sumbul Siddiqui as mayor the City of Cambridge, MA, a city that is home to institutions like Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has emerged as one of the top hubs of the world’s premier life sciences companies.
Ms. Siddiqui is the first Muslim to serve as the Mayor of Cambridge.
“I feel humbled, and I am very excited to serve my community where I grew up,” Siddiqui told INDIA New England News. “I am also looking forwarding to serving all communities, local and South Asian and everyone. I am a lawyer and love working with communities.”
Ms. Siddiqui is currently serving her first term on the Cambridge City Council. Mayor of the City of Cambridge is elected by the 9-member City Council for a two-year term. Ms. Siddiqui received all nine of nine votes and was elected unanimously.
Ms. Siddiqui is a long time Cambridge resident, and brings her expertise as a legal aid attorney to the Council. She holds a BA in Public Policy from Brown University and a law degree from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, according to her official bio.
Ms. Siddiqui moved to the United States at the age of 2 with her parents and twin brother from Karachi, Pakistan. Her family won a lottery to enter Cambridge’s affordable housing system, which placed them in Rindge Towers in North Cambridge and then in Roosevelt Towers in East Cambridge.
As a Cambridge Rindge and Latin student, Ms. Siddiqui co-founded the Cambridge Youth Involvement Subcommittee, now the Cambridge Youth Council, currently in its 15th year. Her activism in Cambridge earned her a Cambridge Peace and Justice Award.
Between college and law school, Ms. Siddiqui served as an AmeriCorps fellow at New Profit, a Boston nonprofit organization dedicated to improving social mobility for children, families, and their communities.
Ms. Siddiqui is excited to work on creating more affordable housing, supporting small businesses, increasing civic engagement, making Cambridge more climate-resilient, and improving the health and safety of its neighborhoods.
