Katjana Ballantyne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Katjana Ballantyne | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Ballantyne at the opening of Union Square Station in 2022 | |
| 36th Mayor of Somerville | |
| In office January 3, 2022 – January 2, 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Curtatone |
| Succeeded by | Jake Wilson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1962 (age 63–64) |
| Party | Democratic[1] |
| Education | |
Katjana Ballantyne (born 1962) is an American politician who served as the 36th mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts between January 3, 2022 and January 2, 2026.[2]
Ballantyne was born in Greece and was adopted by her father and mother, a Scottish man and a Czech-German woman. They immigrated to the United States four years after she was born.[3] She later received her B.A. from Saint Michael's College in 1984 and her M.B.A. from Suffolk University in 1998.[4]
Political Career
Ballantyne ran unsuccessfully in a close race for the Ward 7 seat on the Somerville City Council (then named the Board of Aldermen) in 2011,[5] but ran again successfully in 2013, and won each of her reelection bids.[6] She was elected President of the City Council by her fellow councilors in 2018.[7]
After then-mayor Joe Curtatone announced that he would not run for another term, Ballantyne announced her bid for mayor in 2021, and won in a race against fellow city councilor Will Mbah.[8][9] She ran and won a second term in 2023.[10]
In February 2025, under Ballantyne's administration, Somerville, alongside Chelsea, Massachusetts, sued the Trump administration for threatening to withdraw federal funds from the city because of its sanctuary city status.[11]
She ran for a third term in 2025, but lost in a preliminary election against city councilors Willie Burnley Jr. and Jake Wilson.[12][13] Wilson went on to win in the municipal election and took office on January 2, 2026, ending Ballantyne's term.[14][15]
Electoral history
City Council
| 2011 Somerville City Council election (Ward 7) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Preliminary election[16] | Municipal election[17] | ||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Robert C. Trane (inc.) | 541 | 42.8 | 1,068 | 50.8 |
| Katjana Ballantyne | 532 | 42.1 | 1,028 | 48.9 |
| Joan Whitney Puglia | 187 | 14.8 | ||
| Write-in | 4 | 0.3 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Total | 1,264 | 100 | 2,101 | 100 |
| 2013 Somerville City Council election (Ward 7) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Municipal election[18] | |
| Votes | % | |
| Katjana Ballantyne | 1,122 | 57.5 |
| Joseph A. Capuano | 825 | 42.3 |
| Write-in | 4 | 0.2 |
| Total | 1,951 | 100 |
| 2015 Somerville City Council election (Ward 7) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Municipal election[19] | |
| Votes | % | |
| Katjana Ballantyne (inc.) | 687 | 98 |
| Write-in | 14 | 2 |
| Total | 701 | 100 |
| 2017 Somerville City Council election (Ward 7) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Municipal election[20] | |
| Votes | % | |
| Katjana Ballantyne (inc.) | 1,724 | 98.7 |
| Write-in | 23 | 1.3 |
| Total | 1,747 | 100 |
| 2019 Somerville City Council election (Ward 7) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Municipal election[21] | |
| Votes | % | |
| Katjana Ballantyne (inc.) | 1,566 | 97.7 |
| Write-in | 37 | 2.3 |
| Total | 1,603 | 100 |
Mayor
| 2021 Somerville mayoral election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Preliminary election[22] | Municipal election[23] | ||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Katjana Ballantyne | 4,176 | 27.8 | 10,032 | 55.5 |
| Will Mbah | 4,509 | 30.0 | 6,737 | 37.2 |
| Mary Cassesso | 4,088 | 27.2 | ||
| William B. Tauro | 2,219 | 14.8 | ||
| Write-in | 19 | 0.1 | 1,321 | 7.3 |
| Total | 15,011 | 100 | 18,090 | 100 |
| 2023 Somerville mayoral election | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Municipal election[24] | |
| Votes | % | |
| Katjana Ballantyne (inc.) | 13,657 | 80.9 |
| William B. Tauro | 3,029 | 17.9 |
| Write-in | 201 | 1.2 |
| Total | 20,497 | 100 |
| 2025 Somerville mayoral election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Preliminary election[25] | Municipal election[26] | ||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Jake Wilson | 5,190 | 42.1 | 11,294 | 55.1 |
| Willie Burnley, Jr | 4,174 | 33.9 | 9,144 | 44.6 |
| Katjana Ballantyne (inc.) | 2,927 | 23.7 | ||
| Write-in | 40 | 0.3 | 59 | 0.3 |
| Total | 12,331 | 100 | 20,497 | 100 |
References
- ↑ "OCPF". www.ocpf.us. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Office of Mayor Katjana Ballantyne | City of Somerville". www.somervillema.gov. Archived from the original on December 20, 2025. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ↑ Schoenberg, Shira (February 13, 2022). "Meet Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne". CommonWealth Beacon. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ↑ Newman, Alex. "Candidate Profile: Katjana Ballantyne, Somerville Mayor". Patch.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Somerville ElectionStats » 2011 Nov 8 :: Municipal Election :: Councilor :: Ward 7". Somerville ElectionStats. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Somerville ElectionStats » 2013 Nov 5 :: Municipal Election :: Councilor :: Ward 7". Somerville ElectionStats. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ↑ "2018/01/01 05:00 PM City Council Organizational Meeting - Web Outline - City of Somerville, Massachusetts". somervillecityma.iqm2.com. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ↑ Committee to elect Katjana Ballantyne. "Ward 7 Councilor Katjana Ballantyne announces run for mayor of Somerville". Wicked Local. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Somerville ElectionStats » 2021 Nov 2 :: Municipal Election :: Mayor :: City of Somerville". Somerville ElectionStats. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Somerville ElectionStats » 2023 Nov 7 :: Municipal Election :: Mayor :: City of Somerville". Somerville ElectionStats. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ↑ Fortin, Matt; Klein, Asher (February 24, 2025). "Somerville, Chelsea file lawsuit against Trump administration over immigration policy". NBC Boston. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
- ↑ "Somerville Mayor Ballantyne announces reelection bid for 3rd term". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ↑ Cristantiello, Ross (September 17, 2025). "Somerville mayor eliminated in preliminary election". Boston.com. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ↑ Muneer, Sana (November 5, 2025). "Jake Wilson to be Somerville's next mayor, unofficial results show". Boston.com. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
- ↑ City of Somerville MA; Wilson, Jake (January 2, 2026). "Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
Happy New Year, Somerville! This morning at City Hall I was officially sworn in as Mayor. First order of business? Opening the Mayor's office door.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "City of Somerville Preliminary City Council Ward 7 Election - September 13, 2011". www.somervillema.gov. City of Somerville. 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
- ↑ "City of Somerville Municipal City Council Ward 7 Election - November 8, 2011 Mayor". www.somervillema.gov. City of Somerville. 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
- ↑ "City of Somerville Municipal City Council Ward 7 Election - November 5, 2013". www.somervillema.gov. City of Somerville. 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
- ↑ "City of Somerville Municipal City Council Ward 7 Election - November 3, 2015". www.somervillema.gov. City of Somerville. 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
- ↑ "City of Somerville Municipal City Council Ward 7 Election - November 7, 2017". www.somervillema.gov. City of Somerville. 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
- ↑ "City of Somerville Municipal City Council Ward 7 Election - November 5, 2019". www.somervillema.gov. City of Somerville. 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
- ↑ "City of Somerville Preliminary Mayoral Election - September 14, 2021". www.somervillema.gov. City of Somerville. 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
- ↑ "City of Somerville Municipal Election - November 2, 2021 Mayor". www.somervillema.gov. City of Somerville. 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
- ↑ "City of Somerville Municipal Election - November 7, 2023 Mayor". www.somervillema.gov. City of Somerville. 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
- ↑ "City of Somerville Preliminary Mayoral Election - September 16, 2025". www.somervillema.gov. City of Somerville. 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
- ↑ "City of Somerville Municipal Election - November 4, 2025 Mayor". www.somervillema.gov. City of Somerville. 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2026.