Sumbul Siddiqui
Mayor of Cambridge
In office
January 6, 2020 – January 1, 2024
Preceded byMarc McGovern
Succeeded byE. Denise Simmons
Personal details
Born1988 (age 35–36)
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Political partyDemocratic
Education
Websitewww.cambridgema.gov/Departments/mayorsoffice/sumbulsiddiqui

Sumbul Siddiqui (born 1988) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 77th mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1][2] Siddiqui was elected mayor in 2020 by the Cambridge City Council, after serving in the body for three years.[3][4][5] She succeeded Marc C. McGovern in January 2020, becoming the first Muslim mayor in Massachusetts history.[6]

Early life

Siddiqui was born in Karachi, Pakistan in 1988.[7] She immigrated to the United States from Pakistan when she was two years old, with her parents and twin brother.[8][9] Her family moved to Cambridge after receiving a lottery spot in Cambridge's affordable housing system.[10] Siddiqui was raised in Rindge Towers in North Cambridge and Roosevelt Towers in East Cambridge.[11] She attended schools in the Cambridge Public School District and graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in 2006.[12][13]

Siddiqui attended Brown University, where she was involved in the university's South Asian Students Association.[14] She graduated from Brown in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in public policy and American institutions.[15] Siddiqui later attended the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, graduating in 2014 with a JD.[7]

Career

As mayor

In January 2020, Marc C. McGovern announced that he would not seek re-election and endorsed fellow council member Sumbul Siddiqui as his successor.[16] Siddiqui was sworn in on January 6, 2020.[17]

Siddiqui speaking at the opening of the first portion of the Green Line Extension on March 21, 2022

Mayor’s Disaster Relief Fund

She launched the Mayor’s Disaster Relief Fund for COVID-19 on 16 April 2020, raising over $5 million to help individuals, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations.[18]

Toxic Workplace Accusations

"Eight women who have worked for Siddiqui since 2017 allege the mayor created a toxic work environment" according to an October 16, 2023 article in the Boston Globe. Reporter, Diti Kohli, notes that in "interviews over the last six months, they said Siddiqui undermined their self-esteem and jeopardized their future job prospects, behavior they say prompted people to leave her employment under difficult circumstances. The aides — half of whom are women of color, and most of whom are no longer directly involved in Cambridge politics — described experiences including the mayor berating them for small mistakes such as typos, commenting on their bodies, and denigrating them to other colleagues. Four of the employees also alleged Siddiqui retaliated against them when they accepted new jobs or sought to leave her office."[19]

Awards

  • 2020: NAACP award[20]
  • 2021: Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts Emerging Women Leaders in the Law award[21]
  • 2021: South Asian Bar Association 2021 Member of the Year
  • 2021: Margaret Fuller House Gala award
  • 2021: Greater Boston Labor Council Labor Champion award.[22][23]

References

  1. ↑ Finucane, Martin (2020-01-06). "Cambridge elects first Muslim woman mayor". The Boston Globe.
  2. ↑ "Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui Endorses Andrea Campbell for Boston Mayor". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  3. ↑ "Cambridge elects first Muslim woman mayor". www.boston.com. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  4. ↑ "State's First Muslim American Mayor Takes Negative Comments In Stride". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  5. ↑ "Cambridge's New Mayor is Muslim Woman, Apparent 1st in Mass". NBC Boston. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  6. ↑ "Cambridge City Council Elects Siddiqui Mayor, Mallon Vice Mayor | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  7. 1 2 "Putting the People First". Northwestern Magazine. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  8. ↑ "Who Will Be Cambridge's New Mayor?". Boston Magazine. 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  9. ↑ "Sumbul Siddiqui". Emerge Massachusetts. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  10. ↑ "Learn More About Sumbul Siddiqui". www.cambridgecouncilcandidates.com. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  11. ↑ "Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui Seeks Reelection | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  12. ↑ "Sumbul Siddiqui". www.cambridgema.gov. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  13. ↑ "Alumni Spotlight: Sumbul Siddiqui". www.cpsd.us. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  14. ↑ "SASA dinner raises $12,000 for India's neediest". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  15. ↑ "Alumni Spotlight: Sumbul Siddiqui '10 | Brown Public Policy Program". watson.brown.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  16. ↑ Peterman, Taylor C. (January 3, 2020). "Cambridge Mayor McGovern Will Not Seek Re-election, Endorses City Councilor Sumbul Siddiqui". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  17. ↑ "Cambridge Elects First Muslim Mayor In Mass". WBUR. January 6, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Mayor's Disaster Relief Fund". www.cambridgema.gov. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  19. ↑ Diti, Kohli (October 16, 2023). "Aides to Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui of Cambridge allege toxic workplace behavior". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui: A Pakistani-American looks forward to continuing to make Cambridge a more equitable and civically engaged community". Daily Pakistan Global. 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  21. ↑ "Women's Bar Association Announces Lelia J. Robinson Award Recipients and Emerging Women Leaders in the Law Honorees | Women's Bar Association". wbawbf.org. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  22. ↑ "GBLC Awards Night 2021 | Greater Boston Labor Council". gblc.us. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  23. ↑ "Reflecting on Our Fights and Wins in 2021". Community Labor United. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
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