Sumbul Siddiqui (born 1988) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 77th mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Siddiqui was elected mayor in 2020 by the Cambridge City Council, after serving in the body for three years. She succeeded Marc C. McGovern in January 2020, becoming the first Muslim mayor in Massachusetts history.
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Early life
Siddiqui was born in Karachi, Pakistan in 1988. She immigrated to the United States from Pakistan when she was two years old, with her parents and twin brother. Her family moved to Cambridge after receiving a lottery spot in Cambridge's affordable housing system. Siddiqui was raised in Rindge Towers in North Cambridge and Roosevelt Towers in East Cambridge. She attended schools in the Cambridge Public School District and graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in 2006, where she was also student body president. Siddiqui received a 2006 Peace and Justice Award from the Cambridge Peace Commission. Siddiqui also co-founded the Cambridge Youth Council in 2002, which still exists in the city today and has led to many initiatives by student activists.
Siddiqui attended Brown University, where she was involved in the university's South Asian Students Association. She graduated from Brown in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in public policy and American institutions. Siddiqui later attended the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, graduating in 2014 with a JD.
Siddiqui then joined Northeast Legal Aid, where she helped lead the Community Development and Entrepreneurship practice. Siddiqui provided free legal services to local entrepreneurs and small businesses in Lowell, Lawrence, and Lynn. Siddiqui also offered office hours at community organizations to offer brief advice related to common legal issues for small businesses.
Cambridge City Councillor (2018–2019)
As a City Councilor, she chaired the Mayor's Task Force on Tenant Displacement.
In October 2018, Councillor Siddiqui sponsored numerous community events, including Cambridge Digs DEEP, a series of Citywide forums on racial justice.
In 2018 and 2019, she hosted an annual Cambridge Community Iftar during the month of Ramadan.
In September 2019, Councillor Siddiqui was the deciding vote in a controversial project to develop the East Cambridge Courthouse. She advocated for more affordable housing in the deal.
Mayor of Cambridge
First term (2020–2021)
Sumbul Siddiqui topped the ballot in the 2019 election. Siddiqui was elected Mayor on January 6, 2020, with a unanimous vote.
During her tenure, Sumbul Siddiqui, served as the Mayor of Cambridge for four years, spearheading a range of initiatives aimed at addressing critical issues affecting the community.
In February 2020, she advocated for Halal meat in all Cambridge Public Schools. Informed by Muslim families, Mayor Siddiqui and School Committee Vice-chair Manikka Bowman advocated to make meals in Cambridge Public Schools as inclusive as possible, this served both a nutritional benefit to students who cannot rely on a daily packed lunch from home, as well as promoted opportunities for social learning through sharing meals with classmates.
In March 2020, Siddiqui responded to the COVID-19 Pandemic, by launching the Mayor's Disaster Relief Fund, which raised over $5 million to provide assistance to individuals, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in the Cambridge Pandemic Collaborative, facilitating city-wide COVID-19 testing and organizing neighborhood vaccine drives to ensure widespread access to essential healthcare services.
In July 2020, she worked with the Cambridge Public Library to eliminate library fines that disproportionately affect low-income residents and families of color.
In August 2020, Siddiqui, as the Chair of the School Committee worked with the Cambridge Public Schools Superintendent Kenneth Salim to reopen schools in phases. Students started going back to school virtually in September 2020 and eligible students whose families choose to opt-in began in-person learning four days a week in October 2020. She implemented several testing options throughout the city. All school staff working in-person were provided with free COVID-19 testing twice per week through a partnership with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. In addition to surveillance testing of onsite staff, easily accessible testing was made available in all buildings on an ongoing basis for staff and students who become ill with COVID-like symptoms during the school day.
Second term (2022–2023)
In January 2022, she partnered with Lesley University and Cambridge Public Schools to launch an Early College pilot.
In March 2022, Siddiqui hosted a Women's History Month art contest and collected art from residents.
In April 2022, Siddiqui hosted an Iftar that brought together hundreds of people.
Siddiqui organized the second annual Bike Bonanza and had residents bike in protected bike lanes around the city and stop by to support local business along the way. She always worked with the Department of Public Works and planted a cherry blossom tree at the Baldwin School with the 1st graders. Siddiqui also appointed a climate crisis working group that provided a report that highlights climate actions and goals.
In May 2022, she hosted a Yoga on the Lawn day in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. Mayor Siddiqui also provided five people with a year-subscription of Headspace.
In June 2022, she created a Universal Pre-K Ad-Hoc consisting of City staff, School Committee Members, City Councillors and staff from the Office of Early Childhood Education to push forward the Cambridge Preschool Program (CPP). CPP is a publicly funded program that will provide free school-day, school-year preschool to every 4-year-old and some 3-year-olds living in Cambridge by September 2024.
In June 2022, she sponsored the first ever Juneteenth Parade in collaboration with the Cambridge Families of Color Coalition.
In October 2022, she hosted a citywide Diwali event that featured performances from local artists.
In December 2022, she raised $50,000 in gift cards from the community and local businesses to distribute to residents. She also advocated to provide a $75 gift card to anyone that got their COVID booster.
Awards
2018: Outstanding Achievement Award South Asian Bar Association
2020: NAACP award
2021: Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts Emerging Women Leaders in the Law award
2021: South Asian Bar Association 2021 Member of the Year
2021: Northwestern Law Emerging Leader Award
2021: Margaret Fuller House Gala award
2021: Greater Boston Labor Council Labor Champion award.
2022: Massachusetts Association of School Committees, Inc award in recognition of work as Chair of Cambridge School Committee
2023: American Pakistan Foundation Rising Star
2023: UMASS Distinguished Fellow
2024: NAACP Leadership Award