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]
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]
