Massachusetts’ First Muslim Mayor Elected In Cambridge

The first muslim Mayor in Massachusetts was elected in Cambridge on Monday.

Cambridge City Councilor, Sumbul Siddiqui, was elected Cambridge’s new Mayor, in a unanimous vote by her fellow City Councilors.

Siddiqui, an immigrant from Pakistan, served as a Cambridge City Councilor for two years before being elected Mayor.

In a Facebook post, Siddiqui wrote:

For the past two years, I’ve had the distinct privilege of serving as an elected member of the Cambridge City Council. Yesterday morning, I was officially inaugurated as the Cambridge’s 77th Mayor. I cannot begin to describe the feeling of standing before a room full of so many amazing family, friends, colleagues, former teachers and mentors, and many members of this community I deeply admire, and repeating the formal oath of office, hand raised high. Awe. Faith. Humility. Excitement. Urgency.

Above all, immense gratitude- for the support and strength you all have given me. You believed in me, stood by my side, and helped me achieve my goals to become who I am today: a public servant in the city I’ve called home since I was just two years old. As we welcome in this new decade together, I could not be more proud to work with and on behalf of this community! Thank you!

Jetpac, an organization that seeks to increase the number of muslims serving in the United States Government, took to Facebook to congratulate Siddiqui:

Congratulations to Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui of Cambridge City. Siddiqui is currently addressing the Council and City in her first address, having been voted in as Mayor unanimously on the first ballot.

Mayor Siddiqui is the first American Muslim Mayor in Massachusetts, and in her opening address has emphasized the importance of service and how it has been such a foundational part of her life since moving to America from Pakistan as a child.