Position Sought
Cambridge City Council
Current Position
Cambridge City Council
Location
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Date of General Election
November 4, 2025
General Election Donation Limit
$1,000
Race/Ethnicity
Black/African-American/Afro-Caribbean
Gender Identity
Cisgender Woman
Sexual Orientation
Lesbian
Pronouns
She/Her/Hers
Connect with Denise Simmons
Denise was the first out Black lesbian mayor in the country!
Biography
Denise Simmons is a lifelong resident of Cambridge, currently serving her 12th term on the City Council, and her third term as Mayor. She has spent the past four decades working to better her community, as the Executive Director of the Cambridge Civic Unity Committee in the 1980s, as a member of the School Committee in the 1990s, and since 2002, as a member of the City Council. Her priorities have included making City Hall more accessible and accountable to a greater number and wider diversity of people and voices. She has largely focused on increasing the stock of, and access to, affordable housing throughout Cambridge; enhancing people’s housing stability; focusing on issues pertaining to senior citizens; and boosting City funding for legal services for at-risk tenants.