Ayah Al-Zubi
She/Her
- Election history
- 2nd time candidate
She/Her
Ayah Al-Zubi moved to Cambridge to attend Harvard, from which she graduated in May 2023. She has been involved in after-school sports programs in area schools, for instance coaching a basketball program at Baldwin Elementary School (through Harvard’s Phillips Brooks House Association).
She ran for city council in 2023 and was eliminated in the final round of transfers.
Ayah is a member of Boston DSA and advocates for Democratic Socialism.
Ayah's housing stance, broadly summarized, is "yes" for subsidized, income-restricted housing and "no" for market-rate housing. She also supports expanding tenant protections and strong rent controls.
Our Affordable Housing Overlay currently supports this progress, but explicitly up-zoning for our market-rate will exacerbate the declining livelihood of the working class people.
I don’t believe we can solve the housing crisis by relying on the same market-driven mechanisms that helped create it.
My story is not a unique story. There are other people who are living in situations where they feel like they are not heard, and their landlords are taking advantage of that.
I would want to focus on making the #1 bus free, as well be an advocate at the state level with elected officials in pushing our MBTA to be more accessible, more frequent, and more safe.
We moved around a lot, growing up. It wasn't until I came to Cambridge and felt a deep sense of community that I became dedicated to giving back. That's part of why I ran in 2023. We came in 10th of the 9 seats. We're back at it again.
| Organization | Cambridge? | Union? | View |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Bicycle Safety | |||
| UAW | |||
| Boston DSA | on June 19, 2025 | ||
| Harvard College Democrats | this cycle | ||
| Run For Something | on Aug. 17, 2025 |
Housing policy, development, governance
Housing policy, development, governance
Pedestrian and cycling safety, policy, infrastructure, governance
Pedestrian and cycling safety, policy, infrastructure, governance
Lengthy panel on progressive issues; largely yes/no questions; only 9 respondents. This is the first year this has appeared.
Lengthy panel on progressive issues; largely yes/no questions; only 9 respondents. This is the first year this has appeared.
Housing, zoning, governance, infrastructure
Housing, zoning, governance, infrastructure
Al-Zubi wept when talking about the closing of the Transition Wellness center, whose residents she had worked with as an organizer. She said they had abruptly lost access to food, health care and services they gained in that space. “I’m emotional about it because our city is not centering neglected people,” she said.
Sept. 23, 2025 — Michael FitzgeraldAl-Zubi wept when talking about the closing of the Transition Wellness center, whose residents she had worked with as an organizer. She said they had abruptly lost access to food, health care and services they gained in that space. “I’m emotional about it because our city is not centering neglected people,” she said.
Challenger Ayah Al-Zubi ’23 has proposed the construction of new social housing in Cambridge, an idea garnering support across the field. Social housing is a form of publicly funded development that includes mixed-income units, some affordable and others even reaching market rate.
“What we would need to do to make that happen is leverage our triple A bond rating and create a revolving loan so that our city can invest directly into housing that we know can sustainably remain affordable,” Al-Zubi said.
Sept. 12, 2025 — Shawn A. Boehmer, Dionise Guerra-Carrillo, and Jack B. ReardonChallenger Ayah Al-Zubi ’23 has proposed the construction of new social housing in Cambridge, an idea garnering support across the field. Social housing is a form of publicly funded development that includes mixed-income units, some affordable and others even reaching market rate.
“What we would need to do to make that happen is leverage our triple A bond rating and create a revolving loan so that our city can invest directly into housing that we know can sustainably remain affordable,” Al-Zubi said.
“This one is near and dear to my heart as a Muslim,” said recent Harvard graduate Ayah A. Al-Zubi ’23, the youngest candidate in the race. “Policing was built to patrol enslaved folks back in the 18th century. If a system is broken, fundamentally, we cannot expect it to continue to serve the people,” she said.
Sept. 27, 2023 — Muskaan Arshad, Julian J. Giordano“This one is near and dear to my heart as a Muslim,” said recent Harvard graduate Ayah A. Al-Zubi ’23, the youngest candidate in the race. “Policing was built to patrol enslaved folks back in the 18th century. If a system is broken, fundamentally, we cannot expect it to continue to serve the people,” she said.
Al-Zubi said living off campus in Central Square during her senior year made her realize Cambridge has a "massive" affordable housing crisis, which she said she believes is the city’s "biggest issue."
Aug. 7, 2023 — Julian J. GiordanoAl-Zubi said living off campus in Central Square during her senior year made her realize Cambridge has a "massive" affordable housing crisis, which she said she believes is the city’s "biggest issue."