Dana Bullister
She/Her
- Currently
- PhD Student; Data Scientist
- Election history
- Last ran in 2021
She/Her
Dana Bullister is a second-time challenger. A policy design researcher and data scientist now pursuing her PhD at Northeastern, Dana is a longtime renter in Cambridge. She does not own a car and gets around via multimodal transit.
During her time in Cambridge, Dana has worked at various tech companies and is active in the local innovation scene. She volunteers extensively and currently serves as the chair of the board of the YWCA. She has exhaustive policy proposals on her campaign website, and is the only candidate to take a stance on goat grazing policy.
In her first run in 2021, Dana accepted an endorsement from Cambridge Citizens Coalition. Dana went on to disavow CCC's public behavior in a Medium comment. She did not seek CCC's endorsement in 2025.
A longtime renter in East Cambridge and Central, Dana is strongly in favor of building density in Cambridge's squares and corridors. She views housing production as closely tied to affordability.
She is in favor of revising the IZ threshold to a value that maximizes number of added affordable homes.
| Organization | Cambridge? | Union? | View |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Better Cambridge | |||
| Cambridge Bicycle Safety | |||
| Run For Something | this cycle |
Pedestrian and cycling safety, policy, infrastructure, governance
Pedestrian and cycling safety, policy, infrastructure, governance
Housing policy, development, governance
Housing policy, development, governance
Housing, zoning, governance, infrastructure
Housing, zoning, governance, infrastructure
Bullister said the council “could benefit from fresh ideas. There Is some value for being outside of the political sphere. You get to see the water in which everyone swims.”
Sept. 23, 2025 — Michael FitzgeraldBullister said the council “could benefit from fresh ideas. There Is some value for being outside of the political sphere. You get to see the water in which everyone swims.”
Bullister shared several ideas on ways to lower the cost of rent, including giving renters more negotiating power.
“I think that policy and zoning are all about giving people choices and opening doors to the possibility that they can live affordably, they can live sustainably if they want, and not force them to live in a giant place if they really don’t want to,” she said.
Sept. 19, 2025 — Alvin BuyinzaBullister shared several ideas on ways to lower the cost of rent, including giving renters more negotiating power.
“I think that policy and zoning are all about giving people choices and opening doors to the possibility that they can live affordably, they can live sustainably if they want, and not force them to live in a giant place if they really don’t want to,” she said.
For challenger Dana R. Bullister, parking prices were a central issue.
“Appropriately pricing parking, specifically by using dynamic metering, could do a lot both to increase the safety of our streets and to improve local business, and additionally, and very importantly, reducing traffic and reducing emissions,” Bullister said.
Sept. 12, 2025 — Shawn A. Boehmer, Dionise Guerra-Carrillo, and Jack B. ReardonFor challenger Dana R. Bullister, parking prices were a central issue.
“Appropriately pricing parking, specifically by using dynamic metering, could do a lot both to increase the safety of our streets and to improve local business, and additionally, and very importantly, reducing traffic and reducing emissions,” Bullister said.
"Fundamentally, I think that a really successful city council is a diverse city council, both in terms of the demographic backgrounds of the city councilors, but also in terms of the skill sets of the city councilors," Bullister said.
...
"Elections are to be sold at this very moment," Bullister continued. "Cambridge is up for sale."
Oct. 30, 2021 — Betsey I. Bennett, Anne M. Brandes"Fundamentally, I think that a really successful city council is a diverse city council, both in terms of the demographic backgrounds of the city councilors, but also in terms of the skill sets of the city councilors," Bullister said.
...
"Elections are to be sold at this very moment," Bullister continued. "Cambridge is up for sale."