John Hanratty
He/Him
- Currently
- former VP at tech companies
- Election history
- 2nd time running
He/Him
John Hanratty has lived in Cambridge for over 25 years. He's had a long career as a tech executive and entrepreneur, retiring from full-time work in 2019.
John cites his opposition to the Cycling Safety Ordinance and his subsequent "community crusade in Porter Square" as the issue that drew him into city politics. He was heavily involved in suing the city of Cambridge over its protected bike lane network (all lawsuits failed or were rejected).
In the time since, he founded the Neighborhood 9 Coalition, which has, among other things, opposed affordable housing projects in the area--in particular highlighting potential developments on parking lots next to his home in Porter Square.
John is a landlord whose general housing stance is that he would prefer it to be built somewhere other than Cambridge.
He in general also does not list any way he supports tenants or tenant protections.
John is opposed to Inclusionary Zoning (IZ), citing that it inhibits development, but also believes building more housing hurts the middle class.
Cambridge is a congested and difficult-to-reach city. Many of those 45,000 people with good-paying jobs would prefer to live in towns with yards, open space, and less traffic. The problem is that commuting takes more than an hour each way. This circumstance causes them to look in Cambridge for housing. We could significantly reduce demand for housing by improving transportation to/from/within Cambridge.
If you build market rate, you're going to need to put parking in, to sell.
The thing I don't believe is that you're going to fix this with supply.
I’ve studied carbon issues and I don’t see how density in any way reduces carbon.
| Organization | Cambridge? | Union? | View |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Citizens Coalition |
John Hanratty, a retired businessman, thought the Pacs and their “extremely detailed questionnaires” have eliminated nuanced discussion of issues.
Sept. 23, 2025 — Michael FitzgeraldJohn Hanratty, a retired businessman, thought the Pacs and their “extremely detailed questionnaires” have eliminated nuanced discussion of issues.
“This is an important election, because Cambridge faces some dire challenges, and our unlimited checkbook is disappearing,” Hanratty said.
Sept. 8, 2025 — Shawn A. Boehmer, Ann E. Gombiner, and Dionise Guerra-Carrillo“This is an important election, because Cambridge faces some dire challenges, and our unlimited checkbook is disappearing,” Hanratty said.
“We’ve believed for years that we’re the richest city around,” Hanratty said. “We’ve become addicted to spending money.”
Sept. 8, 2025 — Shawn A. Boehmer, Ann E. Gombiner, and Dionise Guerra-Carrillo“We’ve believed for years that we’re the richest city around,” Hanratty said. “We’ve become addicted to spending money.”
Cambridge City Council candidate John Hanratty is running because “there is a lot of anger” toward the council among some Cambridge residents, and “I am representing that.”
“I don’t think the Cambridge city government represents me, or most of the people I talk to,” he said.
July 29, 2025 — Meg RichardsCambridge City Council candidate John Hanratty is running because “there is a lot of anger” toward the council among some Cambridge residents, and “I am representing that.”
“I don’t think the Cambridge city government represents me, or most of the people I talk to,” he said.
“If [the residents] are not gonna get on bikes, there isn’t any transportation other than the public transportation that doesn’t reach them or doesn’t suit their needs … what are they gonna do? They’re gonna have to move,” he said. “We’re chasing them out.”
July 29, 2025 — Meg Richards“If [the residents] are not gonna get on bikes, there isn’t any transportation other than the public transportation that doesn’t reach them or doesn’t suit their needs … what are they gonna do? They’re gonna have to move,” he said. “We’re chasing them out.”
“We have tens of thousands of people who can’t afford to live in the city, but are the backbone of our city,” Hanratty said. “When they get here, they can’t park.”
“We’ve been designing congestion into our city to discourage drivers in the city,” he added. “Unfortunately, our mass transit system isn’t up to snuff at this point, and there really aren't many alternatives to driving in many cases.”
Cambridge Streets For All has also been pursuing a lawsuit against the city to overturn the ordinance change expanding Cambridge bike lanes. Hanratty was not involved in the initial stages of the suit but said it was an important way “to get the attention of the city and maybe get some resolution to the problems that businesses were seeing.”
“We should have safe bike lanes, but we also need safe pedestrians, we need less congestion, we need parking for businesses,” Hanratty said.
Nov. 3, 2023 — Muskaan Arshad“We have tens of thousands of people who can’t afford to live in the city, but are the backbone of our city,” Hanratty said. “When they get here, they can’t park.”
“We’ve been designing congestion into our city to discourage drivers in the city,” he added. “Unfortunately, our mass transit system isn’t up to snuff at this point, and there really aren't many alternatives to driving in many cases.”
Cambridge Streets For All has also been pursuing a lawsuit against the city to overturn the ordinance change expanding Cambridge bike lanes. Hanratty was not involved in the initial stages of the suit but said it was an important way “to get the attention of the city and maybe get some resolution to the problems that businesses were seeing.”
“We should have safe bike lanes, but we also need safe pedestrians, we need less congestion, we need parking for businesses,” Hanratty said.
It looks at 1.3 miles of protected bike lanes, where bicyclists are separated from car traffic by plastic flex-posts and other means. On those stretches, there were 19 more injuries from before Covid to after installation in 2022, or a 158 percent increase, the report says, resulting in what Hanratty called “a limp or having to go to the hospital.”
Hanratty was part of a group called Cambridge Streets for All that filed a lawsuit last summer over the loss of parking space from the Cycling Safety Ordinance of 2019, which calls for 22.6 miles of bike lanes citywide. That lawsuit was rejected by a judge on March 27, but is being appealed. Other members of that group were on a closed call explaining the analysis, including Joan Pickett and John Pitkin, a former member of chair of the city’s Board of Traffic and Parking.
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Though his field is business consulting, Hanratty said he “went to three or four experts” who approved of his analysis...
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Bike advocates were contacted Monday and asked if they were aware of the findings. “It’s hard to directly evaluate this lengthy report without looking into the details of the data analysis further. However, its conclusions are at odds with professional consensus,” said Nate Fillmore, a co-founder of the Cambridge Bicycle Safety group.
“Of relevance, the Federal Highway Administration just released a report on the safety of protected bike lanes” that included Cambridge and found that “quick-build” lanes such as those in use in Cambridge “cut the risk of crash in half compared to regular bike lanes,” Fillmore said.
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People that “probably shouldn’t be biking are being coaxed” into using the lanes and putting themselves at risk, Hanratty said, and the group believes that a Cycling Safety Ordinance should pay more attention to safety. “We don’t want people to get hurt unnecessarily.”
April 24, 2023 — Marc LevyIt looks at 1.3 miles of protected bike lanes, where bicyclists are separated from car traffic by plastic flex-posts and other means. On those stretches, there were 19 more injuries from before Covid to after installation in 2022, or a 158 percent increase, the report says, resulting in what Hanratty called “a limp or having to go to the hospital.”
Hanratty was part of a group called Cambridge Streets for All that filed a lawsuit last summer over the loss of parking space from the Cycling Safety Ordinance of 2019, which calls for 22.6 miles of bike lanes citywide. That lawsuit was rejected by a judge on March 27, but is being appealed. Other members of that group were on a closed call explaining the analysis, including Joan Pickett and John Pitkin, a former member of chair of the city’s Board of Traffic and Parking.
...
Though his field is business consulting, Hanratty said he “went to three or four experts” who approved of his analysis...
...
Bike advocates were contacted Monday and asked if they were aware of the findings. “It’s hard to directly evaluate this lengthy report without looking into the details of the data analysis further. However, its conclusions are at odds with professional consensus,” said Nate Fillmore, a co-founder of the Cambridge Bicycle Safety group.
“Of relevance, the Federal Highway Administration just released a report on the safety of protected bike lanes” that included Cambridge and found that “quick-build” lanes such as those in use in Cambridge “cut the risk of crash in half compared to regular bike lanes,” Fillmore said.
...
People that “probably shouldn’t be biking are being coaxed” into using the lanes and putting themselves at risk, Hanratty said, and the group believes that a Cycling Safety Ordinance should pay more attention to safety. “We don’t want people to get hurt unnecessarily.”
The plaintiffs, a group called Cambridge Streets for All, went to court in June 2022 in hopes of stopping the city from adding more protected bike lanes under the CSO and removing existing lanes that took away parking spaces. In November, the city made a motion to Judge Maureen B. Hogan to dismiss the suit.
The Tuesday decision found that Cambridge Streets for All hadn’t supported its claims adequately, according to the city’s Law Department.
March 7, 2023 — Marc LevyThe plaintiffs, a group called Cambridge Streets for All, went to court in June 2022 in hopes of stopping the city from adding more protected bike lanes under the CSO and removing existing lanes that took away parking spaces. In November, the city made a motion to Judge Maureen B. Hogan to dismiss the suit.
The Tuesday decision found that Cambridge Streets for All hadn’t supported its claims adequately, according to the city’s Law Department.
Having cycled through Porter Square countless times, I was perplexed when Barr dismissed concerns about how bike lanes are choking off local businesses and claimed that Porter Square was the most dangerous section of Cambridge for cyclists.
July 30, 2022 — John HanrattyHaving cycled through Porter Square countless times, I was perplexed when Barr dismissed concerns about how bike lanes are choking off local businesses and claimed that Porter Square was the most dangerous section of Cambridge for cyclists.