Jake Wilson (born 1977) is an American politician who has served as the 37th mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts since January 2, 2026. Wilson had previously served as an at-large member of the Somerville City Council between January 2022 and January 2026.
Early life and education Wilson was born in the Twin Cities. He and his family moved to a family farm in Iowa two years after he was born. He later earned his B.A. in English at the University of Pennsylvania in 1999.
Career From 1997 to 2001, Wilson worked in Technology consulting and advisory services. From 2001 to 2006, he worked as a Journalist. In 2018, Wilson became president of Somerville Youth Soccer, and held that position until 2021. Before becoming president of the organization, Wilson was the communications director, and also coached for the organization
After several Somerville at-large City Councillors announced their retirement from the council, Wilson ran for one of the four at-large seats in 2021. He won with 7,067 votes. In 2023 he successfully ran for reelection.
On December 16, 2024, Wilson announced his candidacy for mayor, challenging incumbent Katjana Ballantyne. Ballantyne was eliminated in the September 2025 preliminary election, and Wilson won the November 2025 municipal election. Wilson won with the most votes in both elections.
Wilson was sworn in as mayor on January 2, 2026.
Personal life Wilson married his wife in 2002. They have two children and live in the Somerville neighborhood of Winter Hill.
Electoral history City Council 2021 Somerville City Council election (At-large) Candidate Municipal election Votes % Kristen Strezo 10,314 17.8 Willie Burnley, Jr. 9,735 16.8 Charlotte Kelly 9,700 16.7 Jake Wilson 7,067 12.2 Eve Seitchik 6,478 11.2 Justin Klekota 5,532 9.5 Tracey Leah Pratt 5,113 8.8 Virginia Hussey 3,869 6.7 Write-in 308 0.5 Total 58,116 100
2023 Somerville City Council election (At-large) Candidate Municipal election Votes % Kristen Strezo (incumbent) 11,993 21.9 Willie Burnley, Jr. (incumbent) 11,344 20.7 Will Mbah 11,088 20.2 Jake Wilson (incumbent) 10,909 19.9 Charlotte Kelly (incumbent) 9,032 16.5 Write-in 448 0.8 Total 54,814 100
Mayor
2025 Somerville mayoral election Candidate Preliminary election Municipal election Votes % Votes % Jake Wilson 5,190 42.1 11,294 55.1 Willie Burnley, Jr. 4,174 33.9 9,144 44.6 Katjana Ballantyne (incumbent) 2,927 23.7 Write-in 40 0.3 59 0.3 Total 12,331 100 20,497 100
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