YOUR PRIORITIES ARE MY PRIORITIES

Accountable and Transparent Government

The lack of transparency in our state government is at the core of our broken legislative process. When we, the people, don’t have the ability to see how our Representatives are voting, it’s antithetical to the democratic process. And until we have that visibility, it will be business as usual on Beacon Hill. And business as usual is NOT good enough for the people of Massachusetts. Changing this means putting pressure on all of our Representatives, including the Speaker of the house, to publish all committee votes, allow at least 30 minutes for Representatives to read amendments before voting on them and 24 hours before the House votes on bills so that the public can also lend their voice to the process. Our current representative has voted against ALL transparency measures, including those listed here, that have come before the House in the last 2 decades. Regardless of House rules, I promise to always make my votes public. You will always know where I stand.

The Challenges:

Our democracy depends on a transparent, representative government that is inclusive of open input from constituents and public debate by legislators . Currently in Massachusetts we have a system that centers around unaccountable centralized power and barriers to participation. Overall this system of centralized power makes it easier for lobbyists to focus on a small group of leaders at the top effectively undermining any public input currently available in the process (which is already quite limited). Some forms of centralized power include:

Lack of Speaker Term Limits: This effectively takes away any accountability from the speaker for their actions.

Speaker Appointment of Committee Assignments: Putting this power in one person's hands has naturally led to a huge power imbalance between leadership and rank and file members as our elected officials seek to gain favor in order to serve on committees of their choosing or expertise.

Speaker Appointments of Committee Chairships: The speaker has full authority over assigning chairs within committees. These chairships come with stipends, all are at least 5 figures with some coming in at 6 figures. The combination of power and money in this way leads to a coercive and undemocratic working environment for all legislators on Beacon Hill.

Solutions I will advocate for:

We must move to decentralize power within the House and strong transparency reforms are the first step. To that end I fully support The Sunlight Agenda which consists of the following (for an exhaustive list please click here)

  1. H. 3121: An Act relative to the open meeting law: Open Meeting Law is already in place for most governing bodies in Massachusetts (such as municipal) and in almost all legislatures around the country. These laws are designed to increase transparency across state-level meetings which also increases our ability to include the general public in the decision-making processes, according to transparency advocates Act On Mass,  “Under existing OML provisions, the public is permitted to attend meetings of public bodies besides the Legislature, namely all 351 municipal governments. This bill would extend that democratic privilege to constituents wishing to monitor legislative proceedings of the State House”

  2. Working with our colleagues in the Senate to pass legislation (S.2064 / S.1963) that would subject the legislature and the governor's office to Public Records Law, bringing MA up to standard with the majority of other states.

  3. I would vote in favor of House Rules (the legislature votes each session on the rules they will use to govern how they do business) which focus on increasing accountability such as:

    1. Public Committee Votes

    2. 48 Hours to review bills

    3. 24 Hours to review amendments

The current incumbent has voted against these simple but effective rule changes for nearly two decades.

Affordable Housing

It’s no secret that we’re in the midst of a serious housing crisis. To properly address this growing crisis, we must be willing to take a multi-faceted approach, there is no one magic bullet to slay this monster. Cities and towns need to be given the flexibility to approach their housing goals in ways that make sense for their communities. To put it bluntly - the state needs to get out of the way. 

The Challenges:

The state continues to be a roadblock to solving our housing crisis. Many municipalities are held back by the need to get state approval in order to implement things like zoning changes, rent stabilization or real estate transfer fees. This process is called “Home Rule Petitioning” - and it is a notoriously difficult and needlessly tedious process.  For example we know that Accessory Dwelling Units have been instrumental across the country in adding housing inventory and affordability to the market, so why has Massachusetts lagged behind other states in implementing zoning for ADU’s? Because municipalities have to go through the state to “get permission” to do so. We know that mixed income, collectively-owned affordable housing that’s in close proximity to public transportation and retail centers works to strengthen communities and increase the percentage of affordable units - but many municipalities are slow to implement these options because of zoning issues, building costs and community resistance.Solutions to these challenges often have to go through the Home Rule process first slowing everything down to a standstill. That’s why Governor Healey is asking MBTA communities to create a plan to improve zoning around transportation hubs and increase density in SOME areas to add to the current housing inventory. And yet Waltham, a designated MBTA community, has not addressed this legislation in a meaningful way and our incumbent has not advocated for this solution on a state or local level. We can also look at the example of a one time fee on real estate transfers of a certain amount that would generate revenue for affordable housing, our current incumbent has consistently opposed allowing municipalities to make this decision for themselves. I will advocate for allowing cities and towns the flexibility to meet this crisis head on and I have and will continue to advocate strongly for the inclusion of solutions such as the real estate transfer fee in the Governor's Housing Bond Bill. 

Even though we know that these policies and more are vital tools to solving the crisis, almost every solution still requires passing legislation at the state level that allows cities and towns to address their housing needs. This is an unnecessary stumbling block to lowering housing costs in Massachusetts and should be removed. 

Solutions I will Advocate for:

Allowing Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) statewide by right, i.e., without having to get approval from a local zoning board, and without unreasonable restrictions such as limiting tenants to immediate family members, which would restrict mortgage options.

Allowing a local option (i.e., without having to get state approval) to cities and towns to institute a real estate transfer fee to generate funds for local affordable housing. One that should be flexible enough to allow every community to generate substantial revenue.

Keeping people in their homes whenever possible which includes:

  • Right to counsel for renters facing eviction.

  • Eviction sealing, i.e., keeping an eviction from being part of a person’s permanent record, which might inhibit them from obtaining housing in the future.

  • Foreclosure prevention.

  • Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), which gives tenants the right to purchase their building if their landlord sells it.

Climate Justice and Clean Energy

Climate change unfairly burdens our marginalized communities. Equity and justice must be at the center of our fight against climate change. We need to build coalitions and collaborate with experts, adding input from our labor unions, to address challenges and ensure a just transition out of fossil fuels. Public transit is also critical to addressing climate change. We need an MBTA that is fare-free, safe and reliable, and has expanded bus service in North Waltham. We must divest from fossil fuels and invest in local green jobs.

The Challenges:

We need to renovate 1 million homes with clean energy, replace high emitting vehicles (including buses, trains etc…) with electric ones, increase solar energy, and much more by 2030. The public will is there, industry will is catching up - the political will continues to stall on immediate implementation of proposed and agreed upon solutions. 

We must be always mindful of the potential impacts, intended or not, on communities where new infrastructures might be housed, or that have been disproportionately affected by pollution for decades. There can be no solution to the climate crisis without holding climate justice at its center!

The construction industry needs both education and incentive to change business as usual. For many years natural gas became the go to energy source as it was hyped as “clean energy” - which it is NOT. In order to transition off gas and onto sources of non-combusting renewable thermal energy we will need to support the transition for gas companies, their customers, and their workers. 

Our understanding of issues such as “embodied carbon” and new building techniques that can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of new construction as compared to current building codes is growing daily. Clearly, implementing solutions will require that we collaborate across industries and agencies. We must implement these solutions while simultaneously working with labor groups to help those workers who might be displaced by the transition away from fossil fuels. This will take a leader who can be a strong advocate for climate justice and who will stand against the fossil fuel lobby in its bid to derail this transition. We do not currently have that kind of leadership in the 9th Middlesex. 

Solutions I will Advocate for:

H.1438/S.941: Access to Justice (Day/Crighton, Miranda) – Would require only that a project has actual negative effects on an EJ community rather than the current standard of intended negative effect.

H.1865/S.1179: A Just Transition to Clean Energy (LeBoeuf, Robinson/Feeney, Timilty) – Helps workers displaced by the transition from fossil fuels.

H.1864/S.1180: Clean Energy Workforce Standards and Accountability (Decker/Feeney) – Requires wage standards, training, & diversity in state-funded climate projects.   

HD.3802/S.2127: Healthy and sustainable schools (Decker/Feeney) – Energy audits for all schools

H.3236/S.2176: An Act sparking the construction of 21st century buildings (Vitolo/Payano) – The Spark Act ensures that newly constructed buildings have a reduced carbon footprint as compared to current building codes. 

HD.3317: Establishing Solar Neighborhoods/Increasing Solar Rooftop Energy (Connolly/Lewis) – Requires all new buildings be built to accommodate the installation of a solar energy system on their roofs and certain categories of new buildings be required to have a solar energy system

H.3232/S.2365: Zero Carbon Renovation Fund (Vargas/Gomez) (Bill Summary) - Allocate $250 million or more of ARPA funds or other funds to create a Zero Carbon Renovation Fund.

H.2894/S.1799: HERO Act (Montaño/Eldridge) (Bill Summary) - Raises revenue through the Deeds Excise Tax for affordable housing, housing vouchers and rental assistance for extremely low-income families and for climate resiliency and mitigation.

H.3203/S.2105: The Future of Clean Heat (Owens/Creem) (Bill Summary) – To transition off gas and onto sources of non-combusting renewable thermal energy. It requires and supports the transition for gas companies, their customers, and their workers. Would ban the use of hydrogen and renewable natural gas in the gas distribution system.

H. 3392/S.2217: (Owens, Armini/Crighton) Setting Deadlines to Electrify the MBTA Commuter Rail – Starting with the Fairmount-Indigo, Newburyport/ Rockport (goes through Chelsea and Lynn), and Providence lines.

H.872/S.481: Polluters Pay (Owens/Eldridge) (Bill Summary) – Better Future Project bill to require superfund-like payments from major polluters as measured by emissions from 2000-19, raising $75 billion over 25 years for adaptation projects statewide.

More information on the details of these bills and more can be found at: 350 Mass Better Futures Project

Check back as we add more priorities to the site!

Reach out.

If you have any questions or concerns on my priorities, or where I stand on what matters to you, please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.