Yes, eligible voters should always be able to cast a ballot on Election Day. I support Election Day voter registration as long as the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office puts in place the appropriate digital infrastructure (with backup manual procedures) that prevents anyone from voting in multiple locations and supports front line poll workers and the staff of the municipal clerk’s office in every municipality. If enacted, election workers would need to be able to process same-day registrations while also keeping the lines at polling places reasonably short and ensuring a free, fair, and accurate count of the votes cast.
This past session, the MA house and senate failed to come together to pass any climate legislation at all during the normal session. If elected, I would encourage both chambers of the legislature to pass climate legislation early in the session that addresses the permitting and procedural delays slowing down the deployment of carbon-free generation, storage, and transportation (even if that means allowing fossil infrastructure to continue), because we now have many climate-friendly technologies that are cost competitive with the fossil-based technologies they will be replacing. Also, I would focus on improving public transit options, frequency, and reliability as well as evaluating the cost-effectiveness of previous climate legislation.
The housing bill passed this summer is a great first step (allowing accessory dwelling units by right). However, the legislature needs to look for additional ways to unlock housing opportunities in MA such as eliminating or reducing minimum parking space requirements for housing and mixed use properties. The legislature also needs to be careful to avoid economic policies that lead to stagnation in the housing market (such as rent control or exorbitant transfer fees) resulting in tenants and homeowners feeling trapped in place even if they are ready to move into new housing that better suits their needs in life. Beyond that, I’m open to hearing new and novel ideas about solving the affordable housing crisis in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts is an excellent place to live, so it will always be a desirable place for immigrants — whether as a temporary shelter in a crisis or as a deliberate choice for a better life. As a prosperous state, we need to do our part to help others around the world, but we need to balance our desire to help others with a commitment to taking care of ourselves and those who are already here, including veterans, those living with addiction or developmental disabilities. Where possible we should allow immigrants to become self-sufficient once they have entered the state, which may mean staying to contribute to our communities, moving onto another more suitable location, or returning home to help solve the crisis that caused them to leave.
For communities along Trapelo Rd we do not have any useful, reliable, or frequent public transit options, so I am proposing a 73T bus route that serves the entire length of the Trapelo Rd in Waltham and provides quick and efficient access to the commuter rail station, the grocery store, and a large number of parks. Waltham also lacks enough planning professionals or a strategic master plan for the city as whole resulting in poor intersection and streetscape designs with inaccessible sidewalks. If elected, I would work with city officials to address both of these issues. State-wide, we need to do much more to increase the public EV charging infrastructure, so they are as readily available as gas stations along major state highways.
No because same day registration has potential for fraud. There should be deadlines to register to vote before the election to ensure the voter is verify to be a resident and has been filed properly with its local town or city hall. With that procedure it can be a safeguard to prevent fraud.
There is no climate emergency and government does not have the ability to reverse, stall, or prevent climate changes. All they can do is provide resources or dealing with the aftermath of a climate catastrophe which happens by Nature and is not preventable despite the individual Collective efforts to reverse, stall or prevent climate change or emergencies.
Stop raising taxes. Stop misspending taxes they already collect. Stop allowing those who are taking advantage of resources for housing
Those who come here legally and go through the process to come to our country should be provided the resources. Those who are not here legally and did not go through the process should be turned away and sent back to their home.
I would speak with transportation Administration and see what the issues are Statewide and what will be pertaining locally to Waltham residents and see if there are any issues and if there are what Solutions they recommend would be beneficial to assisting transportation both locally and Statewide to those who do not have private transportation. I would also speak with Local transportation for my district and apply the same remedy as it would be for Statewide. I would particularly concentrate on those who are on disability because they are the ones who need special assistance for transportation due to their disability.
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Over the years, I’ve supported policies that increase voting access from automatic voter registration, online registration, and the VOTES Act last session which gives reduced the deadline to register from 20 to 10 days before an election. EDR keeps us moving in this direction. I’m supportive of this policy but would want to make sure our communities have the resources necessary to ensure full compliance.
Addressing our climate emergency has always been a priority of mine. Over the years, the Legislature passed bills encouraging the development of solar, wind and other clean energy sources. This session, we passed legislation to streamline the state and local permitting process and further increase the supply of clean energy by setting new renewable energy generation storage procurement targets. I support legislation requiring utilities to add more renewable thermal each year and helping workers obtain the skills needed to transition to the climate tech industry.
The Commonwealth’s housing affordability crisis is complex and there is no silver bullet for solving it. Last session, the Legislature included the MBTA Communities Act in an economic development bill to help municipalities within the MBTA’s service area update zoning and encourage more housing around public transit. This session, we passed the Affordable Homes Act that includes bond authorizations, tax credits and policy initiatives to facilitate the development of affordable housing and to preserve public housing in the Commonwealth. One of my priorities in the Affordable Homes Act is a special commission that will be tasked with studying how to expand the supply of affordable, supportive housing for older adults.
In the absence of Congressional action on immigration reform, Massachusetts is doing its best to manage the situation in the most fiscally sustainable and humane way possible. We are faced with providing temporary shelter or having migrants sleep at airports, public spaces and on sidewalks. I support the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s efforts to spread the word along border states that shelters are at capacity and not to come if they don’t have permanent housing in place. I also support the Administration’s focus on giving migrants the time to apply for work permits and become productive members of society.
Waltham is fortunate to have several public transit options, including buses and the Commuter Rail. I’m proud that the FY25 budget includes a record $447m investment in the MBTA that will help make the system more reliable. And, thanks to Fair Share Revenue, communities will have more funding made available to them for local projects. More must be done, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with my colleagues next session on a long-term solution that will give our transportation system the necessary resources it needs to ensure everyone can get to where they are going safely and efficiently.
