2024 State House Fourteenth Middlesex District
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is comprised of 160 members, each representing a district of approximately 40,000 people and each elected for a two-year term. As required by the Massachusetts Constitution, the House meets year-round in either formal or informal sessions to consider legislation. The Massachusetts House is led by the Speaker of the House who is elected by the members of the body at the beginning of each two-year legislative session. Base salary for each representative is approximately $66,256.
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Simon Cataldo
(Dem)
Do you support election day voter registration? Why or why not?
What actions should the legislature take to address the climate emergency?
What should the legislature do to increase the supply of affordable and middle-market housing in Massachusetts?
What measures would you support to deal with the needs of the large number of immigrants coming to Massachusetts?
What are your priorities for dealing with transportation statewide and in your district?
Campaign Phone
9787905659
The Legislature made significant advancements in voting accessibility with the VOTES Act, and should zealously seek ways to improve upon those expansions. During my time in the Legislature I have met with our town clerks and election workers, and have observed the processes concerning early voting paperwork first-hand, all in order to better understand how the burdens on town election offices have evolved with the advent of voting reforms. One takeaway from that learning process is that future voting changes, like election day registration, which I support on the merits, must be accompanied by advancements in supporting the bandwidth and infrastructure of our election offices.
On climate, we must work at a pace that is in accord with the emergency nature of the problem. We need to pass siting and permitting reform, enhance the ability to utilize non-gas alternatives in our energy infrastructure, and unlock investment opportunities for federal dollars in clean energy technology. All of these ideas have been enshrined in bills that already passed both the House and Senate, but a consensus legislative product did not emerge in time for the end of the session. That is not an acceptable outcome for my constituents or for me, and I am committed to working with my colleagues collaboratively to see that we make as much progress as possible during the informal session.
We took a major step forward in passing the Affordable Homes Act, which was a top priority of both the Governor and the Legislature. I believe that the investments reflected in that legislation are a great step towards meeting the scale of the housing shortage in Massachusetts. Now, we need to see excellent state-local collaboration to ensure that the opportunities afforded by the legislation are accessible to communities, future residents, and developers. As a State Representative in a district that is experiencing a housing shortage, I am committed to doing everything I can to facilitate that progress.
I am proud that our district hosts two of the most successful emergency family shelters in the state. Through meeting the moment in our migrant crisis, our community has experienced beneficial change, while also of course navigating serious challenges. We need to continue to invest in workforce training and help newcomers who are here legally secure the work approvals. I also believe that the Governor’s tweaks to the shelter program of late have been appropriate in order to tackle the challenge in a practical way that does not overpromise and under-deliver for new and existing residents.
It is well understood that we have let needed investments in our public transportation system go under-funded for many decades. We are seeing the results of those missed opportunities now. I believe that there is progress being made at the MBTA today, however. We recently saw the resumption of express service from South Acton, and speed restrictions are being lifted. In order to make the investments that meet the scale of the problems, we will need to leverage both federal and fair share dollars to build new rail and electrify trains. More locally, we have the opportunity to create landmark change around the Route 2 rotary with the closing of MCI Concord. I am working closely with local and state MassDOT leaders on that matter.
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