Platform
Controlling Costs for Families
I have heard from families all over the district that expenses are blowing the budget. We know that Massachusetts has the highest cost of childcare in the nation.
On top of this, childcare providers are retiring or leaving positions for better pay outside of early childhood care. There is a serious shortage in both high quality in-home and center-based childcare. It is absolutely clear - we need to invest in early childhood homes, centers and preschools across our district. In particular, the Commonwealth can do more to support infant daycare.
I will work with our communities to pursue funding for early childhood education and care grants funded through iLottery revenue. I will advocate for expansion of early childhood training, and I support the Commonwealth’s ongoing early childhood education and care planning process and look forward to taking action on the final plan. We must also ensure that early childhood education and care workers are paid a competitive wage.
Affordable Housing for the Future
What doesn’t get said enough is that housing affordability impacts everyone - renters, homeowners, families, single parents, and especially seniors. I have seen first-hand the community benefits of a vibrant and accessible housing market. In many ways, housing is a key indicator of a healthy community. We all want to stay on the South Coast, we can do more to responsibly develop affordable housing in order to ensure housing stock for growing families on the South Coast and livable and community-oriented housing stock for our seniors.
Protecting Reproductive Rights in the Commonwealth
Since the Dobbs decision, ensuring that Massachusetts remains steadfast in supporting and expanding access to abortion care has become imperative. We may be safe thanks to the ROE Act passed in 2020, but having limits on abortions puts incredible stress on families that are already making the hardest decision of their lives. Having more time to make this decision is the humane and right thing to do.
Some may say that we are safe in Massachusetts, but Dobbs has further impacted the number of medical providers that choose to be trained in abortion service and reproductive care. There is still work to do in terms of making sure we secure the next generation of abortion and reproductive health medical providers. Let’s support our medical schools in incentivizing reproductive care specialties.
Healthcare Costs and Infrastructure
No one in the Commonwealth should be staring down a medical bill that has potential to ruin them financially, especially in the face of grave diagnoses and grief. Families deserve to seek the care they need without fearing about how they will pay for it.
If it wasn’t already hard enough for South Coast families, the failure of a for-profit hospital system has impacted availability of quality healthcare in our region. The decision of a few greedy executives has resulted in families having to spend more time and money finding the care they need. If elected, I will make healthcare access and affordability my priority and ensure that a failure like Steward never happens again.
Coming Together – Fighting the Politics of Division
To accomplish all of this we must work together. We have no time for the politics of division. Too much of that is happening around us and I don’t know about you but I am tired of it. Let’s define the real problems, find common ground, and solve them together. It is what I learned growing up here.
We are a diverse community, each with our own story to tell, our own views and with the same rights and freedoms and the capacity to be kind to each other. We should embrace our differences as it is a part of what makes our communities so special and so strong.
As the state representative for our entire district, I will always stand with these principals in mind and do everything I can to make things better for all of us.
Transparency in Government
As a longtime local official and former member of the administration of Governor Deval Patrick, openness and transparency have always been a guiding light. The Open Meeting Law, Public Records Law, Conflict of Interest Law and executive orders and directives have been important tools in ensuring citizens have access to the decision-making process. And while the Legislature is subject to a number of these laws, there is more that can be done. The Legislature should establish a state legislative research bureau that allows constituents to know and understand the bills that are filed and voted on. Also, if I am elected to the legislature, I commit to publicizing my votes on each and every bill. The Legislature should also consider establishing an independent audit process.
