Practical. Local. Solvable.

Housing

When looking at our problems, we're quick to blame our neighbors—town spent too much on this, not enough on that. We buy into the myth that helping one person always takes away from another, while ignoring the people who take it all. We turn on each other instead of looking at the real problems: outdated laws, decisions made behind closed doors, career politicians, lack of transparency, policies presented as overly complicated or misleadingly simple to get a quick vote. Massachusetts shouldn't be forcing communities to turn on each other just to keep their schools funded, their seniors housed, and their water clean.

Blackstone Valley, let’s show ‘em how it’s done.

In Massachusetts, we rely on private developers to build most of our housing—and to get them to build, the state offers significant financial incentives. That's fine. But somewhere along the way, the deal got lopsided.

Developers profit, taxpayers foot the bill, and not enough affordable units get built in return. Worse, loopholes in the system let bad actors pass environmental and maintenance costs off to future homeowners through HOA fine print. The public takes the risk; developers take the reward.

It's time to rebalance. Laws like 40B, 40R, and 3A need to be updated so that when the state invests in housing, the public gets a fair return—more affordable units, fewer loopholes, and accountability for developers who take public money.

Security for Seniors

I was raised to respect my elders. Somewhere along the way, we've lost sight of that. In a culture where visibility depends on income, our seniors are being left behind. And this isn't just their problem—a society that only values people while they're earning will forget all of us eventually.

We have seniors who are hungry. Seniors who are cold. Seniors who are lonely. Seniors who are sick and can't afford a doctor. Seniors who are lying awake right now, worrying about how to keep a roof over their heads. They are our neighbors, our friends, our parents, our former teachers.

Our seniors shouldn't need a law degree to find out what help is available to them. The programs exist—property tax relief, utility assistance, prescription drug programs, aging-in-place resources, caregiver support, elder abuse protections—but they're scattered across agencies, and the people who need them most fall through the cracks. I'm proposing Senior-Forward: one coordinated initiative that pools these resources under one roof, so seniors can get help without navigating a maze—or relying on being online.. The help only works if people can find it.

Education Reform

You don't have to have a child in school to have a stake in education. Somewhere along the way, education became a political football—dismissed as elitism by people who benefit from keeping others uninformed. But education is the great equalizer. It's teaching our kids to work hard, ask questions, think for themselves, and respect expertise—whether that expertise leads to a PhD or a plumbing license. Education is doing something well, whatever you choose to do. Right now, it's the first thing on the chopping block in the name of "fiscal responsibility." In reality, losing it is the most expensive mistake we could make.

The problem starts with how we fund schools—a state formula tied to property wealth that hasn't kept up with reality. I'll fight to modernize Chapter 70 so communities like ours get a fair shake. I'll push to fully fund special education reimbursements so no district has to choose between supporting a child and cutting other programs. And I'll support real, creative incentives to recruit and retain great teachers—competitive pay, loan forgiveness, and housing assistance—because our kids deserve the best, and the best deserve to be able to afford to teach.