Beacon Hill has a culture problem, not just a policy problem. Power in the Legislature, especially the House of Representatives, is concentrated in the hands of the leadership, who hand out committee chairs and leadership titles, and can take them away just as easily. That means a committee chair's standing depends on staying in leadership's good graces, not on serving their district. I'll push for real, structural checks on that unilateral power, including tying leadership stipends to actual output rather than loyalty, and giving committees members the ability to vote independently of the Chair’s position in the fashion of true democracy. I'll also fight to finally subject the Legislature to the same public records law everyone else follows, and to honor the audit voters already approved rather than water it down. We need to make it easier for the public to have input into the policy making process and for underrepresented voices to be heard. Real accountability means legislators answer to their districts first, not to whoever controls the gavel.

I believe in the expertise of teachers and administrators to determine the right curriculum for their classrooms, and I'm not looking to dictate that from Beacon Hill. Even after the Student Opportunity Act, the Chapter 70 school funding formula has real gaps: an inflation adjustment that hasn't kept pace with actual cost growth, and special education, transportation, and health care costs that aren't fully captured. I will advocate for increased funding that reflects the changing needs of each district, and address equity in the formula for these funds so every district gets adequate support. I will push to make sure the state pairs any new requirement with the resources to carry it out, and invest in the materials and training that teachers and administrators need for their classrooms.

Today's network of long-term services and support for older adults is difficult to navigate, underregulated, and expensive. I'll advocate for better access to MassHealth community-based care so older adults can safely age in place. I'll also push to fully fund the state’s home care program to eliminate the waitlist, pay care workers fair wages, invest more in councils on aging and advocate for more affordable older adult housing options. I support exploring a Massachusetts long-term care financing program, similar to the one Washington State recently launched, to help residents afford care when they need it most.  Older adults have not been a priority for the legislature and I want to change that, to make sure we have more accessible care that people can afford.

Twenty years ago, Massachusetts led the nation with health care reform that became the model for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Our current health care system, including patients, health care workers, hospital and community health centers, is suffering from significant costs and lack of access. We need fundamental change and we need to lead again. I will focus on protecting coverage for our residents who will lose health care coverage through federal cuts to Medicaid and the ACA with better ConnectorCare subsidies and expanded eligibility so more people can obtain needed coverage. I'll bring my own MassHealth policy expertise to this battle so no vulnerable group is left behind. 

The Legislature ended formal sessions this year without any plan for the number of people who will lose health care coverage in January.  It will be out of formal sessions until January, which will then be too late to address this issue.  Cuts to federal programs and double digit increases to health care premiums will leave many individuals uninsured, creating an even bigger strain on our already struggling health care system.  This is a crisis that we have known about but have no plan to address. I will make it a priority to tackle this crisis and push to make it a priority for the Legislature.

As an attorney, I believe deeply in the rule of law and due process. I will focus on keeping local police and courts out of civil immigration enforcement, and push to expand the PROTECT Act's protections to more vulnerable spaces, including councils on aging and long-term care facilities. But protecting immigrant families means more than that - it means strengthening the social protections they rely on every day. Fear of enforcement keeps families away from hospitals and the police, even when they're the victim of a crime, and keeps kids home from school out of fear rather than choice. Federal cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will hit legal immigrants especially hard. I will advocate for state-funded coverage options to fill that gap and expand social protections to ensure basic human rights are being met.

Equality means LGBTQ+ residents should have access to the same rights and institutions as everyone else, not a separate, lesser version of them. I will bring awareness to gaps in state laws that negatively impact the LGBTQ+ community and fight to close them. I'll also stand firm against any effort to roll back the rights and protections LGBTQ+ residents already have, whether that pressure comes from Washington or from inside our own State House. LGBTQ+ residents deserve full, equal access to the institutions and protections everyone else relies on, not exceptions carved out of them.

Supporting and maintaining access to reproductive health care is essential to the dignity, health, and freedom of every person, and it cannot be compromised. That means defending the protections Massachusetts has already built, and standing behind the providers under direct attack for delivering that care. When the federal government banned Medicaid funding at Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide, Massachusetts stepped up with state funding to help fill the gap. I will fight to keep that support in place for as long as this threat exists, especially with Congress still pushing to make the federal ban permanent. That support shouldn't stop at one provider - other family planning clinics facing the same federal funding loss deserve the same backing.

I fully support environmentally friendly policies that make our communities healthier and advance climate progress. Protecting our waterways and open spaces is critical. I'm concerned about the impact of pesticides and other harmful chemicals on our environment - I support giving municipalities the authority to restrict anticoagulant rodenticides locally, so towns like Belmont don't have to wait on Beacon Hill to protect the wildlife, pets, and children in their own community. I'll also fight to keep Mass Save funded appropriately, so Massachusetts continues to lead on energy efficiency and climate action without compromising on affordability.  I will advocate for efforts to eliminate PFAS chemicals that are present in so many consumer products.

No one in Massachusetts should go hungry. Grocery costs are climbing, federal cuts to SNAP are pushing more families and older adults to food pantries, and the safety net is straining under the weight of it. The state needs to act now: expand access to nutrition programs, cut the red tape that keeps eligible families and older adults from getting help, fund these programs at the level this crisis demands, and make sure the Department of Transitional Assistance has the staff to actually get people help when they need it.

I will push to pass local-option rent stabilization, so towns can cap runaway rent increases that are pushing families and individuals out of their communities. This will allow residents to stay in the homes that they love. Housing policy has to work for everyone, especially older adults who want to stay in this community. Right now, many stay in homes that do not meet their needs simply because there's nowhere else to go nearby. Giving older adults real options to downsize or move into community living, without leaving the town they call home, doesn't just support them; it frees up larger homes for the young families who need them.

Overrides shouldn't be the only tool in the toolbox. Massachusetts gives municipalities less state aid than the national average, and it hasn't kept pace with inflation for over a decade, even as costs keep climbing. That leaves towns planning their budgets around the next override instead of real, dependable funding. I'll push to grow Unrestricted General Government Aid sustainably, ensure special education and transportation reimbursements keep pace with real costs, and explore new revenue like payments from large tax-exempt nonprofits. Cities and towns deserve options before an override becomes the only one left.

Cars shouldn't be the only real option. In our district, 43% of residents drive alone to work while just 16% use public transit, even though we have both MBTA and commuter rail access. This is a district built for transit to compete with driving, not one where people feel stuck behind the wheel. I will push for legislation expanding employer-based commuter transit benefits and fare-free bus service on the state's highest-ridership routes, and push to fund more frequent commuter rail and bus service to Belmont and Arlington, so parents can actually get to work, daycare, and school pickup without a car.