You can visit my office website to explore my thinking in depth, but here is a summary of what you will find there.
I try to ground my work in evidence and long-range thinking, to be straight about the real tradeoffs we face, and to measure the Legislature by what it actually resolves.
Looking forward, here are some of my top priorities.
Protecting Massachusetts residents. A good deal of my current work is about shielding our residents from disruption coming out of Washington. I’m helping coordinate that response through the Senate’s Response 2025 effort, and I’ve worked to protect civil rights and our immigrant neighbors, including through the PROTECT Act.
Bringing down energy costs while meeting our climate goals. Energy affordability is front and center for me. I want to lower what families pay while we keep decarbonizing, see my comments on Mass Save in the pending energy bill. I also believe our climate policy has to stay tied to the science and to a realistic global framework.
Preparing for the climate change already underway. Cutting emissions isn’t enough; we also have to adapt. I’m focused on helping our communities prepare for more flooding and on harder long-term questions like protecting the MBTA from rising seas.
A transit system people can count on. I’ve long argued for investing in a modern, reliable network, including a serious commitment to regional rail. However, in the near term, getting the MBTA back to dependable service is my top priorities.
Housing people can afford. The cost of housing is one of the deepest challenges facing our region, and it is a central priority for all legislators today. I led the conference committee for the 2024 Affordable Homes Act, and I continue to advance the dialog about how to move forward, most recently by clarifying our metrics of housing need based on census data.
Justice that is both fair and effective. Criminal justice reform has been a commitment of mine for much of my professional life. While we have made huge progress through my leadership on criminal justice reform and police reform, we are still working to get the balance between treatment and punishment right.
Bicycle and pedestrian safety. As someone who commutes often by foot and often by bike, I am very conscious of the safety challenges for vulnerable road users. I have worked on dozens of fronts — legislative and local — to improve safety.
Supporting local government. As someone with 10 years of experience in local government, I am constantly oriented to supporting my fellow public servants — providing financial support (especially for education), assisting with local projects, and diligently passing home rule petitions. See for example these recent summaries for Watertown and Belmont.
Government worth trusting. I want people to have confidence in their Legislature. If the question is transparency, the answer has to be yes. I have worked hard for transparency across a range of issues and I support applying the public records law to the legislature.
These priorities come together in my FY27 budget priorities: protecting MassHealth, supporting the MBTA’s recovery, strengthening local education aid through Chapter 70 and special-education funding, fully funding indigent legal defense, sustaining food and housing assistance, and continuing to invest in the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Under tight fiscal conditions, those are the places I believe our resources should go.