Getting policies passed

If you’re curious about what policies I am in favor of, check out my Issues page. This article is about how we actually get those policies passed and implemented.

One thing I’ve learned from consulting in dozens of cities across the country is that there are many, many obstacles to getting policies implemented. In Medford, we face the Massachusetts constitution, previous ballot measures like Prop 2 ½ and the rent stabilization ban, as well as our own budget and amount of support in the community.

I’m always thinking beyond policy to how to overcome obstacles so that I can be an effective city councilor.

Affordable Housing

When it comes to affordable housing, the Massachusetts constitution and previous ballot measures often prevent duly elected city councils and mayors from passing policies their cities need. Transfer fees, tenants’ opportunity to purchase, and rent stabilization are among the policies that we can’t enact without approval from the state. There are many cities that need these policies because our affordable housing crisis is a regional problem.

We need our state government to pass legislation that lets us pass these policies. How can we best make that happen?

For each of these, there is “enabling legislation” (that simply “enables” cities to pass their own legislation) at the state legislature, but we haven’t been able to get the state to pass them But — if a bunch of cities all passed a policy at the same time, say, Tenants’ Opportunity to Purchase, then there would be much more pressure on the state to pass the enabling legislation.

This year through my nonprofit, I’ve been involved in putting together a team of lawyers dedicated to helping city councilors and mayors get policies like this passed. The goal is to coordinate across cities so that we put maximum pressure on the state.

Roads

Sadly, we are in “pot-hole debt” from years of not spending enough on roads. Unfortunately, it costs about 50 times as much to repair a road in very bad condition it as it does to keep a pretty good road in good condition. Underfunding is penny wise and pound foolish. It is completely irresponsible to do this to our city.

In 2021 the city did an assessment of our roads which I encourage everyone to read. In the graph below, they rated each mile of road in Medford as to its condition, green being the best and red being the worst. Because of underfunding, we have allowed almost half of our roads to be in the worst two conditions, each being expensive to fix, but also causing the most damage to our community (through car and bike repair as well as medical bills).

It’s clear that we cannot continue to spend so little on roads (we currently spend one million per year).

The recommendation is to spend at least three million per year, which would keep our average road condition the same or better. The forward-looking choice is to spend nine million per year for a few years, which would put us on the path to have both much better roads as well as spending the lowest amount per mile in upkeep in the future.

The main obstacle here is our city budget. Read below under “Funding what we need” to see exactly what I propose in terms of how we fund a responsible roads plan in Medford.

Trees & Climate

I know many of you out there are concerned about climate change — so am I. This summer was the hottest on record with heatwaves, wildfires, droughts and floods raging across the US and the planet.

We need to take action, to think globally and act locally, right here in Medford. I’ve been endorsed by the Sierra Club for my dedication to ensuring Medford is a truly green and sustainable city.

If you've talked to me at your door, you might have heard me talk about trees. Trees are an incredible boon to the city, not only are they beautiful but they keep the city cooler in summer and are amazing at reducing atmospheric carbon.

Medford is in “tree debt.” We’ve been losing trees steadily for decades, not replacing them as fast as they die or are removed. The obstacle we face is primarily the city budget. With so many aspects of our city underfunded (roads and schools, primarily), it’s hard to find the funding for trees.

How can we overcome our budgeting problems to plant thousands of trees?

Fortunately, the primary cost of planting trees is labor. There are other cities where residents are allowed to plant some city trees (always with training and expertise from the Forestry Department, in approved spots, using appropriate trees, of course). Imagine joining with your neighbors on a beautiful, sunny day to dig into the earth and plant a tree, one that you and your children would appreciate on your street for decades to come.

Trees Medford is an amazing group dedicated to increasing Medford's tree canopy. They get grants to buy and plant new trees all over Medford, they have been instrumental in getting Medford's "tree inventory" underway, and they actively water and plant trees, among other great projects. I'm excited to work with them as a city councilor to make Medford a beautiful, cool, green city -- both through enhancing our Forestry Department as well as by engaging residents in fun and fulfilling volunteer projects.

Funding what we need

Our budget is penny wise and pound foolish. Each year our roads, trees, and schools are in worse shape than before, leading to deeper “road debt,” “tree debt,” and “school debt.” There are ways to bring in new revenue that don’t raise property taxes — building more properties and having more businesses are examples. But we’re so underfunded that it’s important to talk about taxes.

Prop 2 ½, a state ballot measure from 1980, requires that if we are to raise taxes above certain limits, voters have to approve a local ballot measure. These can be in the form of either an “override” (permanent increase) or a “debt exclusion” (temporary increase targeted at a specific goal).

As a candidate, I am in favor of allowing voters to make the decision about whether taxes are raised.  By not allowing an override or debt exclusion to go on the ballot, we deny voters the opportunity to make this decision.  I also think it’s important for voters to be well informed when they vote, so I would treat the issue of informing voters very seriously in a city that no longer has an active newspaper.  

Chronic under-funding is a vicious cycle.  When residents feel that their city is not providing them with basic services, this erodes their trust, and then they don’t trust government officials to spend any additional funds well.  I hear this sentiment sometimes as I knock on doors.  

I would consider putting either an override or a debt exclusion on the ballot, but I will make an argument in favor of debt exclusions.  It would genuinely be bad if we put an override on the ballot and it failed. A debt exclusion makes distrustful voters feel safer that their money will be spent as they are intending; it is also easier to educate voters on one issue at a time. 

If we were to put a debt exclusion on the ballot dedicated to roads, we could create a simple educational tool that shows a transparent plan for paving our roads: which streets would get paved when if voters approve the debt exclusion compared to if they don’t. When voters then see that roads are being paved according to that transparent plan, they begin to trust that local government is spending the additional taxes well. 

We need to keep in mind that there are people (fixed-income seniors as the primary example) who would not be able to afford the increase, and we should do what plenty of other cities do and have programs to defray or reduce tax burdens on those individuals. 

Other policies

There are other issues, of course — our “school debt,” our squares and storefronts needing a lot more vibrancy, our city staff salaries being uncompetitive, and many others. You can expect me to think about each issue in the same way — looking to the root of the problem, learning how other cities find success, and tailoring every solution to our community and our micro-neighborhoods.

Thanks for reading!