Let’s pass policy that makes our lives better

Issues -
The Wonky Version!

This page is designed for policy wonks. Feel free to visit my main, plain language issues page.

  • We won’t stop climate change by crossing our fingers — government has to step in. And we deserve a beautiful city with trees and flowers. I support:

    • Net-zero for all new construction

    • Encourage green renovation of all homes

    • Phase out fossil fuels

    • Electrify city vehicles

    • Expand solar and other renewables for public and private use

    • Plan with environmental justice lens

  • Housing is getting so expensive here! Lots of people who grew up here can’t afford to buy a house anymore, and rents are rising so quickly people have to move out of Medford. I support:

    • Create an Office of Housing Stability

    • Financial incentives for in-town landlords who keep rents below market rates

    • Expand access to housing affordability to more residents by reimagining income restrictions

    • Fund the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund with linkage fees & transfer fees

    • Rent stabilization

    • Community Land Trust

    • Social housing

    • Tenants Opportunity to Purchase

  • Our roads and sidewalks should not be filled with potholes — we can do better!

    • High-quality streets and sidewalks that are accessible and safe for people using all forms of mobility devices

    • Expand the Complete Streets program

    • Vision Zero - no injuries or fatalities

    • City clears priority sidewalks and crosswalks during and after snowstorms.

  • All Medford children deserve a supportive, enjoyable, and safe learning environment.

    • Fully and equitably fund our public schools

    • Expand mental health supports, social and emotional learning, and conflict resolution education.

    • Eliminate fees for arts, sports, and other activities.

    • Staff diversity should match student diversity (we are far from this goal).

    • Expand enrollment for pre-school and after-school care.

    • Increased pay for teachers, paras, and other staff.

  • COVID decimated our locally-owned businesses. When we buy from locally owned businesses, that money stays in our community. We need to support entrepeneurs and small business owners.

    • Coaching services for business planning, marketing, HR, legal, and design aid.

    • Small grants for storefront, interior design, marketing, equipment, and POS systems.

    • Support for minority-owned businesses.

    • Notification and legal aid giving workers the opportunity to convert a closing business into a worker-owned cooperative.

    • Prioritize locally-owned businesses wherever possible.

    • Hiring of business coaches with diversity reflecting the community.

  • Our residents, our city, and surrounding land will be healthier when we use less cars and provide more public transportation.

    • More frequent, expanded MBTA bus and train service

    • Add more bus shelters and bus lanes

    • Eliminate fares for public transit beginning with routes most used by working-class residents

    • Explore municipally-funded options to provide more transportation options

    • Expand electric car infrastructure

    • Reduce the need for car use in general

  • Criminal justice reform starts at the city level. Moving to a restorative justice lens is necessary to heal our community from our country’s history of racial discrimination.

    • Alternative emergency responses for a variety of 911 calls (as we already do with fire)

      • Reduce armed interactions with residents

      • Reduce tickets, arrests, and incarceration for communities most affected by the criminal justice system

    • Civilian traffic enforcement office

    • A well-designed police oversight commission

  • Real change isn’t just passing policy — it involves the whole community.

    • Translate important documents and video transcripts into major languages in Medford

    • Ensuring city staff reflect the diversity of our languages, ethnicities, and cultures

    • Compensation for city boards, commissions, and task forces

    • Allow participation via zoom

    • Provide child care to allow parents to attend meetings in person

    • As an elected official, I will meet regularly with communities that are less engaged in city politics.

Policy priorities 2024-2025

These are the issues I will be prioritizing this cycle. In thinking about which policies to focus on, I am very grateful to work with other city councilors who share the same values. This means that many of the policy areas that are important to me already have champions on the city council, and I don’t have to focus on everything at once. For example, other city councilors are championing affordable housing.

If you met me at your door, all these will sound very familiar — it’s what I campaigned on. The Climate Action & Adaptation Plan BE 2 is a priority for me because two-thirds of Medford’s emissions come from buildings, and the vast majority of our buildings are not new. So if we want to have an impact on reducing our emissions, we have to take quick, decisive action on retrofitting existing buildings.

Feel free to reach out to me if you are interested in helping with any of these! I have bolded my top priorities.

  1. Roads & Sidewalks:  Work with the mayor and administration to understand what the medium-term plans are for fixing our roads and sidewalks. Specifically, I would like to understand which of the proposed plans in the 2021 Pavement Management Study we have chosen, or if none what the plans are for the next 5 years.  Ideally we can be transparent with the public about both the funding and which specific streets will be paved in what calendar year.

  2. Climate Action & Adaptation Plan BE 2:  Work with the mayor and administration to implement sections BE 2.1 and BE 2.2, Retrofit existing buildings to be more efficient and have a smaller carbon footprint. 

  • BE 2.1.A Monitor the "launch of the campaign for energy efficient electric heating and cooling systems" (scheduled to launch in 2023 but in fact launching early this year). I don't expect this to take much time.

  • BE 2.1.B Monitor the "revival and expansion of building rehab programs for rental properties." This is one of my top priorities.

  • BE 2.1.C "Establish a data tracking protocol for fuel switching."  Double check with the mayor and/or staff that this is already done and does not need to be improved.

  • BE 2.1.D "Investigate additional financial incentives." Monitor this process and help wherever we can as a city council.

  • BE 2.2.A "Implement a benchmarking ordinance for large buildings."  I have been told that the state is working on this, but I believe we need to research what is happening at the state level -- when will it be complete?  Will a large building ordinance have much effect here in Medford?

  • BE 2.2.A Addendum: Research a benchmarking ordinance for smaller buildings if it turns out that a large building ordinance (as potentially passed by the state) will have little effect because most of our emissions are from smaller buildings.  Work with experts to write such an ordinance if it seems necessary from our research.  A benchmarking ordinance that effectively reduces our carbon emissions in Medford is one of my top priorities.

  • BE 2.2.B "Adopt performance standards for benchmarked buildings."  Assist with this if we do either BE 2.2.A or BE 2.2.A Addendum.  This might not happen this cycle.

  • BE 2.2.C "Advocate for statewide energy performance reporting requirements."  Work with mayor and staff to do this.

  • BE 2.2.D "Develop a rental licensing ordinance with energy efficiency standards."  This is one of my top priorities as I believe having a rental licensing ordinance will help both our climate goals and our affordable housing goals.

3. Climate Action & Adaptation Plan EN 1.1: Protect and grow the tree canopy in alignment with community goals and priorities

  • Not in the CAAP: Work with the mayor and staff to allow residents to become trained volunteer tree planters as some other cities have done. This is one of my top priorities.

  • I also want to monitor CAAP EN 1.1 actions A-J.