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.

In the meantime, we’ve worked hard to re-zone the entire city to allow slightly more density in every neighborhood. We’re giving incentives in our zoning for developers who include affordable housing.

But I noticed that fifty years ago we had 9,000 more people living here – in less housing. I am working with the administration and with volunteers to bring Home Sharing to Medford. This match-making service helps pair seniors who have extra rooms with young people who can pay rent, help around the house, or both, allowing seniors to age in place.

Responsible 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. Fortunately, getting us out of this situation (that puts us in deeper debt every year) is not hard, and I propose a Responsible Roads plan for Medford.

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).

One of our problems is planning. I’ve heard many times that a road gets repaved and shortly after is torn up by a utility or development project. This is obviously a huge waste of money. Other cities create long-term plans and coordinate with utilities and developers to put moratoriums on newly paved roads.

It’s also clear that we cannot continue to spend so little on roads. We have now upped our total spending (including what we pressure utilities to do) to about three million per year, but even at that level our "pothole debt" continues to increase. The forward-looking choice is to spend closer to nine million per year for a handful of years, which would put us on the path to have both much better roads as well as to spend the lowest amount per mile in upkeep in the future. We’d have to ramp up our Engineering department to handle the increase in work, but this is what we need to do.

We have the funds in our city’s savings (Free Cash and Stabilization funds). This is the most responsible way to spend those funds.

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, schools, and staffing), 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 be working with them as a city councilor to make Medford a beautiful, cool, green city. A group of volunteers and I are working with the city to set up a “canopy crew” that will engage residents in fun and fulfilling street tree planting events. We expect to have our first pilot event this fall.

Funding what we need

In previous administrations, our budget has been 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.” We are the lowest-funded city per capita in Massachusetts, and I am constantly amazed at how well our city is run given that we have such a skeleton staff (for example, Somerville has only 1.3 times as many residents, but seven times as many staff in their planning department).

I’m proud that our city council put a Prop 2 ½ override on the ballot, allowing voters to make the decision for themselves. And our residents voted to invest in our schools and roads.

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!