In 2016, we ran a successful grassroots campaign on the bold, progressive platform outlined below. Now serving his first term as our State Representative, Mike is proudly working to advance this platform on Beacon Hill. Please see below for a full outline of our 2016 campaign platform, and if you wish to offer suggestions or thoughts for the next iteration of our platform, please click here to email Mike with your feedback.

Our campaign is bringing people together to advance a progressive agenda for Cambridge and Somerville. Over the past eight months, we've been knocking on doors and talking directly with voters. We've had countless conversations, and we've been taking notes. This platform is the product of those conversations; it represents the progressive values of our community.

1. Invest in Transit Infrastructure

   • Complete the Green Line Extension — it's been 26 years since the state was ordered to build the GLX.
   • Raise revenue for the MBTA; address the $7.3 billion maintenance backlog.
   • Replace the McGrath Highway with a green, at-grade boulevard.
   • Complete the Somerville Community Path.
   • Complete the Grand Junction Path.
   • Promote bike safety and Vision Zero.

2. Protect Affordable Housing

   • Protect existing affordable housing.
   • Create more and varied kinds of affordable housing, through more aggressive inclusionary zoning, support for community land trusts, and better public-private partnerships.
   • Provide tax relief to homeowners who are "house rich, cash poor."
   • Reinvest in public housing.
   • Tax big developers and speculators; use this revenue to subsidize affordable rentals and retail.
   • Require universities to provide affordable housing to grad students and postdocs.

3. Achieve "Net Zero" Carbon Emissions

   • Support for at least 2 gigawatts/year offshore wind.
   • Put a price on carbon, such as a "revenue neutral" carbon tax.
   • Eliminate solar net metering caps.
   • Establish declining block grants for SRECs.
   • Accelerate the Renewable Portfolio Standard.
   • Increase energy efficiency.
   • Fix gas leaks and stop the pipelines.
   • Oppose pipeline tax/fee; electric ratepayers shouldn't be forced to pay for dangerous gas pipelines.

4. Strengthen Public Education

   • Universal Pre-K, early-education, and after school programs.
   • Save Our Public Schools — Keep the Cap on charter schools.
   • Less Testing, More Learning.
   • Support educators by repealing so-called "district-determined measures" that place an excessive focus on standardized tests and make it more difficult to fill high-need teaching assignments. 
   • Raise revenue for new programs and update the Ch. 70 funding formula.
   • Increased funding for music, the arts, STEAM, and physical education.
   • Debt-Free Higher Education.
   • Increased state aid for UMass Boston (and our entire system of public higher-education).

5. Fight for Economic Justice

   • $15 minimum wage, indexed to inflation.
   • Equal Pay for Women.
   • Paid Family Medical Leave.
   • Earned Sick Time.
   • Support for Organized Labor.
   • Fair Share Amendment to tax millionaires.
   • Organize for a more progressive tax system.

6. Healthcare as a Human Right

   • Implement universal, single-payer healthcare.
   • Treat the opioid and heroin epidemics as a public health crisis.
   • Invest in mental health care and wraparound services.
   • Ensure safe and legal access to abortion.
   • Expand access to dental care.
   • Promote access to fruits and vegetables, including increased SNAP benefits.

7. Reform the Criminal Justice System

   • Repeal Mandatory Minimum Sentencing.
   • Affirm that Black Lives Matter.
   • Support the TRUST Act.
   • End the War on Drugs.
   • Legalize Marijuana; according to the ACLU, racial disparities in arrests for marijuana possession have actually been getting worse in Massachusetts in recent years.
   • Demilitarize the police and support for campaign zero.

8. Reform the Political System

   • Clean Elections — Big Money Out of Politics.
   • Ranked Choice Voting.
   • Term Limits for the Speaker of the House
   • Reform the legislative committee process.
   • Overturn Citizens United.

Our campaign is proud to be endorsed by Mass Alliance, the state's largest coalition of progressive organizations, as well as Mass-Care (the campaign for single-payer healthcare), NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, the Massachusetts chapter of the National Organization for Women ("NOW"), the National Association of Social Workers, the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the American Federation of Teachers, Progressive Massachusetts, Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts, Democratic Socialists of America, The Sierra Club, Massachusetts Peace Action, and many others! These groups are supporting Mike because they understand we need new, progressive voices on Beacon Hill.

That said, Mike also recognizes that he cannot achieve these goals on his own. As an organizer and community leader, Mike is a catalyst for our collective action. The only way we can move our community forward is by doing it together. 

Please email Mike directly with any feedback, thoughts, or questions about our platform. For an even more detailed look at Mike's positions and some of the differences in this race, download Mike's 24-page policy document. Thank you!