Campaign Issues
Affordability for Families
Families are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. Childcare, healthcare, and energy costs are more expensive than they have ever been, with no signs of slowing for middle class households. Joe is committed to lowering the cost of living and making sure everyone has a chance to build a future in Massachusetts.
Joe will fight to increase state chapter 70 aid to relieve the property tax strain on long-term residents and seniors. Our State House should be doing more to support our local communities, rather than expecting towns to increase property tax burdens on our residents.
Joe will fight to increase state chapter 70 aid to relieve the property tax strain on long-term residents and seniors. Our State House should be doing more to support our local communities, rather than expecting towns to increase property tax burdens on our residents.
Joe will advocate for strict utility rate oversight, transparent billing, and immediate home energy efficiency investments. These investments can ensure that families are able to afford the basic everyday needs.
Housing
Joe served as Chair of the Lynnfield Housing Commission for five years, which grants him a unique understanding of the challenges to building new housing. Without affordable options, our residents can’t responsibly commit to building a future or starting a family here. At the Lynnfield Housing Commission, Joe successfully expanded Lynnfield’s affordable housing, and he’ll fight to protect your homes by increasing Chapter 70 and reducing property taxes on long-time residents.
Joe will ensure that any proposed solution to Massachusetts housing challenges invest quickly and effectively in housing production. Housing is too out of reach for too many and we need more supply to meet our families’ needs.
Joe will collaborate with other legislators to support creative and different housing options across the communities of our district. This will ensure teachers, nurses, and first responders can afford to live in the communities they serve.
Joe will support practical reforms that make it easier to build, invest, and grow, while still protecting local input and community standards. Permitting shouldn’t stand in the way of progress - it’s time to cut red tape, simplify the process, and create clear, predictable timelines so projects can move forward.
Strong, Safe Schools
Raising his daughter has fueled Joe to make sure everyone has a chance at opportunity and a good education. He won’t settle until he has secured state funding for all of our district’s public school students.
Joe will further ensure that funding models are equitable to make sure our communities receive our fair share of funding. All Massachusetts students deserve a pathway to success, no matter the school district they happen to live in.
Joe will elevate trade and technical education to the same status as four-year degrees with clear campus-to-career bridges. Technical schools offer excellent opportunities for students of all skills, knowledge, and backgrounds.
Joe will support policies that center student and faculty safety.
As a former prosecutor, Joe knows how the criminal justice system and school system interact. The students in our communities deserve a safe, stable learning environment.
Expanding Economic Opportunity
We can do more in Massachusetts to expand economic opportunity. As a small business owner, Joe understands that when things get too expensive here, small business owners with deep community roots won’t just pack up and bring their customer base with them to a less expensive state. Too many businesses, and too many residents, are opting to leave the Commonwealth.
Joe will expand tax incentives for first-time homebuyers, helping more families afford their first home and stay in the communities they love. Strong communities start at home and it is time to invest in the people who live, work, and build their lives here.
Joe will establish a union-standard labor floor for state-supported biotech and green-tech, budding industries that our communities are able to take unique advantage of.
Joe will expand access to small business grants and work to cut red tape so that small businesses can thrive without being buried in paperwork. Small businesses are 99.5% of Massachusetts businesses - they are the backbone of our Commonwealth’s economy and have deep ties to our communities.
Government Accountability and Transparency
Joe will be an accessible State Rep who works for the people of our district, not for special interests. Joe believes good government begins with trust between legislators and voters and is ready to work to reform the legislature’s rules and regulations to increase government transparency.
Joe will fight for the 72%-voter approved audit being conducted on the State House. Government works for the people and should be held accountable to the taxpayers of the Commonwealth.
Joe will support Massachusetts Ballot Question One to require both the State House and the Governor’s office to be subject to Public Records Laws. Governments at the local level, including Select Boards and School Committees, should be subject to public records laws. It is time for our State Legislature to be held to the same standard that we expect any other elected official to be held to.
Joe will be a local State Representative. Joe will continue to work with community leaders well after the election is over and maintain positive streams of communication. Your State Representative works for you - the priorities that Joe fights for in the State House are those priorities of the people of Lynnfield, Middleton, North Reading, and Reading.