1) Winthrop is a diverse community with a diverse array of needs. What skills will you bring to town council that will help address the needs of all constituents?

I have lived my life fighting to defend and strengthen communities - fighting Logan, helping Boston school busing work, working in affordable housing and transit. Always making sure vulnerable and resource limited people had a voice.

1A) What do you see as Winthrop's top two priorities and what do you propose we do to address them?

I am concerned with the state of our infrastructure and the large amount of dollars that we need to fix that. We have a backlog in the state of good repair in excess of $250 million. We must invest, particularly to save the neighborhoods most affected by frequent flooding.
However we cannot simply keep raising taxes and fees. We must learn to fund priorities and we must punch above our weight on securing state and federal grants.
The second priority is schools- we need more music, arts, math, science and language investment. We want our children to be able to thrive in a rapidly changing world and support school leadership and teachers with more resources.

2) The recent construction on Revere Street and the lack of signalized pedestrian crossings at the intersection with Main St are just some recent signs of how inhospitable our streets are for young kids. How do we ensure residents feel safe walking/biking /letting their kids walk/bike to and from school?

I have been active on mobility and safety improvements since around 2015 when i noted to the Council we had only one speed limit sign between Point Shirley and the Pleasant/Main St intersections. Today we have multiple and have added radar-driven "flashing speeding signs", invested in hardening the protection of crosswalks in accident prone areas, added and improved the visibility of crosswalks. We need to do more and we should consider an annual meeting around mobility and safety needs and solutions annually. BTW- the final Revere St will be a big improvement once finalized.

3) Traffic in Winthrop has gotten worse for a number of reasons. How can we make alternatives to cars more appealing so fewer people choose to drive? What ways do you see Winthrop being able to alleviate traffic?

1) get more bus shelters and better service 2) reduce the cost of the ferry, add a transfer credit and make it a year-round feature. Get the T people at my proposed annual transportation/safety meeting.

4) The rising cost of homes and rents is the driving force behind the cost of living crisis that is pricing many long term residents and families out of Winthrop. How will you ensure that families can afford to age within our community and not be priced out of our community?

keep our taxes and fees low. help them obtain insulation, heat pumps and other investments that can lower their cost of living.

5) Winthrop still must come up with the funds for other big ticket items such as repairing the utility lines and pipes under our streets, and pay for climate mitigation work, despite the recent success of the override. What is the most impactful thing you suggest the town do to better improve its budgetary outlook?

We need assistance from outside our community. We off-loaded the cost of the ferry service as a small example. We send our tax dollars to the state and the feds. Do we track if we're getting our fair share back? We should know and the create a strategic plan to be more competitive in grants.

6) What are the neighborhoods with the greatest resiliency/flooding needs? How do you see that being addressed? How does this affect your precinct if running precinct specific, or the town if an at large position?

The Climate Commission identified more than 10 neighborhoods at risk. The top 4 are Pico, Girdlestone, Morton St and Phase 2 of the Winthrop Center Project. I represent the Pico and CBD areas. My approach is to not only fight for my precent but to ensure all Councilors are committed to any and all of our neighbors at risk.