Recovery from COVID-19 

The COVID pandemic has taken its toll in virtually every quantifiable way: physical, economic, social … and all are inter-related. The First Middlesex District, comprised of smaller towns, is particularly vulnerable, and less able to absorb losses in any of these areas. Some of my most heartfelt conversations have been with health care workers who have told me about the unrelenting stress they face, and neighbors who share troubling stories about the personal, long-term health impacts of COVID for themselves or a family member.

All around this District, I hear about the impact COVID has had on veterans, renters, first responders, schools, businesses, and others. It’s imperative that small towns are not overlooked as we chart a path back to normalcy. One of my top priorities will be to introduce and aggressively support legislation that provides a safety net – and a bridge – so that our citizens and businesses can return to normal.

Economic Development

Vibrant businesses are a key component of successful cities and towns: For small towns, this has become a tenuous relationship as businesses struggle during the pandemic. Even the loss of one or two businesses can have a detrimental impact on a downtown’s appeal, the vitality of a commercial corridor, and people’s wallets.

As Pepperell Select Board Chair, I not only adopted Master Plan goals related to economic development, I rolled up my sleeves, reached out to other Boards, and worked collaboratively to secure grant funding targeted at revitalizing our Main Street Corridor. My work for many years in Pepperell has been firmly rooted in my personal philosophy of the power of collaboration, and this has never been more public than my time on the Select Board.

This District is ready for, and in need of, the kind of leadership I bring to the table, and I will foster collaborations between our towns in order to bring about successful economic partnerships. Just as importantly, I will aggressively represent this District – which has been noticeably left out of state funding, including earmarks, for years – at budget time.

Climate Change

Climate change is often referred to as the defining crisis of our time: That’s not the whole truth. It’s not only the defining crisis of our time, it is the crisis that will define every other time after this one. 

There is no more time to wait, no more time to equivocate: Of all the fundamental issues that face our world, our nation, and the towns of the First Middlesex District, none is more foundational than trying to mitigate the effects of climate change, and preparing for its impact, which affects our health, our economy, our food supply, and our environment, to name just a few.

I’ve found that there is nothing more sobering than talking to young people, including young adults, about climate change. While all hold out hope that it’s not too late for us to make a difference, they all also have the same quiet understanding that the world they are facing is going to be fraught with radical changes: They understand that it’s not just warming waters and rising seas, or more violent storms, and the associated economic costs of those; they grapple with weighty ideas like food shortages and land shortages, and the conflicts that will accompany those.

Meeting the state’s 2050 Net Zero carbon goals will require dedicated, focused efforts: It’s one of the reasons I helped create a regional municipal climate change consortium, whose mission is to foster and strengthen collaborative municipal efforts, including legislative, to combat climate change.

As your representative, I will continue to champion legislative initiatives like the Green Future Act, which will increase funding for green projects in towns; help reduce the health impacts of air, water, and land pollution; and create new green economy jobs to help us leave this planet a better place for our children. 

Education

As a former teacher, I understand the power of education to create new possibilities and change lives. Educational costs are also a significant part of First Middlesex town budgets, and inequities in funding from the state must be addressed -- specifically for regionalized schools, special education, and charter school reimbursements. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is legally required to fully reimburse regional school districts (RSDs) for transportation costs, subject to appropriation. The State Legislature has never kept this promise, leaving Pepperell, Townsend, Ashby, Groton, and Dunstable scrambling to pay the shortfall.

As your state representative, I will prioritize holding the state to its promise, which will return hundreds of thousands of dollars to the regionalized towns in the First Middlesex. I will also introduce legislation to modernize the funding formula to address charter school and special education inequities that exist in the Massachusetts Education Reform Act.

Civic Engagement & Strengthening Our Democracy

I believe that democracy is a true living ideal: That it is brought to life by the breath of those who participate in it, and thus shape it. In this way, it is also a fragile ideal, and subject to broad swings in how it manifests itself and what it values. 

This makes civic engagement, for me, a powerful, community-building effort, and it’s one of the main reasons I proposed and instituted a non-partisan Civic Engagement Night (CEN) forum in Pepperell. Originally meant to educate voters in a non-biased way about key warrant articles at Town Meeting, and encourage robust, respectful questions and discussion, it has expanded to include opportunities for local election candidates to distinguish themselves for voters. 

As your state representative, I commit to providing a similar type of engagement for residents of the First Middlesex through monthly “office hours” (see “Constituent Services”). I also support improved voter access, including the right of early voting, and making it permanent, as Secretary Galvin has proposed.

Affordable Housing

None of the towns in the First Middlesex District currently meet the Affordable Housing threshold set by DHCD. Affordable housing is a right. It is the gateway by which young families and people in our service economy -- our first responders, our teachers, and others -- can join our communities. It is the means by which seniors can remain in the communities they’ve called home all their lives, and veterans who have served their country can have stability in the place they choose to call home.

In my role as Select Board Chair in Pepperell, I was an early and vocal champion of establishing an Affordable Housing Trust as a foundational step in solving this ongoing problem. I will work closely with the leadership in the District to identify and address common housing issues, and support legislation that seeks to: increase investments in multi-family housing opportunities, provide additional housing and rental assistance, and overhaul the state’s eviction process.

Support for our Veterans

I am committed to full advocacy for veterans’ services. As the daughter of a soldier left for dead on the battlefields of Korea, I understand the selfless patriotism of those who are prepared to give their all for their country. I understand the difficulties veterans can have when they return to civilian life.

As priorities, I will advocate for increased funding for veterans’ health services, including affordable medications and access to quality mental health services, and affordable housing opportunities that allow veterans to live in places they want to call home.

Thank you to all of our veterans and their families!

Public Health

The Opioid Epidemic

In 2020, opioid deaths in Massachusetts rose to their highest level ever: It is, without qualification, a crisis. More than half of Massachusetts residents know someone struggling with an addiction, and a quarter have lost a family member or friend to opioid addiction. Substance use disorder is not a standalone issue -- it intersects with unemployment; affordable, accessible healthcare; and housing.

There are many ways to begin to address the opioid crisis:  I support expanded access to effective treatment, both prescriptive and mental health; decriminalizing/de-stigmatizing substance use disorder; and reforming the way insurance companies deal with the twin issues of substance use disorders and mental health.

Reproductive Freedoms

In 1848, a group of around 300 women in Seneca Falls, NY dared to assert that women were created equal to men. For thousands of years before that, and continuing to this date, women continue to have to fight for equal rights, including a solemn right to have sovereignty over their own bodies.

The ability to decide whether and when to have children is important to a person’s socioeconomic well-being – including allowing for more work experience, which translates into increased wages and average career earnings – and overall health. 

As your state representative, I support a person’s right to choose the reproductive healthcare options that are right for them and their situation.

Healthcare

One of the single largest expenses for households -- beyond mortgage or rent payments -- is the rising cost of healthcare. COVID has only made things more difficult for families, with many losing jobs and health care coverage, which is immediately impactful for those on prescription medicine. Everyone deserves access to affordable healthcare and medications -- from inhalers to insulin. I support legislation that improves healthcare access and affordability, especially for vulnerable populations like veterans and children.

Protecting our Environment and Natural Resources

We must protect our natural resources: We are nothing without a healthy environment, which includes clean water, clean air, and protected forests and open spaces. Many towns in Massachusetts -- including those in the First Middlesex -- are now facing issues like PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination, which will only continue to compound in complexity. Given its severity, we must confront this issue proactively and aggressively.

We can’t do it alone, however: PFAS remediation is enormously expensive, with filtration system costs for small towns in the millions of dollars. 

As your state representative, I will lead on this issue: I will introduce and support legislation to address PFAS remediation and water treatment, as well as disposal issues of products containing PFAS chemicals. To ensure this work can take place, I will also introduce and support full funding for the MA Department of Environmental Protection so that it has the staff it needs to carry out its mission.

Town water supplies also face threats. I will advocate for review of the Interim Policy on Soil Management, which adversely impacts poorer/rural communities and leaves them without protection when violations occur.

Strong State Budget Advocacy

The budget cycle is often a painful process in small towns: With a limited tax base, which is overwhelmingly residential, citizens are often forced to make difficult choices in order to create a balanced budget. As your state representative, I pledge to be an active -- and proactive -- participant during these cycles by meeting with town leaders at the start of the budget process to understand requests for specific state aid for needs like purchase of new equipment or local improvements, as well as opportunities for specialized earmarks.

Every year, state legislators secure tens of thousands of dollars for the towns in their district: This funding is critically needed every year for our Towns. It’s an appropriate way to make sure that voters see their tax dollars put back into their community. I consider this a top priority for this District, and will submit funding requests on behalf of each town for every budget cycle that I am your state representative.

Constituent Services

As State Representative, I will serve the First Middlesex District full-time, and with the same passion, commitment, and record of accomplishments with which I serve Pepperell, currently as a member of the Select Board, and prior to that, as a leader on various community issues, including the proposed toxic dirt project.

This District deserves full-time representation in order to fully understand each town’s needs, and then address them in a robust, timely way. I have been this full-time partner for Pepperell, including creating regional opportunities such as the municipal climate change collaborative (which covers Congresswoman Lori Trahan’s entire district), and supporting dispatch regionalization opportunities with Ashby and Townsend. I will continue to be that full-time representative for the entire First Middlesex District. 

In order to be transparent to the voters of Pepperell, I post regular updates on my work and priorities, and I will continue to do so as your state representative. Additionally, I will hold monthly office hours open to all community members, because I am committed to establishing vibrant and meaningful lines of communication with residents and local officials to best serve our District.

Senior Citizens

Our seniors are at the heart of our communities: They ground us in our towns’ histories, and deepen conversations with their perspective: They are also a key part of an intergenerational model that towns need in order to be truly vibrant. Seniors also face unique challenges, such as transitioning to affordable housing as they downsize, limited access to public transportation, and dealing with rising costs on a fixed income.

As a long-time volunteer at the Albert Harris Center (Pepperell’s “Home Away from Home” for older adults), I’ve come to know seniors not as a “constituency,” but on a personal level, as friends who laugh with me and trust me to handle issues that are bothering them.

Like the time one person pulled me aside at a breakfast to frantically tell me about a veteran whose benefits had been cut off due to a clerical error. This problem had gone on for months with no resolution. I quickly contacted our Veterans’ Agent, and within a month, full benefits were restored, including back pay. 

As your state representative, I will connect with the First Middlesex Councils on Aging and other key stakeholders, and put forward and support legislation that seeks to ease the burdens on this vulnerable population.