Rick will advocate for increased funding for our public schools so every child has access to an excellent education. Rick will fight for directing more dollars directly to the classroom, securing resources for after-school, youth sports, and enrichment programs, fully funding SPED and ELL, funding statewide universal pre-K, paying teachers and support staff fair wages, and providing social and emotional supports for our children.

Anti-Semitism is on the rise in Massachusetts and across the nation. Incidents of hate crimes continue to increase, and anti-Jewish tropes and conspiracies are being embraced at record numbers. Rick will lead efforts in State government to combat anti-Semitism and all forms of hate, provide resources to keep our communities safe from violence, and demand accountability.

Climate change poses an existential threat to the planet with far-reaching public health, economic, and environmental implications to Massachusetts. Rick has led sustainability efforts on the Newton City Council and will strongly support legislation to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, expand infrastructure for electric vehicles and green buildings, invest in Green Tech and the Green Economy, preserve open space, and focus on resiliency efforts. Rick understands that the increasing frequency of severe weather events cannot be ignored and must be anticipated and ultimately funded. The Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program assists cities and towns in funding vulnerability assessments to prepare for the worst.  As “gap disasters” increase, Rick is most excited about helping the Governor and the Legislature forward new bills to create a statewide disaster fund that will be a more permanent structure to help pay for weather events that FEMA refuses to cover.

The skyrocketing cost of living has made it impossible for many people to achieve homeownership, seniors to age in place, and families to afford childcare. As State Representative, Rick will support tax relief for those in need, embrace programs that create pathways to homeownership and affordable higher education, and fight for universal pre-K in Massachusetts. The responsible creation of new housing units, affordable and mid-market are needed throughout the Commonwealth and can be created while maintaining the history and character of our neighborhoods. Rick’s decades of serving and leading on the Land Use Committee prepares him ably to bring creativity and compromise to the housing conversation.

Every woman in America should make her own health care decisions. Massachusetts must continue to provide care to women, both from here and elsewhere, and ensure that reproductive care is accessible and protected. In the Legislature, Rick will always support reproductive freedom and fight against the coordinated national assault on choice.

If we are going to get people out of cars and into public transportation we must have a system that is fast, connective and reliable. For years the MBTA has been underfunded and unreliable. Investments and innovation to our transit system is long overdue and Newton and Brookline deserve better, as do all the MBTA communities. Rick will support every initiative to create efficient transportation that can change everything, from where we live, to how we live, to the amount of greenhouse gases we emit. Providing a robust transit system is the foundation of a cleaner, more efficient society.