As chair of the City Council's Finance Committee, I have a deep understanding of the financial “perfect storm” facing our cities and towns. Most communities in the 5th Middlesex District have had to ask voters for the difficult choice to pass an override in the past year, just to maintain basic city services. The deck is stacked against local government budgets, threatening our schools, parks, libraries, roads, sidewalks and first responders. We need leaders who will work fix the local budget crisis at the state level. That includes:

• Secure changes to the Chapter 70 school funding formula's broken local share requirement, so that it reflects a community's ability to pay

• Advocate for local economic development support and grants for communities in the district, including leveraging state-owned property

• Support the Mass Municipal Association's "Navigating the Storm" agenda for more financial tools for cities & towns

• Propose a commission to develop an equitable formula for unrestricted local aid

• Close the charter school land grab loophole - in Malden, a charter school has purchased tens of millions of dollars in property not used for classrooms, decimating the tax base in a key commercial district