Community Spaces
Growing up in Boston, I lost friends to gun violence and substance abuse. In the midst of this trauma, I found refuge in our parks and community centers, where I discovered healing and hope for a better future.
Our Vision
Affordable Housing
My family immigrated to Boston nearly thirty years ago, living in four public housing developments. I witnessed firsthand the perseverance of low-income families as they fought to build a life in this city.
Today, Boston has some of the highest rental prices in the country, with a median rent of nearly $4,000, and one-bedroom apartments averaging $2,800. Families in District 7 are being pushed out, forced to spend roughly half their income to stay housed. This is not sustainable, and it is not just.
As your city councilor, I will champion targeted, evidence-based policies to reverse displacement and protect working-class communities. This includes creating a Citywide Anti-Displacement Overlay Zone to trigger affordability requirements and tenant protections in high-displacement neighborhoods; tying all new development to deep affordability benchmarks based on Boston’s neighborhood-level median income, not HUD’s inflated regional AMI; expanding the City’s Acquisition Opportunity Program to help nonprofits purchase occupied rental buildings before private investors do; and enforcing mandatory affordability through strengthened inclusionary zoning, raising the required affordability percentage and lowering the income thresholds.
I will also work regionally to implement a Metro Boston Housing Compact, which requires suburban towns to meet fair-share affordable housing goals and unlock state-level support for rent stabilization and social housing development.
We cannot piecemeal our way out of a crisis this deep. It’s time for bold structural change, because everyone deserves the right to remain.
Homeownership
In 2017, the Boston Globe reported that the median net wealth of Black families in Boston was just $8, an alarming reflection of generations of exclusion from wealth-building opportunities. This must change. As City Councilor, I will prioritize affordable homeownership as a cornerstone of racial and economic justice, empowering Black and Brown families to build generational wealth.
I will expand access to first-time homebuyer assistance programs, down payment grants, and community land trusts that keep homes permanently affordable. I’ll push to modernize zoning laws to support the construction and preservation of Boston’s iconic triple-deckers and multi-family homes, especially near transit corridors, making homeownership more accessible without displacing renters.
In partnership with the state, I’ll push to fully enforce the MBTA Communities Law so that neighboring cities and towns meet their affordable housing obligations, not just Boston. The path to generational wealth starts with land, equity, and ownership, and I intend to advocate and fight for all three for the residents of District 7.
Education
Boston’s schools are in crisis, marked by chronic absenteeism, transportation failures, underfunded programs, and school closures that disproportionately impact Black, Brown, immigrant, and working-class communities. Many students lack access to advanced coursework, culturally responsive curricula, and robust vocational or STEAM pathways. Meanwhile, a punitive and outdated standardized testing system continues to undermine English learners and students with diverse learning needs.
As a Boston Public Schools graduate and parent of a BPS student, I know these inequities firsthand. To close the achievement gap, I will advocate for restructuring school funding to ensure baseline access to AP, STEAM, and vocational programming at every high school, not just a select few. I’ll fight for a universal after-school guarantee citywide and work to replace high-stakes testing with multiple-measure assessments that reflect student growth and language diversity.
We must also fully fund arts, athletics, and school-based mental health care, not as extras, but as essentials for success. We must also modernize our physical infrastructure, as many students still learn in buildings with outdated HVAC systems and unreliable buses. I will advocate for a citywide Green Schools Initiative that prioritizes safe, sustainable, and equitable learning environments for all students.
Pre-K and Childcare
Quality of Life
Social Justice: Quality of life is impossible without justice. In Boston, systemic barriers, from redlining to exclusionary hiring and school assignment practices, continue to limit access to opportunity for Black, Brown, and immigrant residents. I will fight to dismantle these inequities by expanding enforceable language access policies, pushing for civil rights audits across departments, and advocating for the creation of a City Office of Civil Rights Enforcement to hold systems accountable for compliance with anti-discrimination laws.
City Services & Infrastructure: Basic services shape daily life, but many District 7 neighborhoods report the lowest 311 response rates and long waits for repairs, tree planting, and sidewalk upgrades. I will fight for service equity audits, modernize our street infrastructure with a District 7 Capital Improvements Plan, and increase investments in green spaces and safe streets. Clean streets, working streetlights, and accessible sidewalks should be the baseline, not the exception.
Civic Justice - Transparency & Inclusion: Trust in government starts with transparency and shared power. I will advocate for participatory budgeting, require equity impact assessments before major policy decisions, and make public meetings more accessible through hybrid formats, language access, and childcare services. I will also support the creation of a District 7 Civic Leadership Fellowship to train youth and working-class residents in civic organizing and governance.
Budget Equity: District 7 receives less per capita infrastructure investment than wealthier neighborhoods. I will fight for a racial equity lens in all city budgeting, redirecting resources toward long-neglected communities and holding departments accountable to equity benchmarks. It's time the budget reflected both the need and the promise of District 7.
The early years shape everything, and yet, too many Boston families are left behind by an underfunded and overregulated early education system. When my son entered kindergarten after attending Head Start, he was confident and ready; however, the program was shut down soon after. The result? A community left without quality, affordable childcare.
As City Councilor, I will push to expand universal Pre-K access by connecting state and federal funding directly to community-based providers, removing unnecessary licensing barriers, and streamlining support for local educators. I will champion a public-private Pre-K startup fund to empower aspiring childcare professionals to open neighborhood-based programs, with a focus on affordability, cultural competence, and trauma-informed care.
As research shows, every child deserves a strong start, and every parent deserves real options. It's time to invest in early learning, because the future depends on it- and it does.
Small Business
Black and Brown businesses in Boston face a staggering $603 million annual revenue gap, driven by generations of systemic racism, unequal access to capital, and discriminatory procurement practices. Rising commercial rents and declining consumer spending continue to push minority-owned businesses out of our neighborhoods, threatening both local economies and cultural identity.
We need bold, targeted policies to close this gap. My experience in the nonprofit sector has equipped me to deliver essential supports, training in marketing, technology, accounting, data analytics, and HR, that build lasting infrastructure for small business success.
During the pandemic, I secured over $643,000 in federal funding to stabilize local businesses and fought back against the displacement of minority-owned storefronts by city actions and large developers. On the City Council, I will advocate for a Boston Small Business Equity Fund, which will offer low-interest loans, technical assistance, and rent stabilization to legacy businesses. I’ll also push to overhaul city procurement, setting enforceable targets to increase contracts with minority- and immigrant-owned enterprises.
This is not just about recovery, it’s about repair. Let’s build an economy where our businesses not only survive, but also thrive and lead.
Environmental Justice
Growing up in Boston during the 1990s, I witnessed the compounding impacts of rising crime, substance use, and disinvestment. I found refuge in community spaces like the Madison Park and Tobin centers, where I drew, played basketball, and experienced what safe, supportive environments can do for youth.
Today, Boston invests $35 million annually in parks, but communities of color have 16% less access to green space, and lower-income neighborhoods have 21% less access than wealthier ones. These disparities worsen public health outcomes and increase exposure to urban heat islands, where surface temperatures can be 10-15°F hotter.
As your City Councilor, I will fight for environmental equity zones that direct funding for parks, trees, and cooling infrastructure into the most heat-burdened and underserved neighborhoods. I will advocate for participatory budgeting, allowing residents to help decide where new parks and green spaces are built. Additionally, I will work to modernize community centers into climate-resilient, multi-use hubs that cater to youth, seniors, and families.
To reduce pollution and expand access, I’ll push to scale fare-free MBTA bus service, expand protected bike lanes, and ensure Bluebikes access without displacing cars or reducing parking and infrastructure in transit-poor parts of District 7. Clean air, reliable transit, and safe green space shouldn’t be privileges; they’re fundamental rights we must deliver equitably.
Public Safety
In my twenties, I lost friends to gun violence and substance use, and witnessed firsthand how over-policing, surveillance, and disinvestment devastated Black and Brown neighborhoods like ours.
While the 2018 and 2020 state justice reforms were steps forward, they are not enough: Black and Latino residents still make up over 50% of Massachusetts’ incarcerated population, despite being less than 25% of the population.
Arrest rates remain three times higher for Black Bostonians, and trust between our communities and police continues to erode. Fundamental public safety means investing in the root causes of harm. I will fight to shift funding toward mental health care, violence prevention, affordable housing, education access, and youth jobs, the core social determinants of health that truly keep communities safe.
I will also advocate for strong re-entry services, including transitional housing, trauma-informed care, job placement, and family support, delivered through trusted, community-led organizations. To make this possible, I’ll champion a Community Justice Fund to invest in grassroots systems of care and accountability.
Mental Health
A significant study of Boston’s unhoused population confirms what too many in District 7 already know: mental illness and substance use are deeply intertwined, and too often ignored until crisis strikes. I’ve lost friends to this crisis, it’s personal, and it’s urgent. We must move beyond reactive systems and invest in proactive, community-based solutions, including trauma-informed care, in-school counseling, accessible housing, and mental health services integrated into shelters.
As a City Councilor, I will champion a citywide response rooted in harm reduction, not punishment, by partnering with grassroots organizations to expand crisis intervention teams, funding culturally competent clinician training, and ensuring that mental health support reaches those most impacted, especially men, youth, and families of color. It’s time to destigmatize mental health, rebuild trust, and treat this crisis with the urgency and compassion it demands.
We can’t arrest our way to safety. It’s time to build a justice system that heals, not harms, and a city that invests in people, not punishment.