Eric Stone for Brookline

Brookline's housing shortage won't be solved with vague good intentions or by another 10 years of planning. This isn't about "building for building's sake", but for now, progress requires voting yes on specific projects, and creating real zoning pathways for responsible development in the right locations.

I support mixed-use, transit-oriented development in Coolidge Corner and along our commercial corridors, filling in the "missing teeth" of our streetscape with housing and ground-floor retail that make our neighborhoods more walkable, more vibrant, and more affordable.

The MBTA Communities Act was a start, but it didn't go far enough to spur meaningful building. I support efforts to increase the allowable number of floors by-right and remove other zoning barriers that make it nearly impossible to build the affordable, mixed-income housing Brookline needs. We need to create pathways for responsible development, not just check a compliance box.

I also support the proposed 26 Pleasant Street project, 96 rental homes, including 14 income-restricted units, on a private Coolidge Corner parking lot. Nearly fifty years ago, a senior housing project was proposed on that same site and fell through. We can't afford another half-century of inaction. Homes where they make sense, not more gravel pits.

Read my data-driven breakdown of the proposed 26 Pleasant Street development

Brookline’s schools and Town services need reliable funding. I support maintaining those services while examining the assumptions behind budget requests and the effects on residents.

Brookline's revenue, like almost all other Massachusetts municipalities, grows slower than inflation and our costs. Prop 2½, a state law capping existing property tax revenue growth to 2.5% each year, has not been updated to reflect a world where healthcare and other essential costs rise at double-digit rates year after year and state aid stays flat.

I supported the 2026 override. My longer-term priorities include growing the commercial and residential tax bases, responsible reform of Proposition 2½, and new revenue sources such as a real estate transfer tax. My earlier analyses are linked above so residents can examine the numbers themselves.

As Deputy Chair of the Shared Mobility Advisory Committee and a member of the Bridle Path Design Review Committee, I'm working to make Brookline a place where walking, biking, and taking transit are safe and convenient options for everyone.

I'm actively pushing to bring traffic calming measures to Coolidge Corner and surrounding streets. I want to see more Bluebikes stations and protected bike lanes connecting our neighborhoods, senior-friendly sidewalks and crossings with better lighting, and infrastructure that makes it easy and safe to get around without a car.

And as we build more housing and welcome more development, I will continue to fight to protect our incredible tree canopy. Density and green space aren't at odds. Done right, we can have both, and we must.

I've voted for warrant articles calling out anti-democratic behavior at the federal level. I support protections for immigrant neighbors and limits on local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement in Brookline.

Brookline should be a place where every resident feels safe, regardless of immigration status. Our local government should not be doing the federal government's enforcement work, especially under an administration that has shown open hostility toward immigrant communities.

In a moment of federal aggression against the communities and values we cherish, local action matters more than ever. Inaction is unacceptable.

Town Meeting is where the decisions happen. 255 elected members vote on Brookline's budget, zoning, and bylaws.

Town Meeting votes on the budget, zoning changes, and local bylaws. Those decisions affect schools, housing, public services, and the cost of living in Brookline.

It matters who fills those 255 seats. I show up, I do the homework, I vote with conviction, and I'm accountable to the voters of Precinct 8.

That's exactly why new development matters so much. One way to support services over time is broadening our tax base through both commercial and residential growth.

Here's the bind we're in: Prop 2½ caps the revenue Brookline can raise from property tax growth to 2.5% a year, and the state has refused to allow our Town Meeting-approved real estate transfer tax to become law, just as it has blocked similar efforts by other municipalities. We can't wait around for Beacon Hill to fix this. We need to grow revenue from the source we can actually control: new development.

Both commercial development and new homes can add to Brookline’s tax base. Evaluating a particular proposal means comparing its revenue with the cost of serving it, rather than assuming that every new resident creates a net cost. My 26 Pleasant Street analysis walks through that comparison.

Yes. A public pool is a basic municipal amenity that Brookline lacks. It would serve families, seniors, kids learning to swim, and residents of all ages and incomes. It's the kind of community infrastructure that makes a town worth living in.

I support examining the construction costs, funding options, and ongoing operating costs of a public pool, alongside other capital priorities.

Memberships, day passes, swim lessons, and facility rentals could contribute to operating revenue. A specific proposal should show how much those sources would cover.

This one comes up frequently, and it's a real quality-of-life issue. Nobody wants rats in their neighborhood.

I voted yes on Warrant Article 18 in May 2023 to increase fines for solid waste violations, bringing the penalty schedule up from a flat $100 to a tiered $100/$200/$300 structure for repeat offenders. Proper trash containment, consistent enforcement, and holding property owners accountable are the tools that actually reduce rat populations.

I also voted yes on Warrant Article 18 in November 2024, a Home Rule Petition to restrict second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) in Brookline. These poisons kill raptors, owls, and coyotes. That's unacceptable on its own terms, and it also undermines rodent control by eliminating the natural predators that help keep populations in check.

In a budget crunch, I think we need to be strategic about where we invest limited resources. I'd rather see the town focus on proven, enforcement-based approaches than expensive new programs. The basics matter most here: clean streets, sealed containers, and consequences for violations.