Eric Stone for Brookline

Brookline's housing crisis won't be solved with vague good intentions. It requires voting yes on specific projects and creating real zoning pathways for responsible development.

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.

This May, I will vote yes on the Chestnut Hill development, a project that brings 245+ new homes (including 21 deed-restricted affordable units), over $10 million for our Affordable Housing Trust, and $5 million in annual tax revenue that eases the burden on every homeowner in town.

I also support the proposed seven-story residential building in the 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.

Funding our schools means no devastating cuts.

We've already cut the equity office, world language programs, and 20 additional full-time teacher and staff positions. Failing to pass the override would be devastating to the school system and our community.

Brookline's revenue, like almost all other Massachusetts municipalities, grows slower than inflation and our costs. Prop 2½ was never designed for a world where healthcare and other essential costs rise at double-digit rates year after year and state aid stays flat.

I'm campaigning for Yes for Brookline because the override isn't a luxury. It's maintenance. And the best long-term solution is growing our commercial tax base so the burden doesn't always fall on homeowners.

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.

That starts with pedestrian safety. Our sidewalks and crossings need to be welcoming and accessible to all users, especially seniors and people with mobility challenges. It also means traffic calming on neighborhood streets that have become dangerous cut-throughs.

Our transit-rich corridors are an enormous asset. We should be building on that strength with better bike and pedestrian infrastructure, shared mobility solutions, and development patterns that reduce car dependency.

I've voted for warrant articles calling out anti-democratic behavior at the federal level. If re-elected, I will vote yes on the coming session's warrant articles that would prohibit local cooperation with ICE activities 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.

This May, Town Meeting will vote on a tax override, the Chestnut Hill commercial development, protections for immigrant neighbors, and more. These votes directly affect your property taxes, your kids' schools, and whether Brookline stays a place regular people can afford to live.

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 commercial development matters so much. The override buys us time, but the real structural fix is broadening our tax base.

Here's the bind we're in: Prop 2½ prohibits us from raising property taxes by more than 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 commercial and mixed-use development.

The Chestnut Hill project alone would generate roughly $5 million in new annual tax revenue. That's the difference between funding essential services and cutting them. Broadening our tax base isn't just good fiscal policy. It's how we reduce the burden on existing residents and protect what makes Brookline unique.