State Resources & the Override Crisis

Local governments are struggling to maintain essential services as costs rise and state funding fails to keep pace, leaving towns forced to repeatedly ask taxpayers for more.

As your State Representative, I will fight to modernize state aid formulas so communities receive the funding necessary to maintain schools, public safety, and core services without asking taxpayers to approve Proposition 2 1⁄2 overrides.

As costs rise, local governments struggle to balance their budgets and avoid cutting critical services. Every single town in the 6th Plymouth faced a budget shortfall and/or sought an override at the municipal level this year. Most of those overrides failed at the ballot box because voters can't continue to bear the financial burden year after year. We must reform state funding formulas so that more state money comes back to municipalities to maintain and improve quality of life for all residents.

Take Halifax, for example. As reported by South Shore News, in a single year the town absorbed a 14.2% increase in health insurance (about $190,000), a 7.1% increase in pension assessments (about $160,000), a nearly 28% increase in liability insurance (about $30,000), and a 6% increase in its Silver Lake Regional assessment. No 2½ percent levy increase covers that.

As your State Representative, I will:

Fight to stop the state from making towns pay for programs it doesn't fully fund.
Push for state aid that grows with actual cost drivers — health insurance, pensions, liability insurance, regional assessments
Work to make state budgeting predictable and transparent, so towns can plan instead of guess.

Delivering for the District: Earmarks

Representing this district means bringing resources home.

As your State Representative, I will:

Fight to secure earmarked funding for local projects in the 6th Plymouth, and then vote for the budget that actually delivers it.
Be accountable to residents for what I bring home, not just what I file.
Work with our legislative delegation, Select Boards, and town administrators to identify the projects that matter most before the budget is written, not after.

The Baker Administration's 2021 MBTA Communities Act

Compliance is not just a legal question, it's a budget question. When a town is out of compliance, it doesn't just lose flexibility, it loses money it could be spending on schools, fire, and energy costs.

As your State Representative, I will:

Support communities working in good faith toward compliance with technical assistance and state resources, rather than leaving small towns to figure it out alone.
Fight to ensure compliant communities see the benefits promised: grant funding, infrastructure support, and housing they actually need.
Advocate for flexibility in implementation that respects local character while still producing housing.

Halifax's non-compliance has already cost the town real money and town officials warn it's only the beginning. In August 2025, the state Department of Energy Resources rescinded a $61,608 Green Communities grant that Halifax had been selected to receive, citing the town's non-compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. State officials were direct about the cause, stating the funding is contingent on the town certifying compliance with all applicable laws. Halifax remains out of compliance heading into 2026, and town officials have acknowledged that further grant losses are likely as the state continues to ratchet up enforcement. As your State Representative, I will work closely with the community to find solutions that work for them and negotiate solutions with state agencies.

Transportation & Local Infrastructure

Roads, bridges, culverts, and transit are not amenities, they are how people get to work, how our kids get to school, and how our communities stay connected.

As your State Representative, I will:

Fight for state investment in municipal roads, bridges, and deferred-maintenance backlogs that towns cannot cover alone.
Fight for continued operating support for the MBTA and expanded regional transit, including income-eligible reduced fares.
Advocate for the state resources needed to maintain critical local assets like the Powder Point Bridge, so towns aren't left choosing between a bridge and a school budget.
Support transit electrification and EV infrastructure as both a climate and cost strategy.