Common sense solutions, No Nonsense ideas, THAT WORK

Earlier this year, the city enacted a law that requires supermarkets to charge 5 cents for every bag a shopper needs for groceries. This measure, known as the supermarket bag tax, is hurting our seniors and residents on fixed incomes  Marty listened to the residents of Boston and understands that many residents are irate, and that most seniors on fixed incomes are struggling to make ends meet.  Marty will lead the fight to repeal the 5 cent bag tax while strengthening the plastic bag ban.  

The annual $25 tax on resident parking is another measure that is completely unfair, inequitable and borderline unconstitutional. Marty will vote against this outrageous tax and any other similar fee schemes that hurt our families. You shouldn't have to pay to park your car on your street!

Focusing on the issues that concern all of us, Marty will fight to invest in our residents and neighborhoods and make sure residents aren’t priced out of the city, and that our children can afford to live and raise a family here.  Marty will fight to stop the influx of massive developments springing up in our neighborhoods by proposing the BPDA create a seat on the Board for a neighborhood representative.  Marty proposes that abandoned buildings and city owned vacant property, be converted into affordable housing opportunities with help from city sponsored finance, construction and rehabilitation partners.   Marty will call for hearings to require that colleges build affordable housing for our residents as well as students as part of their PILOT agreement with the city.  Let's look into the possibility and benefits of granting a tax exemption credit to landlords who provide affordable rents for residents.  We have to make sure residents aren’t priced out of the city, our neighborhoods aren't over-developed and that our children can afford to live and raise a family here. 

Sports, music, arts, extra-curricular activities and jobs are what our kids need to  develop friendships, talent, community bonds and memories that last a lifetime.  Our city can provide the services that build confidence in kids, because confident kids will go on to greater things!  Marty will help fund the tools and resources needed to ensure that our kids are healthy both emotionally and physically.  Marty would like to partner with the city's labor unions to build new trade high schools that guarantee students a union job right after graduation, and Marty would help to create an ROTC program that prepares graduating kids to consider careers in law enforcement and public service.  Marty would like to sponsor a hearing on employers providing free on-site daycare for their employees with young children.

As part of making our neighborhoods safer, dealing with the ever-worsening traffic and parking problem needs to be a top priority.  By fighting for increased MBTA service , looking toward innovative parking solutions and partnerships and installing smart lights that allow law enforcement to ease gridlock and keep traffic flowing, Marty will take the lead in reevaluating how the city is approaching our traffic and congestion issues.  Marty would like to have a public hearing to invite Boston employers to discuss ideas to have employees work from home a few days a week, decreasing cars on the road and riders on the T.

The make-up and needs of Boston's residents are constantly changing. We need to adjust our police department policies and hiring to address Boston's changing demographics.  Over the next five years, Marty wants to increase the police force by 1000 men and women who reflect the diversity of the neighborhoods they patrol. Marty also proposes: creating a police cadet program that recruits students graduating right out of high school; Recruiting police candidates directly from the armed services; and Requiring all police academy graduates to be assigned to traffic control,  traffic enforcement and community policing for their first year of duty.