Massachusetts is in a housing crisis. Rents have surged, homeownership is increasingly out of reach, and homelessness is rising. Housing has been treated primarily as an investment asset rather than a human necessity.

As Governor, I planned to declare a statewide housing emergency, create a Social Housing Authority to build permanently affordable housing, use state-owned land to build tens of thousands of homes, support rent stabilization policies, tie state housing funding to tenant protections, and tax luxury real estate speculation and large corporate landlords.

Housing Funding Strategy

Housing construction would have been financed through public capital bonding, progressive real estate taxation on luxury speculation and corporate landlords, and the use of state-owned land to reduce development costs.

Housing FAQs

How will you pay to build tens of thousands of homes?

Housing construction would have been financed through infrastructure bonding, progressive real estate taxes, and state-owned land use. The state already spends large sums managing housing crises; this plan adds a permanent housing supply.

Will your plan cut programs like RAFT or housing vouchers?

No. These programs prevent homelessness and will be protected.

Won’t rent stabilization discourage housing construction?

Rent stabilization protects tenants while large-scale housing construction increases supply.

• Establishes a single-payer health care system in Massachusetts

• Provides health care for all Massachusetts residents and for all non-residents who work 20 hours or more per week in the state, without premiums, co-pays, or deductibles

• Bans private insurance coverage for services already covered by the single-payer system

Healthcare should be a public good. Massachusetts residents still face high premiums, deductibles, and prescription costs.

I would have pursued a state-level universal healthcare system, sought federal waivers to pool Medicaid and ACA funding, capped hospital and pharmaceutical costs, and expanded coverage using existing state healthcare infrastructure.

Healthcare Funding Strategy

Funding combines existing public healthcare spending, federal participation, stronger cost controls, and reduced insurance administrative overhead.

Would universal healthcare require major tax increases?

No. Residents already pay enormous healthcare costs through premiums and deductibles. Reform reorganizes spending so more money goes to care. Under universal healthcare, individuals and businesses would see significant savings.

For more information on Single Payer Healthcare, please follow the work of masscare.org at https://masscare.org/about/

Childcare is an essential economic infrastructure and increases workforce participation and economic productivity.

Healey’s $31.2M is being framed as “affordable childcare,” but it covers only about 2,000 children on the income-eligible waitlist. That means it’s not universal

Childcare costs in Massachusetts are among the highest in the nation, with center-based infant care often exceeding $20,000 annually. I’ve been a single mom, and I know firsthand the challenges families face and how childcare not only helped me make ends meet when I was a young mother but also helped me get a college education and expand opportunities for my family.

Today, families still struggle to afford childcare, and more than 31,000 families have applied for assistance and have been waitlisted for years. The current administration recently announced an additional $31.2 million to make childcare more affordable and accessible; however, that is a drop in the bucket, though it will be an immense relief for one of the approximately 2,000 families who may be deemed eligible. As of 11/5/26, that still leaves about 28,000 families in need, and too many out of the workforce and out of educational opportunities because childcare is unaffordable. And that’s just the families who have applied.

So yes, $31.2M helps some families, but it does not come close to solving the crisis. Massachusetts has around 350,000 children under 5, and childcare averages more than $26,000 a year.

As Governor, I would have expanded publicly funded childcare centers, grown the childcare workforce, and raised wages for childcare workers. We should provide dedicated state-level tax credits to employers that offer childcare benefits.

Funding Strategy

Childcare investment increases workforce participation and economic growth. Every family has different childcare needs, and they should be able to choose what is right for them. As one of the wealthiest states in the country, Massachusetts must grow its

childcare workforce and should provide quality childcare for free to our families. The more parents who join or rejoin the workforce, the more that goes back into our economy.

For more than a year, I traveled across Massachusetts, visiting schools and talking with parents, educators, and students. As the parent of a child in a public school that is already underfunded, facing teacher layoffs, and losing educational programs, I have seen these challenges firsthand. I've also visited schools with abundant resources, offering Advanced Placement courses, arts programs, athletics, electives, and other opportunities that many communities can only dream of. The disparities are impossible to ignore. The Healey administration often points to Massachusetts' top ranking on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) as evidence that our education system is the nation's best. But statewide averages don't tell the whole story. They can mask the significant differences in resources, opportunities, and outcomes across school districts in the Commonwealth.

However, this average masks extreme, well-documented disparities across the state. The dual narrative exists because:

Averages vs. Demographics: While affluent suburban districts (like Needham and Wellesley) continue to soar past pre-pandemic scores, poorer, more diverse urban districts (like Lynn, Everett, and Revere) show lagging or dropping scores.

Statewide vs. Subgroup: Massachusetts often ranks first when evaluating overall student averages, but significant achievement and reading gaps persist among students of color, low-income students, and English language learners. For instance, a report revealed that over 60% of Massachusetts schools remain segregated, which heavily correlates with funding and performance disparities.

The problem with MCAS wasn’t its name

Massachusetts voters made their voices heard in 2024, with nearly 60% voting to end MCAS as a high school graduation requirement. Many saw it as an opportunity to move away from high-stakes testing and toward graduation requirements that better reflect student learning. Now, new statewide graduation proposals include standardized end-of-course exams, a move the Massachusetts Teachers Association argues goes against what voters approved. According to the MTA, Question 2 ended 30 years of high-stakes testing and created an opportunity to rethink graduation requirements, but this administration's new proposal risks replacing one statewide testing requirement with another.

Whether you support standardized testing or not, the larger question is one of accountability: when voters make a decision at the ballot box, should state leaders advance policies that closely resemble what voters chose to end?

Education should open doors for every student, not limit their future. Our public schools deserve meaningful investment, and every graduate should leave high school with a clear pathway to success, whether that's college, a career, an apprenticeship, or another opportunity. Right now, too many students are graduating without those pathways in place.

As Governor, I would have expanded K-12 community schools that provide comprehensive educational opportunities for all students with on-campus services focused on helping those families who need it, with the resources to be healthy and thriving as their children receive truly the best education in the country, that’s not just a deceptive slogan. I will invest in trade schools and high school work study opportunities for students who must work during their high school years, and make college education at state schools free.

Education Funding Strategy

Funding will combine Fair Share revenue, restored state higher-ed funding, and improved financial aid.

Education FAQs

Fair Share helps, but is not the only funding source. The state must restore public investment in higher education.

Massachusetts should be a place where immigrants feel safe and receive the due process guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

As Governor, I would have ended state cooperation with federal overreach and protect families. I would have ended all agreements between the Department of Corrections and ICE, ending the transfers of prisoners into ICE custody upon sentence completion. People being released from prison should be guaranteed the same due process protections, and there should not be a blanket agreement for transfers from prison to ICE. People change. Most grow. Many people being released from prison have served years, sometimes decades-long sentences, and deserve the right to be viewed based on who they have become…how they have transformed their lives.

Residents face extremely high utility bills while energy companies earn strong profits.

I would have froze rate increases through the Department of Public Utilities, audit utility profits, crack down on predatory suppliers, and move toward publicly owned power.

UTILITY FAQ

Would freezing rates threaten infrastructure?

Utilities are already regulated and must continue to invest in infrastructure.

Workers deserve fair wages and the freedom to organize. Over the last year, I’ve visited Massachusetts workers on the picket line. Many have shared with me why they made the tough decision to go out on strike. Some described poor working conditions, no sick pay, and having to use vacation days if they needed a day off to get well. They described to me the working conditions with old, damaged equipment. These are workers, our neighbors, the backbone of our Commonwealth, who have worked for the billion-dollar companies for decades and still aren’t paid enough to make ends meet without consistently working overtime.

As Governor, I would have increased the minimum wage, ban captive-audience union-busting, require labor peace agreements for state contractors, and support worker organizing. I would have driven down the cost of housing, childcare, and utilities, and fight to create public banking to help working families become homeowners. description

Massachusetts must codify protections for gender-affirming healthcare and strengthen anti-discrimination protections. Advancing LGBTQIA+ equality starts with ensuring rights are not just promised but protected in people’s everyday lives.

Massachusetts has a history of leading on these issues, but leadership requires action, especially at a time when rights are being challenged across the country. I would have worked to expand access to affirming healthcare, invest in mental health supports, and partner with community-based organizations that are already doing the work on the ground. I would have also ensured that data, policy, and funding decisions reflect the real needs of LGBTQIA+ people, particularly those who are most impacted, including Black and Brown communities, trans people, and those navigating poverty or housing instability.

This is about building a Commonwealth where dignity, safety, and opportunity are not conditional. A government that truly works for all people protects the right to be who you are, without fear, and backs that up with action.

As governor, I would have codified protections for gender-affirming healthcare and strengthen anti-discrimination protections. I will strengthen and enforce nondiscrimination protections in housing, healthcare, employment, and education, and ensure that state agencies are accountable when those protections are violated. That includes safeguarding access to gender-affirming care, protecting LGBTQIA+ youth in our schools, and making sure every person can live safely and openly in their community.

Massachusetts must transition rapidly to clean energy while creating jobs.

I would have declared a climate emergency, stop the expansion of fossil fuels, accelerate the deployment of renewable energy, create a Climate Jobs Corps, and electrify buildings and transportation.

The choice of our next Governor is critical to whether AI harms or helps the people of Massachusetts.

With AI capabilities advancing exponentially and Massachusetts, specifically, being home to world-class research universities and a growing cluster of AI companies, a measured, regulated approach is required to ensure that smart guardrails are built now. Critics across the political spectrum have taken issue with the federal administration's partnership with OpenAI, largely due to the company's ties to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies. This alignment with federal policy has fueled broader concerns here in MA, as many citizens and advocacy groups have expressed distrust over integrating the same corporate AI tools into state government that have already sparked internal resistance among OpenAI employees and ignited

national protests over mass surveillance and military ties.

Providing no transparency, the Healey Administration committed Massachusetts to a three-year, multimillion-dollar contract with OpenAI to deploy its AI tool for the Executive Branch’s 40,000 employees. Government contracts with companies like OpenAI must be transparent about how AI is being deployed and consider input from state employees. Many citizens and advocates express distrust over integrating the same corporate AI tools into state government that have sparked internal OpenAI employee resistance regarding mass surveillance and military ties.

As your Governor, I would have kept transparency at the forefront and not dismiss the concerns and distrust of the Commonwealth’s labor force and advocacy groups. I would have kept the well-being of the labor of the Commonwealth at the forefront.

Data Centers

As home to leading research institutions, Massachusetts has a unique role to play in ensuring that the growth of data centers does not come without accountability. I support a moratorium on building future data centers, listening to the concerns of residents and advocates citing utility bill increases, environmental strain from fossil fuel use, and other environmental and climate threats, and state and federal regulatory lags. As Governor of Massachusetts, I would have studied the impacts of infrastructure and how to redesign utility rate structures to protect everyday consumers.

I would have rescinded the current administration’s sales and use tax exemption for data centers. I would have worked with the legislature to require companies proposing data centers to pay for any increased energy or water consumption costs, so they aren't passed on to consumers. Consumers require that companies pay for any grid improvements incurred and that all projects be subject to strong labor standards.

INVEST IN COMMUNITIES, NOT NEW PRISONS

Massachusetts does not need a $360M new women’s prison.

Instead, as Governor, I would have:

Paused the process of designing and building a $360M women’s prison and make time to focus on further reducing the number of people in jail and prison, and implement alternatives before building anything new. Our communities need and deserve public dollars for housing, healthcare, and treatment–not jail and prison construction.

Our campaign stood (and continues) to stand in opposition to the genocide at the hands of the State of Israel and inflicted upon the Palestinian people.

Stood in opposition to welcoming companies from Israel that have funded the State of Israel to carry out the genocide of the Palestinian people, to do business in Massachusetts. MA should not be supporting companies complicit in genocide, and believes that Israel should be held accountable for its actions, and we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom. We oppose any restrictions on free speech concerning Israel/Palestine and the targeting of politicians, organizations, academics, students, businesses, or individuals who dissent from one-sided pro-Israel policies. 

We supported and defend protests in the streets and on campuses, and we join BDS campaigns to put pressure on Israel.

The racial wealth gap in Massachusetts is one of the starkest in the United States. A landmark study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston revealed that while white households in Greater Boston had a median net worth of roughly $247,500, U.S.-born Black households had a median net worth close to zero.

This staggering disparity is rooted in systemic economic barriers, and several key factors highlight the localized challenges Black residents face in Massachusetts today.

As Governor, I would have supported and worked toward building the comprehensive framework for equity, reparative justice, and community investment as developed by the Black Agenda Coalition and outlined in the State of Black Boston 2026 Report, as well as ending the overall racial wealth gap in Massachusetts.