Evan’s Policy Priorities
Massachusetts is known for being a progressive state, but our State House leadership is not standing up for progressive values. The people of the district are the most progressive across the state, and the state Democratic party platform articulates bold progressive policies. Yet, despite electing Democrats to all positions of political power, Massachusetts has taken little action towards realizing these objectives. Because of the lack of transparency and accountability in the State House, our state is faltering in the face of the Trump administration, instead of leading the country by doing all we can to make a better world.
Transparent and Accountable Government
Public votes, stronger public records laws, and rules that stop leadership from burying popular bills behind closed doors. Good government is essential to enacting the people’s agenda.
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Massachusetts state legislative leadership is the least effective in the entire country. Despite having a Democratic supermajority in both chambers, last year they passed the fewest bills of any state in the country.
The root problem is a lack of transparency and accountability. Most of the power in the legislature is concentrated in a small number of legislators who use tactics of intimidation and secrecy to kill progressive legislation. Through secret committee votes and study orders, popular pieces of legislation like the Safe Communities Act and Medicare For All never make it to the State House floor.
We need to change the culture on Beacon Hill. All committee votes should be made public, it is the right of constituents to know how their representatives vote on legislation impactingtheir lives. We need public records reform. Massachusetts is the only state where the legislature, governor, and judiciary have all exempted themselves from public records laws. We need stipend reform to end the cycle of corruption where legislators vote with State House leadership in exchange for higher pay.
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The Massachusetts state government has a long history of corruption. Evan is proud to be part of a growing pro-democracy movement demanding real accountability for our elected lawmakers.
Complete the audit
In 2024, voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure giving the State Auditor power to audit the Legislature. This audit, which would include examining contracting and procurement, hiring practices and committee appointments, has been vigorously obstructed by State House Leadership.
Reform the Stipend System
House leadership uses stipends and committee assignments to reward loyalty and discourage dissent. Evan supports reforming this system so additional compensation is transparent, justified, and no longer used as a political tool.
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Massachusetts ranks among the least transparent state governments. Evan believes people have a right to see how their legislators vote and who is trying to influence their decisions.
Public votes
Without public committee votes, the people have no way of knowing which policies their legislators actually support. Evan fought for years with advocates demanding changes to the House rules to make committee votes public, and won these changes, only to find this rule is often just ignored.
Let the people see government records
MA is the only state where all three branches of state government aren't required to follow the public records law. The Sunlight Act (S.2099) would bring us in line with other states by ending the Governor’s broad exemption. This will also make the legislative process more open and inclusive by making committee votes and testimony public and requiring at least two weeks’ notice for committee hearings.
Stop Special Interests from Buying Influence
The public deserves to know when wealthy donors and corporate interests shape public policy. Evan supports stronger campaign finance transparency and stricter ethics rules to reduce the influence of money in politics.
A Tax System where Everyone Pays their Fair Share
Corporations and wealthy individuals have used their influence as lobbyists and political donors to accumulate more and more resources. Evan will fight to implement progressive taxation policies and fund public services.
A super majority (78%) of our district voted for this – and our representative voted for 100’s of million of tax cuts for the ultra wealth less than 6 months later
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The people of Massachusetts in 2022 passed the Fair Share Amendment, which imposed a 4% surtax on annual income exceeding $1 million. Rep. Decker voted against taxing unearned income, such as profits from stocks, bonds, dividends, and interest, at a higher rate than wages and retirement income. When this Decker-championed tax cut went forward, the state gave up billions in revenue for the state creating a self-inflicted fiscal crisis. Democratic leadership then used it as an excuse to cut public services our state needs. Decker’s vote marked a setback for progressive revenue efforts and is out of step with neighboring representatives who support higher taxes on the wealthy. Instead of rewarding the rich, Evan supports using this money to improve the everyday lives of Bay Staters.
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Massachusetts loses hundreds of millions of dollars each year to offshore corporate tax-dodging from corporations like Apple, Amazon, McDonald’s, and Walmart. Because they are concealing their profits in offshore tax havens they are able to avoid paying their fair share in Massachusetts taxes. Evan supports the Senate bill An Act combating offshore tax avoidance, which would require large multinational corporations to pay the state’s current corporate tax rate on more of the profits they shift and hide overseas.
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The Medicare for All bill currently at the Statehouse would replace the current private insurance system with a single healthcare program that covers everyone, no matter their employment status. The idea is to reduce unnecessary administrative costs, lower overall healthcare spending, and make sure people can get the care they need without worrying about deductibles, copays, or being denied coverage because of a preexisting condition. Medicare for All for Massachusetts would be funded through existing national programs like Medicare and Medicaid, along with an equitable tax structure shared by employers, workers, and MA residents. In return, families would no longer have to deal with costly insurance premiums or major out-of-pocket medical bills.
Safety and Belonging for All
An end to state collaboration with ICE and stronger protections so every neighbor can live, work, study, and build a life without fear.
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Massachusetts communities are under assault from the Trump administration, and our legislature has not done enough to protect the most vulnerable. Massachusetts remains the only blue state in the country that maintains a 287(g) contract with ICE, meaning our state resources are going towards harassing and deporting our neighbors. We need to end all state collaboration with ICE, and we need to go further by providing legal aid to all immigrants faced with deportation.
Cambridge has proudly affirmed the belief that no human is illegal with its commitment to the safety and inclusion of our immigrant neighbors for decades as a sanctuary city. At this political moment, the federal government’s racist deportation campaign challenges us to put these values into action. In office, Evan will fight to keep ICE out of Massachusetts and provide material support to immigrant communities and families making their homes here.
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Massachusetts is currently the only Democrat-controlled state with an active 287(g) contract enacting a formal collaboration with the federal government for immigration enforcement. Advocates have introduced legislation to end this practice as part of a Safe Communities Act that has been defeated in secret procedures every session since 2014. A watered-down version of this bill, known as the PROTECT act, will hopefully pass this year including language that forbids state employees from initiating contact with ICE, but allows collaboration initiated by federal agents, and leaves the contract between ICE and the Department of Corrections intact.
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Ban surveillance fusion centers
The Commonwealth Fusion Center and Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) are data hubs where information gathered by local and state police is gathered, analyzed, and made available to the federal government. They were developed as infrastructure for the “war on terror” and have been instrumental in programs carrying out unconstitutional targeting of Muslims and racially-biased inferences about gang affiliation.
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Even before the current heinous attacks on immigrants, the administrative requirements for coming to this country have always been expensive, confusing, and designed to enforce unequal treatment for people from different origin countries. Evan will work to increase the resources available for asylum seekers, legal aid and social services for people with every documentation status.
Housing People can Afford
Tenant protections, and more housing, especially affordable housing, so that workers, families, students, and elders can stay in our communities.
The root cause of the current housing crisis is a system where homes are made to serve both the basic human need of shelter, and the function of a financial asset for investors seeking to grow their wealth. Evan will work to create policies that make this system more humane and affordable in the short term, while building towards a longer-term vision of housing access freed from market pressures.
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Since 1992, the state has denied Cambridge and other cities the ability to pass local rent stabilization ordinances. In that time rents have grown faster than inflation as corporate landlords have profited at the expense of working-class renters. Evan supports the Homes for All ballot question that would limit rent increases, even if new tenants move into a property.
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Over the past several decades, our state hasn’t built enough housing to meet demand. The legacies of white flight and systemic racism are still present in the form of exclusionary zoning and car-centric planning. Evan supports the MBTA Communities Act to increase density in the Boston suburbs. Innovative policies including community land trusts, social housing, and a real estate transfer fee can help ensure that new homes are affordable for working people. We should be working as hard as possible to support and invest in affordable housing.
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Evan supports establishing a Foreclosure Prevention Program. This program will require that servicers engage homeowners in a constructive evaluation of foreclosure alternatives. Right now a frequent cause of displacement is when a landlord puts a building up for sale or passes away and the building gets bought and the tenants get evicted. Evan supports the tenant opportunity to purchase act (TOPA), which will help address this by giving the tenant a first right of refusal.
Quality Public Education
Massachusetts must ensure quality education in our state’s public schools and Evan is committed to making that happen.
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School costs keep going up, but state funding isn’t keeping up due to outdated funding formulas that do not keep up with inflation. In FY 2025, schools were short by $465 million. That means fewer teachers, fewer counselors, and fewer resources in classrooms. Evan supports fixing the Chapter 70 inflation adjustment, so funding can catch up in years when inflation is lower and make up for what was lost when it was high. The cap would still be there, but it wouldn’t block teachers and students from getting the resources they need.
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Evan supports the THRIVE act to end the current state takeovers in Lawrence, Holyoke, and Southbridge, with clear transition plans and resources to support students, while restoring local control and collective bargaining. Let’s get rid of the takeover model for good and replace it with real support and improvement plans that address root causes and build up local leadership instead of weakening it. When developing the future of student assessment, we need to stop using high-stakes testing as a punitive tool to increase the share of district funding diverted to charter schools.
Climate and Transportation Justice
Clean air and water, safe and reliable transportation, and ambitious climate investments.
Environmental justice means recognizing that the people and communities with the least political power and wealth are repeatedly burdened with the impacts of pollution and climate breakdown, while those who can afford to enjoy the luxury and convenience of high-consumption lifestyles attempt to shield themselves from the true destructive costs.
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Transportation is a critical sector in the fight for environmental justice. The MBTA’s buses and trains run throughout Cambridge and make our communities more accessible and affordable to live in, but these same methods of transit must be modernized to become sustainable and not pollute our communities. Incredibly important legislation like electrification of the commuter rail (S.2359) repeatedly gets “sent to study”, indefinitely delaying it while the MBTA struggles to pay off the debt from the Big Dig; this takes up a huge portion of the MBTA budget in service of car-first infrastructure, instead of improving our public transit system. The state legislature needs to be serious about investing in the future of public transportation by ensuring that the MBTA is well funded with clear goals to make the T, the commuter rail, and buses all fast, reliable, and sustainable.
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AI data centers could increase energy demand in our state by as much as a quarter, also use clean drinking water for cooling equipment, and cause harmful noise and air pollution. The forces pushing for the expansion of data centers, and corresponding adoption of AI technologies in as many places as possible, are driven by the interests of corporations that have become unaccountably wealthy and powerful by using technology to exploit working people and marginalized communities. MassDEP approved expansion of the state’s largest data center in Lowell against grassroots opposition from residents, and the governor recently signed a tax exemption for data centers tipping the market in favor of these energy-hungry projects. Evan supports legislation forcing these businesses to internalize the full social cost of their energy use, including renewable energy mandates and paying for infrastructure expansion.
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Cambridge is home to world-leading institutions researching climate change and developing technologies to transition away from fossil fuels. The Trump administration has been defunding these programs as part of its greater anti-science agenda, alongside its attacks on public health and environmental regulations. Massachusetts must do more to fill the gaps in funding in these critical areas, instead of retreating into fiscal austerity.
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The status quo of secrecy allows politicians to hide while supporting tax breaks to the donor class and polluting our shared environment. There is no public majority of legislators who publicly support the private jet tax loophole; in fact, last time they debated this, only one legislator spoke in favor of preserving the private jet tax exemption. However, politicians keep killing the effort to repeal the jet tax loophole without accountability. This secrecy lets every politician claim to do the right thing and “believe in climate change” while sabotaging our efforts for environmental justice. Evan will fight to tax private jets, even though this means going up against the wealthiest donors in the state and powerful politicians they donate to.
Massachusetts has a sales tax exemption for private jets – a policy which costs the state millions of dollars in revenue to benefit the ultra-wealthy, at the expense of our environment. Only one legislator publicly supported preserving this tax loophole last time it was brought before the state house, but the legislation to repeal it gets sent to study every session, indefinitely delaying it without a public vote. This secrecy lets Massachusetts politicians speak publicly on the importance of addressing climate change while sabotaging important legislation for environmental justice behind closed doors. Evan will fight to tax private jets, even though this means going up against the wealthiest donors in the state and the powerful politicians they fund.
Improved Worker Protections
Being part of the labor movement has been deeply influential in Evan’s political development. They will seek to empower rank-and-file workers across industries, and turn to those workers for guidance as core stakeholders in policy-making.
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Evan supports legislation to protect workers in Massachusetts from exploitation by transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft, as well as delivery companies (DNCs) like Instacart. The idea is straightforward: these companies should follow the same state laws as every other business in Massachusetts. These include ensuring that drivers get at least minimum wage and overtime, reimbursement for gas mileage, and, like other corporations in MA, provide workers compensation and pay into the state unemployment insurance fund.
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State House aides work hard behind the scenes to get constituent voices drafted into policy and law and are grossly underpaid. Even with organizing efforts from the Massachusetts State House Employee Union, the Legislature still hasn’t chosen to recognize the union on its own, and a number of lawmakers who usually back labor issues haven’t spoken up in support. Evan is committed to supporting the unionization of these workers to make sure that those working day and night to improve Massachusetts are paid their fair share.
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Part-time and adjunct faculty are underpaid and face difficult working conditions and often few benefits. It is critical that our public institutions of higher education pay these staff a living wage as they are essential members of our educational community. Evan supports bill MA S2880 which aims to improve working conditions for adjunct faculty in Massachusetts public higher education and create more stable and sustainable career paths for adjunct faculty, which will both support our teachers as well as improving MA public higher education.
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