One of my major priorities and part of the 2021-2022 Medford People’s Platform was improving our public meetings to make them more accessible, welcoming, and safe. We have more work to do, but we comprehensively updated the City Council Rules to improve clarity and plain language explanations, enshrine permanent hybrid Zoom access to Council, and remove gender-assuming language.

The Council held 106 meetings to advance key policy priorities over the first year of this term, considering over 600 action items and passing the new Zoning Recodification, Snow Removal Ordinance, and Styrofoam Ban Ordinance. We held dozens of subcommittee meetings and prepared over 10 new ordinances and policy changes to move towards passage in 2023.

Medford’s city budget has been in crisis for years, with long-term underfunding that has shrunk city departments, led to worse conditions in our schools, and left us with no real plan to fix crumbling roads and public buildings. The FY23 budget added insult to injury by demanding draconian last-minute cuts from city services and public schools that couldn’t afford it.

I worked alongside my fellow councilors to hold the Mayor and city administration accountable for the broken FY23 budget process, to explain the issues plainly and clearly to the public in order to stem the tide of rampant misinformation, and to push for action on a long-term budget and revenue plan. The issues were so severe that The Boston Globe covered the concerning process and outcomes. We’ve also seen the impacts that $2 million in funding cuts have had on Medford Public Schools. The School Committee was open that these cuts were a major problem back in June, and we’ve seen urgent needs for more funding for student mental and emotional health supports, safety at MHS, support for educators and staff, and more since then.

Sadly, the situation deteriorated to a 1AM negotiation with the Mayor on the last possible day to pass the budget. Luckily, the Council was able to win $540,000 in funding restoration for our public schools, library, and local legal services. However, calls from Councilor Collins and me for immediate revenue or a revenue plan went unaddressed by the Mayor, and our leap-of-faith request for more collaborative and transparent partnership with the Mayor and executive leadership has gone largely unanswered.

After nearly two years of work, the City Council unanimously passed the city’s first comprehensive Zoning Ordinance recodification in nearly 60 years. It provides a strong foundation for the city’s future development and rules that are clear, adaptable, and ensure strong community benefits from big projects. 

We’ve seen some great new opportunities ready to come to the city under new zoning provisions that will grow our commercial tax base, bring major community benefits, and help address our city’s ongoing revenue issues in the medium-to-long term. We’re also working in partnership with the city’s Office of Planning, Development, and Sustainability and Building Department to move forward on “Phase 2” of zoning updates. This was a top priority of the Council and Council Leadership from Day 1 of this term, and we were finally able to secure funding for the project during late-night budget negotiations with the Mayor in June.

While the year has seen major policy challenges that we must come together to address, we also had many good news stories. One of the biggest good news stories was the completion and opening of the Green Line Medford Branch earlier this month! It was so exciting to finally see trains running along the Green Line and bringing people into Medford to support local businesses and giving Medford residents more access to Boston and to our entire region. 

Since my first months on the Council in 2020, I have been pushing for the Mayor and city administration to bring residents, city staff, and the Council together to work on neighborhood plans for areas affected by the Green Line to address displacement, the housing cost crisis, and ensure the benefits of more transit access are spread as widely as possible.

Heading into the new year, the Council’s to-do list is filled with major city business and policy proposals. For months, the Council has been fighting for access to basic information about the city’s fiscal health and plans for the FY24 budget. I’m hopeful we will finally be able to engage the Mayor and city administration on this budget and avoid another painful year of budget cuts to city departments, Medford Public Schools, and capital needs of roads, sidewalks, parks, and public buildings.

We also have nearly a dozen draft ordinances and major policies ready for action in 2023, including the Affordable Housing Trust, multiple housing stability proposals, competitive benefits for city and school employees, updating food truck and outdoor dining rules, “Phase 2” of our zoning ordinance updates, and supporting funding requests for student mental health and safety in our public schools.