I am proud to serve as your Boston City Councilor for District 4, representing the neighborhoods of Dorchester and Mattapan and parts of Jamaica Plain and Roslindale, to give back to the community that raised me. The work ethic and belief in the power of community that was instilled in me from a young age in this community is what drives my work every day. That is why on day one, I got to work to deliver tangible results for our neighborhoods, focusing on Black and Brown economic empowerment, tackling Boston’s affordability crisis and providing pathways to home ownership, and demanding increased funding for District 4, especially Dorchester and Mattapan, which has experienced systemic underfunding from our City. Since my time in office, I am proud that have filed 9 Home Rule Petitions, 34 Council Legislative Resolutions, 68 Hearing Orders, and 7 Council Ordinances to move an agenda forward for the future of our neighborhoods.

As a small business owner, I have experienced the trials of working through systems that are not building towards your success. I believe our City needs to expand economic opportunity for all, which means equipping residents with the education, resources, and services they need to reach their full potential.

My initiatives include:

• Launching the Black and Brown Economic Empowerment Agenda to make progress and accountability on key economic initiatives including supporting our main streets and small businesses, increasing diversity in city contracts, and expanding access to job training and career pipelines.
• Successfully securing 225 new liquor licenses as an historic investment with more than a $100 million value for the city’s underserved neighborhoods in partnership with Governor Healey and the state legislature.
• Pushing for greater equity in city contracting to meet our diversity targets and ensure equal opportunity.
• Removing barriers to business by removing excessive red tape, simplifying the application and renewal processes for small business, and educating entrepreneurs on navigating City processes to set new businesses up for success.

Access to city services should be easily accessible, whether in person, over the phone, or on the internet. As your Councilor, I have focused on bringing resources and services directly from City Hall back into our communities.

My initiatives include:

• Opening a district office in partnership with Representative Chris Worrell to deliver constituent services directly.
• Expanding the use of technology and data to improve City functions and operations.
• Filing legislation to add digital kiosks in City-owned facilities and to expand the Mobile City Hall van program to allow residents to access basic City functions away from City Hall.
• Introducing RISE legislation, which stands for reshaping inequities through systemic empowerment. This ordinance would require the city to review proposed policies with an equity lens, so we can better understand the impact of policies on people, especially those who have been historically marginalized.

Every person has a right to safe communities where they can thrive and live healthy, whole lives. I have focused during my time in office on addressing root causes of violence and health disparities to ensure better outcomes for ourselves and those we love.

My initiatives include:

• Pushing for the expansion for economic opportunity for those who need it most by expanding proven-programs, including reinstating Operation Exit, expanding Voctech education for our young people and formerly incarcerated population, and
• Expanding Violence prevention programs to cover a broader range of ages, specifically serving those who are in their 20s and 30s.
• Proposing the launch of a new street outreach and community ambassador program, building upon previous successes from the program.
• Providing support and relocation services to families who have suffered from violence.
• Funding new VIAP positions at our hospitals, as well as provide funding for the community groups working to prevent violence.
• Improving BPD’s response to crimes of sexual assault, domestic violence, and gender-based violence.
• Advocating for a 24/7 Crisis Response team in Boston.
• Creating frequent and consistent HubTable meetings for areas that experience higher levels of violent crime to improve responsiveness and track progress.
• Addressing health disparities, including the Black maternal and infant mortality rates and the underlying community-driven ailments that drive lower life expectancy in our neighborhoods.
• Expanding mental health services and awareness for our community.

For too many residents in District 4, the rising cost of housing and basic necessities are making it increasingly difficult to stay in the neighborhoods they love, which is why we need to do more to break down barriers to homeownership and address the housing crisis.

My initiatives include:

• Successfully advocated to get the HOV program in place, which creates pathway from Section 8 to homeownership and focusing on future expansion of the program.
• Directing homeownership voucher program and hired the first-ever Boston Housing Authority (BHA) position solely focused on creating pathways to homeownership.
• Proposing a $150 million development fund aimed at kick-starting the more than 30,000 permitted-but-unbuilt housing units across the city by working with developers to turn a portion of planned apartment units into forever-affordable condos.
• Launching a study to analyze how to build more accessible and affordable housing in the district, ensuring that we can expand opportunities for residents to afford to stay here.
• Working closely with community stakeholders, real estate professionals, and the City to spur more private investment in our neighborhoods, activating vacant lots, and reimagining existing spaces to help solve the housing crisis.

Education is the pathway to success, which is why every student needs to receive a high-quality education in our public schools that puts them on a path to opportunities and success.

My initiatives include:

• Pushing for all BPS students to receive financial support provided to help support continuing education in technical programs, junior colleges, colleges, and universities.
• Advocating for a long-term facilities plan for BPS, which should include a Mattapan high school.
• Ensuring every student has access to on-campus career and technical education programming.
• Launching the Cradle to Career initiative, which focuses on integrating cross-sector data to better identify key indicators and track students to ensure that they are connected to pathways to succeed through higher education, vocational training, or connecting to industries.
• Pushing for proven educational initiatives including investing in teacher diversity, shifting to a hub school model, and expanding learning.
• Ensuring BPS is on solid financial footing to make the investments our students and educators deserve.
• Proposing investments to promote the development of our youngest residents, including early education, childcare, and indoor playgrounds.

We all deserve a bright future, which means making key investments today in our infrastructure, resilience, and environment to lay the foundation. This will also require addressing historical underinvestment in our neighborhoods and the buildup of long-needed projects in District 4.

My initiatives include:

• Delivering a massive increase in City funding for projects and improvements to District 4 with a 7% increase in funding to our parts of Dorchester and Mattapan, which means increased spending on our local parks, playgrounds, infrastructure, trees, schools, and so much more by over $11 million in a single year.
• Supporting climate action to mitigate the harms of the climate crisis, including expanding tree canopy to reduce the heat island effects.
• Expanding access to opportunities in the green economy for our residents.