I believe change needs to happen.
Born and raised with a Bostonian’s pride, I’m a dedicated, single mother raising my daughter to be a power house. She is always watching me and for that, I’m compelled to show her that if she wants to see a change, she needs to be the change.
My vision for Building a Better Boston addresses the challenges facing working families across our city – schools, development, housing affordability, mental health, substance abuse, our local economy and small businesses, and public safety. I am focused on the issues that touch every resident, every day.
Change needs to happen in our schools. We need to provide support for our public school families, post-covid, getting back to normalcy. There needs to be tutoring readily available to all students who’ve fallen behind… maybe extending the school year if need be.
We need to address the social inequality that exists within our school system: why isn’t every student getting the same curriculum and how do we evaluate our public school system to raise the bar so that all children can be at exam school level? We need to bring vocational programs back into the BPS system. Not every student will go to college, and that’s ok. Vocational programs offer our children a skilled trade and the opportunity to earn a sustainable living wage, allowing them to stay in the city of Boston, to someday raise their own families in the city we love.
Change needs to happen for our neighborhoods. I believe in responsible redevelopment. Families are being pushed out due to the astronomical rents and home prices. How can we keep families that have been in the city for generations in their homes? Historical buildings are being demolished and replaced by new substandard developments that don’t fit into the fabric of our neighborhoods. Parking continues to be an unsolvable issue for too many. The people of Boston would much rather see a 3-story parking garage go up than more empty “luxury” condos.
Part of responsible redevelopment addresses the impact of climate change and rising sea levels. The environmental effects of overdevelopment in the seaport area have resulted in seriously flooding that will eventually result in long term damage. Responsible development also means ensuring the highest standards of employment and safety. The current projects are going up overnight it seems, by non-union companies. They often bring their employees with them from outside the city – not providing local jobs for local people. Our unions provide skilled, trained, reliable, local workers and ensure the safety of those workers.
Bridget Nee-Walsh 