Final speech to the Newton City Council

Dec 15, 2025

First: Thank you to city staff & clerks who make all of our work for residents as City Councilors possible.

It has been a challenging and unpredictable six years, from the pandemic to a labor strike to global conflict & tragedies with local dimensions to the growing instability and repression at the federal level of our nation. Our city is also experiencing its sharpest structural fiscal pinch point in quite some time, which will continue to be difficult to manage over the coming two to four years, while keeping residents happy. Local government is where the rubber meets the road on people’s daily lives, and we have been tasked with carrying on every day, despite all these challenges and uncertainties.

I am satisfied that we have done many good things together in my time in office – especially the work I did to help constituents at the beginning of the pandemic, the additional housing we approved, the reforms we passed to try to strengthen and clarify policies on leaf blowers and private tree protection, landmarking the historic Strong Block of Waban Square, updating Newton’s City Seal, passing key street design improvements for safety, and this year organizing a letter from every Councilor against the Trump Administration’s false claims about our city because of our support for the basic rights of immigrants. I predict that Newton’s elected officials will be called upon to show courage on great issues of right and wrong again and again in the near future.

I’m happy to recount a few other things in which I played some part… One of my top priorities before running for Council was to get a mandate passed against natural gas hookups, and I was proud to help secure a strong pilot ordinance on electrification earlier this term. And I am glad that we passed significant reforms to the Council rules throughout my time here. At a smaller scale, we also got a lot of Ward 5 potholes patched and sidewalk breaks grinded down.

I was gratified to help revive the Council scholarship for political science and government students from Newton’s graduating seniors, after having received it myself many years ago. Public service is what I always knew I wanted to do by that point in my life and public service is what I am good at. The scholarship is our small way of signaling to young people in our community that it is worthwhile to pursue this career path in its own right because constituents deserve to have thoughtful and committed representation. I'm sure I wouldn't even have considered stepping down if this were a full-time job to help our residents.

I am most proud of ensuring that in meetings and deliberations there was a voice to represent people who felt they were otherwise going unheard, from residents to public employees. I feel that I have been as much of a listener as a strongly opinionated speaker.

I am excited to be already under way with my Master’s Degree studies at UMass Boston’s public history program, pursuing my other great passion in life, and earlier this year I finished receiving a certificate in graphic design & web design from UMass Lowell to continue building my service options. It is nice to be taking a break from serving in elected office for now, giving myself the opportunity to continue listening and weighing in on local matters from a different vantage point…and I look forward to returning to government when the time is right.

It has been an honor and a privilege to serve on this City Council. Thank you.

Council adopts Code of Conduct

This effort to establish a Code of Conduct was one of my big achievements for the City Council this year. Although it did not include everything I hoped to include (nothing ever does, of course), it is a strong starting point enshrined into the permanent rules of the City Council. My goal with this and other recent reforms to the Council rules this year was to try to leave the Council in a better place going forward on process than when I began six years ago. In future, I hope the Council will add enforcement mechanisms.

Newton Beacon: City Council adopts Code of Conduct, minus a few amendments

Video: Bill Humphrey on the Syrian-American community in Massachusetts

It was my honor last night to join subject specialist historian Dr. Lydia Harrington to address the Syrian American Network's kickoff event in Newton MA, connecting the historical experiences of the Syrian-American community in Massachusetts in the 1910s & 1920s to their experiences in the 2010s & 2020s. The Network aims to help unite Syrians of all backgrounds for mentorship, career development, and community building here and in Syria.

A brief comment on current events and their local impact

July 29, 2025

Over the past nearly two years, many of our Newton community members have been profoundly distressed by the unfolding incontrovertible genocide by the State of Israel in Gaza. The events there have corroded community bonds here. Deep down, all our residents know this situation is wrong, regardless of the failures of leadership from, and poor examples set by, our elected officials. As a community, we have not handled this crisis well, nor reflected and protected our full diversity. I want residents who oppose the attempted annihilation and expulsion of the people of Gaza, especially those residents whose Palestinian friends and families have been enduring this daily or have already perished, to know that you are not alone in Newton and you are integral to our community. Your values are Newton values. You are supported by your neighbors from among all faiths and ethnicities. You are welcome here. Someday, nearly everyone will acknowledge the reality of what has occurred. I urge anyone to acknowledge it now.

– Newton City Councilor Bill Humphrey, Ward 5

Statement from City Councilors on Trump Administration Directive Against Newton

Newton City Council

June 4, 2025

The City Council of Newton, Massachusetts is aware of the Executive Order from President 
Donald J. Trump and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Sanctuary Jurisdictions list that claim that our municipality is in "a lawless insurrection against the supremacy of Federal law and the 
Federal Government's obligation to defend the territorial sovereignty of the United States." 

As City Councilors, we note for the record that this is false. The City of Newton, specifically in its capacity as a law enforcement agency, is prohibited from taking any action that denies any individuals due process of law, under the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, regardless of immigration or citizenship status. Our commitment to uphold this civil right is reflected in our municipal ordinances. We will not be intimidated or coerced into abandoning that.

City Councilor Bill Humphrey, Ward 5
City Councilor Andrea Kelley, Ward 3
City Councilor Alan Lobovits, Ward 6
City Councilor Susan Albright, Ward 2
City Councilor Martha Bixby, Ward 6
City Councilor Andreae Downs, Ward 5
City Councilor Maria Greenberg, Ward 1
City Councilor Julia Malakie, Ward 3
City Councilor Tarik Lucas, Ward 2
City Councilor Rena Getz, Ward 5
City Councilor Vicki Danberg, Ward 6
City Councilor Alison Leary, Ward 1
City Councilor Stephen Farrell, Ward 8
City Councilor David Micley, Ward 2
City Councilor Rick Lipof, Ward 8
City Councilor Randy Block, Ward 4
City Councilor Becky Grossman, Ward 7
City Councilor John Oliver, Ward 1
City Councilor Pam Wright, Ward 3
City Councilor Josh Krintzman, Ward 4
City Councilor Lenny Gentile, Ward 4
City Council President Emeritus Lisle Baker, Ward 7
City Council Vice President David Kalis, Ward 8
City Council President Marc Laredo, Ward 7

(24 of 24 Councilors)

My plans for next year

Dear constituents and supporters –

I have recently returned from an incredible solo trip to Alaska, visiting coastal glaciers and interior taiga and tundra – all places where the disruptive effects of man-made global warming are rapidly becoming visible every year. I had never been to Alaska before, despite having completed the Lower 48 states as a child, and it was a great experience, especially by rail on the state-owned Alaska Railroad in their final week of summer season service during Alaskan autumn. It was also a great place to go after a busy year, because there is limited cell service and I was able to get a great deal of reading done – when I wasn’t looking at jaw-dropping vistas or experiencing the swirling aurora of the Northern Lights above my head.

Now that I am back home in Massachusetts, I am providing a public update on my plans for next year: After checking in with my campaign team and consulting with my family, I am sticking with the decision I made after last year’s municipal election that I will not be seeking re-election to the Newton City Council in the 2025 fall elections.

Thank you to Ward 5 for your confidence in me three times to serve you as Ward Councilor. Thank you, again, for voting for me to move up to the state level, although we finished a strong second place in the wider district this year. I know some of you will be disappointed to see me depart this role, but the time has come for me to find other avenues of public service for now. I am so grateful to all those who have supported me over the years in my campaigns.

Although I greatly enjoy the work of helping my Ward 5 constituents, at this time, serving longer than six years in the post would not be financially sustainable for me and my family. While I have done various other part-time work over the years, it is unfortunately the case that many opportunities have restrictions or conflicts related to holding or seeking public office, either at the employer level or under state law, and serving as a City Councilor in Newton is a big time commitment for a part-time role with a stipend.

I am making this announcement now, more than six months before nomination papers become available, because I want to give Ward 5 residents who might be interested in running (or interested in persuading a friend to run) as much lead time as possible to hold exploratory conversations with friends and neighbors and to put together a successful campaign operation.

I do not have any successor in mind and at this time do not intend to endorse anyone to take my place, but I’m willing to have a chat with any interested potential candidates about what the job of Councilor entails and what is necessary to run for it. The Ward Councilor role, in particular, tends to field a lot of constituent services queries each week. I want to make sure prospective candidates understand what residents will need from them if they are elected.

I’m also announcing my decision now because – although most eyes are on national politics for the next few weeks – the Mayor’s race is already heating up, I believe there are likely to be other Council vacancies around the city, and I would anticipate an active School Committee campaign year.

I am satisfied that we have done some good things together in my time in office – especially the work I did to help constituents at the beginning of the pandemic, the reforms we passed to try to improve policies on leaf blowers and private tree protection, finally landmarking the historic Strong Block of Waban Square, and passing a number of key street design improvements for safety in Newton Upper Falls. 

One of my top priorities before running for Council was to get a mandate passed against natural gas hookups, and I was proud to help secure a strong pilot ordinance on electrification earlier this year. At a smaller scale, we also got a lot of Ward 5 potholes patched and sidewalk breaks grinded down, when you reported them to me for extra attention. I am most proud of ensuring that in meetings and deliberations there was a voice to represent people who were otherwise going unheard, from residents to public employees. 

I’m sure we will also achieve a few more goals before the end of this term in December 2025. I look forward to your continued communications between now and then.

In that remaining time, I will still be serving on the Finance Committee and as Vice Chair of the Programs & Services Committee. Additionally, I have been appointed again to the City Council’s Rules Subcommittee, where we continue to try to improve our operations and public legibility of our work. I also continue to serve on the City Seal Working Group, as we work toward a final proposal for a new City Seal for the Council to consider.

Sincerely,

Bill Humphrey,

Ward 5 Newton City Councilor

Thank you – and the work will continue

I am disappointed and saddened that we came up short in this campaign for State Representative. I will always be enormously grateful to my family and friends and countless voters and volunteers for their incredible support and generosity over the years because they believe in the collective vision I am promoting for a different future where everyone is thriving. I can say that I ran the exact kind of campaign that I wanted to run, even if it didn't work out this year in a very fearful and anxious political climate. I can move forward knowing that my campaign did not make our politics worse, that I did not discourage anyone from wanting to be involved in our political process, and that I inspired more people to become interested in this important work. I can only hope that some of these newcomers remain politically engaged in the future. We will need all the help we can get.

I am also grateful to the voters of Ward 5, my home ward, for making me your first choice in this race.

The best part of this experience has been the amazing conversations I have had with the voters in this district. What was clear to me is that many people want a Massachusetts – and a country – that truly works for everyone, and I will continue to fight for that. –Bill

With 5 hours left to vote for State Rep, we’re still knocking doors to talk about the issues

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Polls (and mail-in dropboxes at City/Town Hall) are open today until 8 PM. I hope to earn your vote by then to be your next State Representative. We’re asking you to come out to the polls today and be a part of making this a wave election now that begins building energy for November. The future looks bright, and we want your stamp of approval on that assessment, too.

Thank you so much to members of 1199 SEIU and SEIU 509 for helping out again with our door-knocking efforts today. We just launched 14 teams, who will be spending the rest of the afternoon having doorstep conversations. They’re focusing on making sure we alert some of the voters who don’t always remember to vote in primary elections, because we don’t want people to miss out on the chance to choose their first new State Representative in more than 25 years! They’re talking to voters about the issues facing our state, such as climate change, the housing crisis, reliability of public transit, public childcare and education, and expanded reproductive freedom.

We need a full-time State Representative who is responsive to constituents who write in or call in needing assistance. SEIU volunteers this past weekend reported how many Ward 5 residents told them stories of me talking to them directly about something they needed help with at the city level, and I will continue that as your State Representative. A first-termer, especially, can’t outsource this brass tacks, day-to-day work to staff and have it done well.

I started my morning in Brookline and I have been making my way around to visit the polling places across the district. This campaign is only possible with volunteer people power, in huge numbers. At 7 this morning, our volunteers were out in force, holding signs at nearly every polling location in the district. Beyond community support, we had folks from the Newton Teachers Association, Mass Nurses Association, Progressive Mass, UFCW Local 1445, the Laborers, and more. Later today we'll have the Ironworkers!

I was particularly honored to have Mass Nurses Association President Katie Murphy stop by Newton Ward 5 to hold a sign with me and my mother, a 40 year MNA member who is active in her union at the Brigham. We talked about some of the urgent policy priorities of the nurses in the legislature and the need for transparency and accountability at the State House. The unions are prepared to back me up on standing firm for changing how business is done.

We remain filled with a passion for changing the things we find unacceptable. I hope you will join us in this endeavor. Together, we can make Massachusetts a Commonwealth for everyone. I’m excited to get started, and I need your vote by 8 PM today to do so.

Happy Labor Day | I’m asking for your vote on Tuesday

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Tomorrow (Tuesday Sept 3rd) is the final day to vote in the state Democratic primary for State Representative in Newton and Brookline! If you have not yet had a chance to vote yet, you can vote at your regular polling location between 7 AM and 8 PM or drop off your vote-by-mail ballot envelope at the secure dropbox outside city/town hall by 8 PM. All ballots must be received by 8 PM to count, and there is no general election race for this seat; tomorrow is effectively the final day of the election. I hope to earn your vote tomorrow!

Happy Labor Day!

As the son of a union nurse, I am so proud to have been endorsed in this race by more than a dozen labor unions representing a wide array of professions and occupations, and I know this network will be invaluable on Beacon Hill as your next State Representative. 

This morning I stopped by the UNITE HERE Local 26 hotel workers picket line and rally, featuring Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, and there were so many union brothers and sisters there in solidarity who knew my name, where I’m running, and what I’m about. That is hard-won name recognition for someone who will be a first-termer, and it builds on the past nine years of relationship-building I have done at the State level, even as a City Councilor.

On Saturday, I was immensely grateful to volunteers from 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the Newton Teachers Association, Progressive Mass, and Mass Alliance for knocking doors across more than a quarter of the entire district in one day! The excitement they reported from voters was wonderful to hear.

Altogether, by tomorrow, this campaign will have knocked more than 12,000 doors since February, and I myself have knocked more than 8,300! The thousands of conversations we have had at the doors about the issues facing our district and the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts have helped inform and inspire me, and I know I will be an even stronger State Representative for you because of this process. It has always helped guide my focus on constituent services and communications as a Councilor, and it will continue to do so in this next role.

I’m asking for your vote tomorrow

I’m asking for your vote on Tuesday to elect me as a your full-time State Representative in the 12th Middlesex District, so that we can fight for continual progress on climate action, housing supply and displacement, reliability of our public transit, and public education and childcare for all, and so that we can affirmatively expand our state’s reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, disability rights, and labor rights.

We need to protect the most vulnerable in our society, from those living in long term care to refugees fleeing conflict and minority faiths whose freedom of worship is under threat. We need to work together to confront the social alienation, economic breakdowns, and violence that lead to cycles of mental crisis and substance abuse – and to provide the care and support to those already facing these struggles.

To do any of this, we need to recognize that business as usual in our legislature is not working, and that it doesn’t have to be done this way. We need a representative who brings State House and statewide relationships that extend beyond just the Leadership of the legislature.

This is the year to pass the torch. This is the time to believe in Massachusetts, our ability to live up to the promise of our reputation as national leaders once again, and our capacity to do the great things that will keep our society healthy and growing.

It is only by expanding our capacities as a society and lifting up all our people together, instead of retreating from our responsibilities to one another, that we can thrive – and create a general prosperity.

A Commonwealth for everyone is not a moral stance but a necessity for all of us, if we hope to succeed in a challenging century. We in Massachusetts should be a Beacon to the nation, and a peer in the world.

See you at the polls tomorrow between 7 AM and 8 PM. With an open seat for the first time since 1998, we expect very high turnout!

If you are interested in holding a sign at a polling place for our campaign, you can sign up here! Thank you so much to everyone who has volunteered in this effort. Big things are only possible with all of us together.

Sincerely,
Bill Humphrey,
Ward 5 Newton City Councilor
Contribute Online

Newsletter: Endorsements from Don Siegel and 32BJ SEIU | Youth Justice Reform

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There is less than one week to go until the 12th Middlesex State Representative election! Early voting is under way this week at Newton City Hall & Brookline Town Hall through Friday. Your mail-in ballots also must be received back to the clerks by September 3rd at 8 PM. Regular polling locations will be open from 7 AM to 8 PM on September 3rd, next Tuesday. Do you have a plan to vote by the day after Labor Day?
 

Tomorrow (Thursday 8/29) I will be delivering a keynote speech outside Newton City Hall at 4:15 PM to the members of the Newton Teachers Association as they head into the new school year, where we will talk about a shared vision for a Commonwealth for everyone – and moving past the bitterness of recent years into a more hopeful place. I encourage any supporters or undecided voters to attend and hear what I have to say and why so many people are behind me so enthusiastically!

Don Siegel endorsement

I’m grateful for the support of Don Siegel, retired labor lawyer, former president of multiple Jewish communal organizations, and a Newton resident for almost 50 years. Don is one of my Ward 5 constituents and has played an essential role as an unofficial adviser to my campaign this year. Here’s what he has to say after working with me:

“I have followed the race for our next State Representative from the 12th Middlesex District with interest. I voted for my Newton City Councilor, Bill Humphrey, because of his positive commitment to our community. He is studious, energetic and committed to all of us. He is thoughtful and welcoming. He wants to improve the lives of his constituents and will work hard to do so. He has endorsements from a broad spectrum of representative organizations.

Having had a number of in-depth conversations with him on the subject, I know that Bill Humphrey is and will be a leader in the fight against all forms of religious intolerance, including antisemitism. He recognizes the special needs of religious minorities to be protected in their houses of worship and will support public funding to make that happen. He deplores the current spike in antisemitism in Massachusetts and will work hard to arrest it.

The near-term future for all of us in the Commonwealth will be challenging. Bill will help us meet those challenges in a thoughtful way. He will be a good listener and a committed leader. He is my choice for our next State Representative.”

(These are Don’s personal views and not speaking for any organizations.)

32BJ SEIU endorsement

In this campaign, I have earned the support of a dozen labor unions in our state, representing a wide range of occupations. I am extremely proud and honored to have secured the endorsement of 32BJ SEIU, which represents some of our state’s most essential but least well compensated service workers, who keep so much of our economy humming along behind the scenes. This endorsement came after meeting with a panel of their members conducted in both English and Spanish. Here is their statement:

“The majority of our members are immigrants and people of color, and all of them provide essential services that keep the state’s workplaces, transportation hubs, and centers of higher education running smoothly and safely,” said Roxana Rivera, 32BJ SEIU Assistant to the President and head of the union in Massachusetts. “Our members fully understand the importance of electing candidates who support the rights and advancement of people historically marginalized because of their race, gender, sexuality, place of birth, or economic status. That is why we are proud to ask voters in their districts to support Bill Humphrey on September 3, and help make the great state of Massachusetts an even better place for everyone.”

I also want to add that I am strongly endorsing 32BJ's ballot question (Question 3) this November to "provide for unionizing and collective bargaining for transportation network drivers."

32BJ joins the SEIU MA State Council, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, and SEIU Local 509 within the broader family of the Service Employees International Union as endorsers of my campaign for Massachusetts State Representative.

Youth Justice reform

Citizens for Juvenile Justice – in partnership with the Boston Bar Association and a number of other organizations – has published a candidate guide for those interested in youth justice reform issues, featuring answers from some of the candidates on these issues. (The responses begin on page 33 of the PDF.)

In recent years, Massachusetts took key steps towards reforming the criminal justice system, but there is always more to be done. We need a fair-minded criminal justice system whose goals far surpass those of trying to be “tough on crime” for its own sake and which is instead focused on achieving justice for all and helping get people’s lives back on track.

Our young people especially need further reforms: We must raise the juvenile justice age to account for modern understanding of cognitive development in youth and in recognition of the research demonstrating that young offenders have much lower re-offending rates if sent through the juvenile system than through the adult system, controlling for other factors.

More info on my criminal justice reform platform here.

Some closing arguments from former City Councilor Brenda Noel

In 2021, Brenda Noel and I were both re-elected as neighboring Ward Councilors for Wards 5 and 6 of Newton with over 60% of the vote. We sometimes even held joint office hours for Newton Highlands. She decided not to seek re-election last year but has been a core part of my campaign team in this election for State Representative, and she was the first person to contact me to urge me to run when the seat became open in February. We share a devotion to constituent services and a dedication to clear, regular communication with constituents. 

Brenda, along with former Councilors Alicia Bowman and Holly Ryan, also came to know me very well during the challenging pandemic term when many City Councilors never really got to know each other, and we all became inseparable collaborators on advancing policy and winning complex procedural vote battles at critical points over the years. All three of them have been actively working for this campaign every day since February. You’ve heard from her before, but here is Brenda’s closing argument for electing me:

“I have made my case in the past as to why I am supporting Bill Humphrey- but as this race has unfolded- it has become even clearer to me that he is the only choice for this seat.  Much is at stake in our local elections. I have served on the City Council with all three of the candidates, and Bill remains the candidate with the most integrity, vision for the future and willingness to take political risks to do what is right. His platform includes reproductive freedoms, disability services, thoughtful and affordable housing policy, a commitment to properly funding public education, advocating for LGBTQ rights, and proven effective climate and transportation policy.  

I have seen his dedication to constituent services and his commitment to understand complex policy issues. My favorite thing about Bill -- besides his progressive values -- is what you see is what you get. He is transparent, honest, and remains true to our shared principles and the constituents he serves.

There is a lot of noise this election- and sometimes it's hard to know what is real.  What I can assure you is Bill is a person of integrity and character- I don't stake my reputation on another individual lightly- and I believe character matters.”

I hope to earn your vote by Tuesday September 3rd, the day after Labor Day, to be your Democratic nominee for our next State Representative.

Learn more at billhumphrey.org – and please volunteer or donate if you are able. We are looking for a lot of volunteers Friday through Tuesday for various roles from door-knocking and literature dropping to sign-holding at polling locations.

10,000 doors vs 10,000 dollars | Investing in the Arts

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There is just over one week to go until the 12th Middlesex State Representative election! Early voting is under way this week at Newton City Hall & Brookline Town Hall. Do you have a plan to vote by Tuesday September 3rd, the day after Labor Day?

Thank you to volunteers from Progressive Newton, the NTA, UFCW 1445, and more for joining me, Jesse Mermell, and Brenda Noel to knock another 500 doors this weekend!
 

10,000 doors vs 10,000 dollars

This week, my all-volunteer campaign team and I – backed by hundreds of grassroots donors – celebrated reaching our 10,000th resident door in the district during this campaign. I personally have knocked just shy of 8,000 of these myself, which is an invaluable opportunity to meet the voters directly and hear about the issues they care about most, so that I can do my best work representing my constituents. 

In order, the top five issues most commonly cited this year as we go door-to-door have been environmental issues, housing, public transit, education/childcare, and reproductive rights. This face-to-face approach to meeting the voters where they are in an era of limited local news is how I got elected to the City Council in the first place, and I’m glad I have been able to bring this approach to my campaign for State Representative.

At the same time as we were reaching our 10,000th door, Dr. Schwartz’s campaign poured another $10,000 of his personal money into sending out a negative “informational” piece in the mail about me, bringing his self-funded total this year to at least $25,000 so far, presumably also covering an anonymous mailer sent against the other candidate earlier in the year. He followed this new postcard up with a similar email blast this evening.

As an experienced elected official with many campaigns under my belt, I am no stranger to receiving uncharitable attacks, and it’s easy enough to shrug off at this point because they’re painting a broad character, not capturing a nuanced likeness of who I am. My undefeated win record in my home ward speaks for itself among the people who actually know me (which going door-to-door helps reinforce).

But whenever I am out on the campaign trail, I hear from so many good-hearted, highly engaged citizens with incredible ideas for a better community – who tell me that they would never do what I’m doing because they can’t stand the thought of all the negative smear campaigning that would be directed at them and their families, even their children. That is what saddens me when I see a negative campaign attack. It might not bother me very much, but other people do read that stuff, and one by one they choose to avoid seeking public office. What a loss for all of us as a society.

I also know, as any political campaign consultant knows, that a negative ad is not intended to convert votes to the attacker but simply to depress the electorate’s interest in voting at all. That’s a real shame, too. We should all be trying to get more people to engage in the process of government, not fewer people.

Early in this campaign, my kitchen cabinet and I made a commitment that we would not run any negative advertising, because every dollar we spend should be about the issues and what we want to do to make Massachusetts better, not what we don’t like about our opponents. Dr. Schwartz courteously called me to let me know that he was going to run, and he agreed with me that it’s nice to have a three-way race where everyone understands that their best chance of winning is to stay positive and issue-oriented and not help a different candidate by making political attacks. I’m sorry to see him repeatedly take poor advice to go in another direction.
 

In all five of my previous campaigns, I have never sent a negative mailer, and that won’t change today. That being said, here are some facts I feel compelled to draw attention to at this point: Dr. Schwartz has just loaned $10,000 of his own money to try to attack me on the “significant differences” between us as a smokescreen to distract voters from the reality that he is now six months into a Democratic Primary campaign in Massachusetts and has refused to put into his campaign platform anything about reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, or gun violence prevention – not even on his healthcare page. (In case his campaign remembers to add these to his website in the final week of the race in response to this email, here is a static link from The Wayback Machine showing the absence of these issues as recently as this past Thursday.) I have seen his door-to-door card, and these issues are also glaringly missing from his bullet point list of important issues.

I am proud to be endorsed by Reproductive Equity Now and the Bay State Stonewall Democrats, and I’m one of the two candidates in the race who applied for and received recognition from Moms Demand Action as a “Gun Sense candidate.” These three topic areas have been day one issues for me in this campaign, but also issues I have championed for my entire adult life. They’re important enough to be in the platform and they are or have been important legislative agenda items this year.
 

Dr. Schwartz has also never had to explain to the voters why the Republican candidate in this race, Jean Senat Fleury, a Brookline Town Meeting Member and chair of Haitians for Trump, mysteriously dropped out of the race and endorsed Dr. Schwartz’s campaign, even being cited on his website endorsements page (Wayback Machine link).

I am proud to be a former member of the Newton Democratic City Committee’s Executive Committee, received more votes this March than anyone else running for the Newton Ward 5 Democratic Committee, and am supported by at least two current or past Ward 5 Democratic Chairs and the previous City Democratic Chair, with a clear track record of involvement in the local, state, and national Democratic Party. One of my unofficial roles as your next State Representative will be to continue the work of strengthening our Democratic Party, just as my predecessor has prioritized.

Every day in this campaign, I’m focused on the issues and specific policy proposals that matter to our voters and improving their lives, and I believe this year that is what people are looking for. I have sent out mail pieces that are specifically about education and childcare, climate and transit, our housing crisis, older adults and eldercare, reproductive rights and other issues facing women. I’m not interested in sending out context-free mail about all the reasons not to vote for my opponents. I wouldn’t be in the race if I didn’t think that there are differences between all of us. But we should be making our case on what we want to do in office, and we should be talking about substance. Our democracy is stronger and healthier when we approach our politics this way, instead of turning ordinary people off in disgust.

Investing in Public Arts & Culture

Unfortunately, a planned candidate forum with arts and culture professionals to talk about the public sector role in supporting the arts and other cultural activities in Massachusetts had to be canceled last week for scheduling reasons. But that’s no reason not to talk about the subject in a newsletter anyway! I have had an Arts, Culture, and Historic Preservation section on my campaign website since the day I got into the race! Additionally, I had attended a 2023 celebration of all the Mass Cultural Council grants awarded to artists residing in Newton from a wide array of artistic endeavors.

Arts, culture, and tourism are a $27 billion industry in Massachusetts, employing 130,000 people and often serving as the gateway introduction to Massachusetts for out-of-state skilled talent and business owners. Historic preservation is also a specialist, high-value jobs engine that maintains unique local character even as our state evolves.

I have been a lifelong supporter of public funding for arts and culture and a proponent of historic preservation. As a Newton City Councilor, I have served for over four and a half years on the Programs & Services Committee, which has the closest relationships with our Parks, Recreation, & Culture Commission and the Community Preservation Commission.

My late grandfather was a publicist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and my late grandmother was a Mass Art student and published a book of sketches of symphony members at work (as well as illustrating a children’s book).

Arts, culture, and recreational opportunities are often the things that give our lives meaning, purpose, aspiration, and ambition. They get some of us up in the morning. They give some of us something to look forward to at the end of each day or week. In some cases, the arts are our daily work, while in other cases cultural activities are a calling and passion that transcends labor and remuneration. Arts and culture fill our hearts and fortify our spirits. They should be by and for the people.

Our outgoing State Representative often worked closely with local officials and community members to address concerns at DCR-managed state parklands in our district, and I hope to continue that tradition. I am currently a board member of the Friends of Hemlock Gorge.

As a lifelong Newton resident and the son of a historian, I have a deep appreciation for local history and an understanding of the expenses required to preserve and maintain that history. As a Newton City Councilor, I supported reforms to the local landmarking ordinance and then successfully petitioned for local landmark status for the iconic Strong Block of Waban Square. I have supported zoning and regulatory reforms that make preservation more feasible from a cost standpoint to property owners by changing what they can do with their properties while protecting what already exists.

As your next State Representative, I’m excited to work on some of these less headline-grabbing but still very important policy issues like arts, culture, and history.

I hope to earn your vote by Tuesday September 3rd, the day after Labor Day, to be your Democratic nominee for our next State Representative.

Learn more at billhumphrey.org – and please volunteer or donate if you are able.

Newsletter: Framingham-Newton Building Trades Council endorsement | Door-knocking with Jesse Mermell on Sunday | Steward crisis update and more

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Today’s newsletter covers economic policy for the rest of us, updates on the Steward Health Care Crisis, and two new interviews about this campaign! But first, a couple of upcoming volunteer opportunities – including with Jesse Mermell on Sunday – and a new endorsement by the Framingham-Newton Building Trades Council…
 

Jesse Mermell door-knocking kickoff on Sunday at noon

Please join me and former Brookline Select Board member (and past 4th District Congressional candidate) Jesse Mermell at noon this Sunday at Picadilly Square in Newton Centre to get fired up to go knock some doors and talk to voters about making Massachusetts a Commonwealth for everyone. If you’ve never knocked doors before, we will train you on everything you need to know and then send you on your way. (Plan for about 2-3 hours including the remarks and training.)

If you’re not available that day, you can sign up for one of the other door-knocking dates at that form. If you prefer other ways of volunteering, check out this form.

(We encourage you to fill out the forms if you plan to join us, so that we can send you any location or time change alerts or weather alerts.)

I’ve personally knocked more than 7,800 doors in this campaign this year, and I’ve also been fortunate enough to have dedicated volunteers knock more than 2,150 more. Our campaign has not hired a single person to knock on doors because we’ve been so blessed with enthusiastic supporters giving generously of their time to talk to their neighbors and other community members about our shared vision for a Massachusetts that works for all of us and sets a positive example for the rest of the country.

Framingham-Newton Building Trades Council Endorsement

I’m proud to be endorsed by the Framingham-Newton Building Trades Council, representing a wide range of the region’s labor unions in the construction industry. Among other priorities, they share my advocacy for building a much larger supply of quality housing in Massachusetts, and they want to make sure it’s done right for the communities it will house.

Sometimes I am asked what the benefits are for everyone else from the work of these unions and my relationships with them. The wider public benefits from strong labor standards in the building trades are especially enormous: Setting consistent rules and expectations about workplace safety and compensation on major projects are critical to weeding out disreputable or unscrupulous bidders who save money on their bids by cutting corners on their projects in ways that endanger workers and future occupants of the buildings. We need more homes, and they need to be safe and durable. We also don’t want the workers building our affordable housing to be impoverished by unfair employment practices and exploitation.

The building trades workers have some of the highest-risk, most important jobs in our society, and I’m truly honored to be shoulder-to-shoulder with them on issues like Project Labor Agreements, Prevailing Wage standards, and wage theft prevention.

VP Harris on economic policies for ordinary people

I also wanted to highlight this superb quote from Vice President Harris this week (video) when asked by a reporter “how are you going to pay for” the anti-poverty programs she is proposing:

“Return on investment! I think it’s a mistake for any person who talks about public policy to not critically evaluate how you measure the return on investment. When you are strengthening neighborhoods, strengthening communities, and in particular strengthening the economy of those communities and investing in a broad-based economy, everybody benefits, and it pays for itself in that way.”

This is exactly the point I have made all year on the campaign trail whenever anyone tries to suggest that the common sense proposals I am supporting at the state level on healthcare, childcare, housing, and more might “cost too much” or be “too expensive.” It costs a great deal more to clean up problems we ignore than to invest in our own population and communities up front, which always results in more jobs to provide the services, greater consumer economic activity in the region, and strengthened long-term tax base. Cutting back the public sector through budgetary austerity is a disinvestment that ends up shrinking revenues and creating future liabilities.

Cost of food and groceries has also been a major concern for many voters this year, and it’s something Harris has been trying to tackle in her policies. If you’re interested in reading my candidate questionnaire from the Massachusetts Food Systems Collaborative, they examine this and other interesting issues from a state perspective.

Steward Health Care crisis updates

Last week, Governor Healey announced that the state will be taking by eminent domain at least one of the community hospitals owned by the bankrupt Steward Health Care (owned by private equity, which sold off the land under the hospitals previously). Although there is still some negotiating to do on the exact price, this action will speed up and hopefully smooth out the sale of, in this case, St. Elizabeth’s in Brighton. Eminent domain for this situation is also something I called for in the June League of Women Voters candidate debate and said was the best course of action to untangle the bankruptcy – and probably even a necessary step. (I serve on the two City Council committees that deal with eminent domain takings/compensation and have at this point become quite familiar with eminent domain powers.) As an elected official, I cannot in good conscience put real estate trust profits above basic healthcare needs for the people.

One area I (and various state and federal elected officials) disagree with the Governor’s Administration is their unwillingness so far to consider eminent domain and public purchase of the two community hospitals, including one in Dorchester, that Steward claims they cannot find private buyers for. To suggest that “the market has spoken” – and therefore these hospitals must close – seems to me to be fundamentally at odds with the provision of public health services in lower-income neighborhood settings (not really a market to begin with) and overlooks the knock-on effects for other area hospitals of closing some when everyone is already stretched very thin.

There was also a new op-ed by four doctors this week in Stat News about the damage of private equity’s intervention into the healthcare sector and what can be done about it. We hear a lot about the problems, but it’s not helpful unless we hear some specific suggested policy corrections to prevent repeat incidents and reverse course. I recommend the piece to hear some ideas. They also emphasized the similar problem with private equity in the nursing home sector, which is a sector my campaign has focused attention on and called for a greater public role in. That concern was also covered in a recent candidate questionnaire by the Dignity Alliance Massachusetts, an elder rights advocacy organization, which has not yet been published.

News interviews

Yesterday I dropped by NewTV podcaster Brian Ives’s YouTube show for an interview diving deeper into the issues facing the Massachusetts legislature in the coming term. Brian will be interviewing all the candidates. He also happens to have been an elementary school classmate of mine! Watch it here.

Finally – don’t miss this article in the Brookline News about the 12th Middlesex race. All three of us were interviewed for it.

I hope to earn your vote by Tuesday September 3rd, the day after Labor Day, to be your Democratic nominee for our next State Representative.

Learn more at billhumphrey.org – and please volunteer or donate if you are able. We have only 9 lawn signs remaining but there's still time!

Newsletter: Why Bill? Four neighbors answer | Protecting those in need of safe refuge | Endorsements from IBEW 103 and Bay State Stonewall Dems

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Today’s newsletter includes notes of support from several engaged voters, a discussion of recent threats to emergency shelter and the rights of asylum-seekers, and endorsements from the biggest electricians’ union and the LGBTQ wing of the Massachusetts Democrats.

Why Bill?

The local online publication Fig City News has been publishing Letters to the Editor from supporters of each candidate. I wanted to share this letter from my good friend and neighbor Lois Levin, which might help answer for you as a voter the question “Why choose Bill”:

I’m proud to be supporting my City Councilor Bill Humphrey for State Representative in the 12th Middlesex District in Newton and Brookline. I believe he will be a superb legislator.

Bill is a good listener and a committed progressive who devotes most of his time to improving the political process. He will be a champion for environmental action, better housing policies, a more reliable transit system, expanded reproductive rights, and an inclusive society for people from all backgrounds. He appreciates the urgency of policy issues the State House will be grappling with in the next term.

Bill is very focused on constituent services. He is receptive to new ideas and highly principled. He talks and writes with great clarity about the issues most of us care about, drawing on years of work as a policy researcher and magazine editor before serving on the Newton City Council.

Bill is still young and has considerable energy to collaborate with other legislators. He will work to address the chronic legislative dysfunction we are all witnessing that has gotten so bad that a legislative session just ended with most issues unresolved.

As a retired clinical psychologist, I’m pleased to know that the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Social Workers has endorsed Bill. He has also been endorsed by Reproductive Equity Now, Mass Sierra Club, Progressive Mass, and more than half a dozen labor unions, whose support will be critical to getting legislative action to meet the many challenges we want our legislators to address.

Lois Levin

Waban

And I also wanted to share this note of support from another neighbor, Sue Dzikowski, the former City of Newton Comptroller, who is backing me for State Representative because of my progressive approach to public finances:

"As a member of the Finance Committee of the City Council, Bill Humphrey worked closely with me when I was the City of Newton Comptroller, and he showed a strong understanding of public finances and a curiosity to challenge assumptions. As a committee member, Bill thoughtfully analyzed and voted on the ramifications of every dollar spent in Newton including annual operating expenses, capital projects and debt service, as well as grants, community preservation and rainy day funds. Bill’s participation was also integral to the Finance Committee’s highly successful hiring of a new City Comptroller upon my retirement."

Nanci Ginty Butler, an active member of the National Association of Social Workers Massachusetts chapter, which also endorsed me this month, had this to say:

"As his neighbor for many years and as a social worker, I know Bill Humphrey is the real deal! He has my vote for Representative of the 12th Middlesex District because of his unwavering dedication to social justice, his extensive experience as a Newton City Councilor, and his strong platform prioritizing mental health care, reproductive justice, addressing our housing and climate crises, and other critical social issues." 

Mary Beth Keiller, another Ward 5 resident, describes my approach to the office I hold now and how that relates to the one I am seeking:

“I want a representative who is thoughtful about issues that matter and communicates well with constituents. As our Ward 5 Newton City Councilor, Bill Humphrey has always been very responsive, answering inquiries from residents quickly, helpfully, and with clear explanations of a situation and possible next steps. He is also known for his regular, thorough newsletter updates by email and mail to keep us informed. Residents will benefit from his commitment to public service when he serves as our new State Representative.”

Right to Shelter, Rights of Asylum-Seekers Under Threat

Many voters have asked this year how we can best support residents and immigrants in Massachusetts who don’t have a home right now, given the headlines about the costs involved. Many private charitable and faith-based organizations are doing good work here, but ultimately this is the role of the public sector to handle at scale as a collective responsibility.

I support the Family Right to Shelter Law and am highly concerned about the recent changes to shelter policy limiting the time and how many people can be accommodated. We can reorganize the program for longer stays at a lower overall cost than the ad hoc short term approach currently used. Paying daily fees for hotel rooms and food delivery is more expensive than the state making amortized capital investments into providing safe and clean facilities with in-house kitchens, but switching to the latter approach requires committing to sheltering people for a longer period and not treating this phenomenon as a blip. And it is clearly not a blip: we already did not have enough emergency shelter capacity regardless of any border situation and would have needed to address this head on anyway. 

We have the resources in this state to provide shelter until federal intervention arrives and until people find work (which they must be permitted to do), if we have the political will. I am not willing to compromise the international rights of refugees and asylum seekers or turn them away, especially given the role U.S. foreign policy has played in destabilizing so many countries from which people are now fleeing to our shores.

This challenge is only going to grow as the effects of climate change become worse, and if we as a society do not have an iron commitment to welcoming refugees, we will quickly find ourselves repeating the exact same moral compromises that led to travesties like the M.S. St. Louis when more than 900 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany were turned away from the United States just before World War II. This situation we face now is not going away, but we are now called as leaders to meet the challenge, not deflect it.

I also recently joined local elected officials from across the state in signing an open letter, led by Worcester City Councilors, against the extremely arbitrary “five day” family safety net overflow shelters policy that has immediately been putting families onto the streets in ever-greater numbers:

"Housing is a human right, and we cannot sit idly by when faced with a policy that may result in young children being forced to sleep on our city streets. As municipal leaders, we have seen our community work tirelessly to support unhoused families, regardless of immigration status. Massachusetts has long served as a beacon for immigrants by sheltering them and has reaped enormous benefits from the recent migration of large groups who have come here from places like Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti, and who have thrived in our state.We anticipate finding families sleeping in cars, vacant storefronts or emergency rooms. We are confident that the policy you have implemented will not achieve the intended goal of deterring people from coming to Massachusetts or alleviate the shelter crisis. Instead, it will further harm families, put them in dangerous situations, and leave municipalities to absorb the cost. We also know that this policy will increase the stigma, hate, and anti-migrant rhetoric against migrants, at a time when the national climate is already charged around immigrants and refugees.

While we understand the system is at capacity, we also know that the state has alternative resources to invest in reducing the flow of people entering shelters and creating opportunities to house families. We ask you to rescind your policy, preserve the integrity of the right-to-shelter system and find alternate ways to support migrant families and those experiencing homelessness. We urge you to work with advocates, organizers, and state and local leaders to develop thoughtful and humane policies that do not leave families with children trying to find the safest alleyway to sleep at night. We are committed to working with you to create real solutions that will benefit and better the livelihood of all our residents in Massachusetts.”

From Newton, the signatories were myself and Councilors Bixby, Downs, Leary, Greenberg, and Lobovits.

IBEW 103 Endorsement

I'm honored to have the electricians of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 103 behind my campaign. As one of the largest building trades unions in the state – and of course focused on electrification by profession – they have been pushing for a Green New Deal with good-paying, union jobs in renewable energy since before it was cool. Our climate future & economic future depends on unions like the 103! 

Even if you don't know much about unions, if you've driven on the expressway past the huge wind turbine and big electronic billboard at the 103's headquarters in Boston, you know who they are. (I was excited to go see their experimental turbines and solar panels, too.)

In addition to their strong support for renewable energy, IBEW 103 has an extensive policy agenda around Medicare for All, strengthening public education (and opposing privatization), and creating the social programs and rights necessary to support working families who cannot count on a single breadwinner to be able to cover all the bills (or to help deal with what happens when a single working parent needs time off to deal with things at home or just get a break to recharge).

Organized labor is an important presence at the State House every day, and any effective legislator has strong ties with them regardless of the composition or location of their district. Collaborative and constructive policy work on a better Massachusetts for all of us begins with not having an adversarial or arms-length relationship to the hundreds of thousands of workers in our state who actually put into practice the changes being legislated by our elected officials. I’m proud to have the endorsements of nearly a dozen unions across a wide range of sectors.

Bay State Stonewall Democrats Endorsement

I’m also proud to be endorsed in this primary by the Bay State Stonewall Democrats, the LGBTQ wing of the Massachusetts Democratic Party. Many of you know I was a co-founder of the marriage equality campaign in Delaware as a student organizer and leader of the College Democrats of Delaware, nearly a decade and a half ago. I was a big believer in taking the Massachusetts example and spreading it to other states, and I continue to subscribe to this view!

The progressive LGBTQ policy agenda in Massachusetts right now includes, among other things, healthcare funding, youth services, elder services, housing stability, a ban on library censorship, and at long last instituting a comprehensive/inclusive/scientifically-accurate sex education curriculum (which would certainly benefit a lot of non-LGBTQ youth as well but unfortunately did not get through the state House of Representatives this year despite support from the Governor and passage by the State Senate).

It’s great to have the Bay State Stonewall Democrats in my corner as we close out this primary!

I hope to earn your vote by Tuesday September 3rd, the day after Labor Day, to be your Democratic nominee for our next State Representative.

Learn more at billhumphrey.org – and please volunteer or donate if you are able.

Newsletter: Legislative highs and lows | Jewish community candidate forums | cable access interview | BTU, SEIU State Council endorsements

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There are less than three weeks to go until the 12th Middlesex State Representative election! Do you have a plan to vote by Tuesday September 3rd, the day after Labor Day?

Today’s newsletter includes more endorsement news, a brief summary of the outcome of the formal 2023-2024 legislative session, and discussion of two recent forums from segments of the organized Jewish community.

Additionally, I encourage everyone in both Newton & Brookline to watch the Brookline Interactive Group interview I recorded last month with Brookline State Rep. Tommy Vitolo, where we did a deep dive on policy issues facing the State House. It was a great conversation, and I think you’ll learn a lot about me and how I approach the challenges ahead.

New organizational endorsements: BTU, SEIU State Council

I’m also pleased to announce two new organizational endorsements: the Boston Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union Massachusetts State Council. The BTU represents about 10,000 educators and other Boston Public Schools employees, many of whom live in our district. In the Greater Boston region, all legislators need to work together to provide quality public educational facilities & academics for every child. There can be no siloing across municipal borders. The SEIU State Council represents 120,000 members in home care, childcare, substance use and mental health services, nursing homes, hospitals, building service jobs, and public service work. Their priorities include raising the minimum wage & direct care pay and stabilizing rents. (1199 SEIU and SEIU Local 509 had also previously endorsed individually.)

Organized labor and the organized progressive public policy advocacy lobby on Beacon Hill have overwhelmingly chosen to throw their full support behind me in this State Representative campaign, not only for a clear depth and breadth of policy knowledge but also a willingness to do the difficult and interpersonally challenging work of shaking things loose in an increasingly “stuck” legislature, drawing on my years of political strategy experience and track record of sticking to my values under pressure.

Housing bill signed, but legislative session a disappointment on many issues

Our full-time, professional legislature ended its formal session for the current two-year last week. The good news was that the Affordable Homes Act (also known as the Housing Bond Bill) was passed and signed. (It was wonderful to have Governor Healey and her team come to Newton to sign the legislation, and I attended the ceremony.)

Although the legislators ended up leaving out many of the important policy proposals from advocates and the Healey-Driscoll Administration, the Affordable Homes Act is another important step in the right direction on one of the biggest challenges underlying many of the struggles facing Massachusetts residents and businesses. It will be critical now to have legislators making sure the authorized bond money is actually deployed. There will be even more work to be done on state housing policy for stability and supply in the next legislative term to build on this step.

The bad news is that the session ended with literally no climate or energy billbeing passed out of the State Legislature to the Governor’s desk, let alone any other environmental policy action. 

They also failed to pass the Mass Leads Act (the economic development bill I covered a couple newsletters ago in depth), which also contained a big climate technology innovation component, although they are trying to reach an agreement for a special session to take it up. This failure after months of not getting a deal done sent a strong signal of structural dysfunction and uncertainty to companies around the country and around the world that Massachusetts is becoming a riskier place to locate a business.

Another key area of concern with gridlock was the maternal health and reproductive freedom agenda, which most voters in our state clearly support and perhaps even already assume is in place. They are holding an informal session this week to take a voice vote on a package of legislation in this arena, after procrastinating for the rest of the term and missing the formal session deadline by two weeks on what should have been a slam-dunk proposal. 

I am the only candidate in this race endorsed by a major pro-choice organization, Reproductive Equity Now (formerly known as NARAL Pro-Choice MA), and they have ramped up their efforts to elect me, noting to members in an additional statement, after the session ended, the following:

“We are proud to endorse Bill Humphrey, a two-time Reproductive Equity Now Town & City Champion, for State Representative. Bill has been a relentless advocate for universal childcare, increasing access to maternal health care, comprehensive sex ed, and more on the Newton City Council, and we know he will continue his long history of prioritizing reproductive equity in the State House. We look forward to working with Bill to improve access to abortion care, protect the privacy of patients and providers, and ensure Massachusetts continues to lead on reproductive freedom in a post-Roe world.”

These topics mentioned in their statements are all areas with specific policy proposals that have stalled even here in Massachusetts, where we often think of ourselves as doing better than other states.

I was quoted in a GBH News article on the apparent legislative collapse at the end of the formal session: “Passing no bills for a year and a half and then saying you ran out of time to pass bills at the last second is an astonishing way of governing.”

I discuss this in more depth in my campaign website’s platform plank on Legislative Accountability:

Legislative work that should be happening every day over a term increasingly occurs in a chaotic, last-minute scramble in the final weeks of a session where huge bills pass with little review and often missing critical pieces that had been considered essential. 

Lack of delegation of authority to the relevant committees and their expertise leads to a bottleneck of inaction and drafting errors in lawmaking, even on completely uncontroversial proposals with overwhelming support. Hundreds of bills each term are voted out of committee each term and expire without a vote in the full House of Representatives because the clock runs out and they seem to be lost in the shuffle.

Business as usual is not working anymore, and it’s time for a change.

Candidate forums from the JCRC & Agudath Israel

The 12th Middlesex House district has a significant Jewish population with a wide range of affiliations and internal observance or heritage distinctions. As the only candidate in the race who happens to not be Jewish, I’ve been fortunate to have so many Jewish voters, constituents, and supporters sharing their stories, experiences, and perspectives with me as I make this journey to the State House – and I’m grateful that we have had not one but two different organizations sponsor candidate forums specifically on Jewish community issues and concerns at the state legislative level this year.

Two weeks ago, the Massachusetts chapter of Agudath Israel, representing the modern Orthodox community on policy advocacy, held a forum over Zoom at the suggestion of some active Brookline community members in the district. Topics covered were: how to combat antisemitism (including at public schools and universities), whether the state legislature ought to make policy in relation to Israel, nonprofit security grant funding, and secular state benefits for schoolchildren at private Jewish day schools.

Last week the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (in conjunction with six other Jewish community organizations) also sponsored a forum at Temple Emanuel. Topics at that event included, among others, combating antisemitism, improving upon the recent housing legislation, expanding reproductive freedom, and protecting immigrants.

Just like our candidate forum earlier this year from the Chinese American Association of Newton, it was a great opportunity for me as an outsider to listen and learn more, to better integrate additional concrete policy proposals from different constituencies into my campaign slogan of “A Commonwealth for everyone.” I also met earlier this year with members of our local Muslim and Arab communities, who wanted to share what they’re experiencing.

The strongest and safest society is one where we build bridges and relationships of solidarity and mutual understanding across our communal differences instead of only speaking within. No one is alone if we speak – and listen – to one another.
 

I hope to earn your vote by Tuesday September 3rd, the day after Labor Day, to be your Democratic nominee for our next State Representative.

Learn more at billhumphrey.org – and please volunteer or donate if you are able.

Newsletter: Endorsements from the Social Workers (NASW), Jesse Mermell, & UFCW Local 1445 | Upper Falls earmark

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This week’s newsletter covers a budget earmark I requested for my ward in Newton and endorsements from the National Association of Social Workers - MA, Brookline political leader Jesse Mermell, and the UFCW Local 1445 union.

I am pleased to report that I have now personally knocked on more than 7,150 doors this year to speak with voters about the importance of this State Representative race on September 3rd and the issues they’re most interested in.

Last week, I commented on the good news of Vice President Kamala Harris becoming our new presumptive Democratic nominee nationally, and this week I will simply add that I’m thrilled with the addition of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to the ticket. He was a well-liked Congressional moderate who then signed countless progressive laws and budgets as governor, even with narrow majorities.

Thanks, Daniel Krasa, for standing out in the rain with me at the Newton Farmers Market this week to talk to voters about the 12th Middlesex House race! Daniel also hosted one of my most heavily attended meet-and-greet events, where everyone attending got really deep into discussion with me about a huge range of policy issues facing our legislature.

Newton Upper Falls earmark!

This year, I worked with our State Representative Ruth B. Balser and Newton’s Parks, Recreation, & Culture Commission to obtain a $50,000 state budget earmark – which has now been signed by the Governor – to begin design and site feasibility work for Bobby Braceland playground, athletic fields, and dog park in Newton Upper Falls to be renovated. Twenty years ago when it was rated the worst condition playground/park in the city, there was a renovation plan ready to go, but the City of Newton had a tight budget and decided to move ahead first with the Hyde Playground in Newton Highlands, with the promise to return to work in Upper Falls soon. This never happened, and many of the community needs (in terms of athletics and off-leash dog access) have changed in the two decades since. The urgency is growing, too, as the size of Upper Falls is about to virtually double when the Northland development project on Needham Street is completed.

While serving in my Ward Councilor capacity as an ex officio member of the Newton Upper Falls Area Council, the history of this situation had been brought to my attention several years ago, and when I worked on trying to make it a priority again, the City still deferred it to a future phase of field and playground renovations. As a member of the City Council’s Finance Committee, I had seen how state earmarks could help jump-start the process and prioritization for recreational projects by bringing in some outside funding, especially to projects in under-served areas. So, I met with Rep. Balser earlier this year on my own initiative and put in the request. I’m glad to see it survived the twists and turns of the legislative term, and I’m looking forward to community input sessions when we accept the grant and get to work on design ideas!

National Association of Social Workers - Massachusetts Chapter endorsement

Many residents of our district also know that Rep. Balser has worked extremely closely with the National Association of Social Workers - Massachusetts Chapter over her nearly 26 years in office, and in fact she also obtained an important $50,000 budget earmark this year for them as well, to help match therapy clients to licensed clinical social workers. I know from door-to-door conversations that many of you work professionally in the fields of social work, mental health, or substance use recovery – or have a personal interest in them.

I first started working with NASW’s political wing about 7 years ago, when I was serving as a Board Member of Mass Alliance. Since then, I have come to know so many incredible social work professionals with very strong political reform programs that closely align with my own.

I am incredibly honored to have secured the endorsement of NASW Massachusetts’s Political Action for Candidate Election wing, which conducted a very thorough vetting and evaluation process. In addition to a very similar policy platform to mine, they – like many advocacy organizations this year – are pushing for the election of legislators committed to reforming the House of Representatives for greater accountability and more productive working sessions.

Their policy agenda currently includes: increasing the number of people becoming social workers and improving compensation for social workers, making it easier for clients to remain connected to their social workers across state lines, housing stability, juvenile justice reform, getting funding and commitments for more mental health and social-emotional wellness support staff in school buildings, moratoriums on construction of new jails and prisons (in favor of instead reducing the lower-level offense prison population via diversion and restorative justice), substance use relapse diversion instead of incarceration, unarmed crisis response teams as an alternative to policing (something I pushed on the Newton City Council with my social worker colleague, Brenda Noel), boosting cash assistance for children in poverty, taking various steps to enshrine racial justice into law, and strengthening reproductive rights and maternal healthcare support.

Many of these policies are linked thematically by a core premise, which I also believe, that it is a better investment by our society and public health system to do early intervention to help people experiencing crisis than to let the crisis spiral expensively or even end in tragedy.

Something I have often said on the campaign trail, at events and forums, is that I am so fortunate to have worked with so many of these highly respected state-level advocacy organizations before I became a City Councilor, because it means that when I am sworn in as State Representative, I will already have a network of recommended legislative teammates and policy specialist partners. Thank you to the social workers for your support!
 

Jesse Mermell endorsement

I have also received the endorsement of former Brookline Select Board member, past Congressional candidate, and reproductive rights advocate Jesse Mermell. She said:

"There is a reason that the only abortion rights organization to endorse in this race is standing with Bill Humphrey. Bill won't just be a reliable vote on issues related to abortion and reproductive freedom - he will be a champion. And that is exactly what this moment demands. From abortion rights to tackling the housing crisis, Bill will be an unapologetic leader in the State House. He's the voice Brookline needs on Beacon Hill!"

The 12th Middlesex House district includes areas of both Newton and Brookline, and I'm looking forward to helping to represent both communities on Beacon Hill along with the other five representatives and our State Senator who cover these two municipalities. As a Finance Committee member for the Newton City Council, it's clear that local governments need strong navigators at the State House who know the challenges at the level of government closest to the residents.
 

UFCW Local 1445 Endorsement

The United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1445 union (representing a range of grocery, retail, and cannabis industry workers – the latter of whom often lack traditional federal labor protections) has also endorsed me for State Representative, joining more than half a dozen other labor unions.

They had this to say: "In Newton, as in the entire Greater Boston Area, some of the largest concerns for families and working people are housing, climate change, and improving viability of the MBTA to make public transit a more viable option for everyone. We would already be much better off if more of our elected leaders were willing to show courageous leadership on these issues as you have, and we look forward to this streak continuing when you get to the State House. We believe this can be a key partnership moving forward and offer whatever help we can to get you into office."

I have frequently attended UFCW Local 1445 labor actions in the area over the past 5 years, from the Stop & Shop strike to REI union efforts. One of the more interesting things I ever did as a City Councilor was serve as a neutral, third-party adjudicator of a union card check at a retail cannabis store in Newton to certify that a sufficient number of workers there had signed up to form a union. UFCW promotes unionization but also argues that their efforts on behalf of workers reduces labor force churn and burnout and promotes a greater stability for employers.

Voting by mail is already under way in our primary, which will decide the overall election for this seat. I hope to earn your vote by Tuesday September 3rd, the day after Labor Day, to be your Democratic nominee for our next State Representative. Learn more at billhumphrey.org – and please volunteer or donate if you are able.

Newsletter: Reproductive Equity Now endorsement | All in for Harris | Gun Sense Candidate Recognition | Voting Has Begun!

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Reproductive Equity Now endorses me for State Representative

I am proud to be endorsed by Reproductive Equity Now in the race for the 12th Middlesex Massachusetts House of Representatives seat. 

Reproductive Equity Now (formerly known as NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts) works across Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire to expand and protect access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care, including abortion, pregnancy and maternal medicine, child care, gender-affirming care, and more.

I’m honored to have the endorsement of Reproductive Equity Now because they have been so committed to building on our achievements for abortion rights in Massachusetts by proposing tangible expansions of legal protections and services – for both our own residents and residents traveling from other states – and by supporting comprehensive birthing justice and maternal healthcare campaigns. Reproductive Equity Now understands that Massachusetts should be a beacon for the nation on this issue at a time like this, and that we need to elect more reproductive equity champions, who will make these issues a priority.

“We’re proud to endorse Bill Humphrey for State Representative in 2024,” says Rebecca Hart Holder, President of Reproductive Equity Now. “As we’ve seen in the last two years since the Dobbs decision, anti-abortion politicians are determined to criminalize and eradicate all forms of reproductive health care, including abortion, IVF, gender-affirming care, and contraception. We cannot stand idly by as attacks on our bodily autonomy continue to mount. Reproductive freedom is on the ballot in every race across New England this election. That is why it is so important that we elect reproductive equity champions up and down the ballot this year, and why we’re proud to support Bill Humphrey who is committed to leading on a bold reproductive equity agenda for Massachusetts.”

Since day one of this campaign, I have had a comprehensive platform plank on reproductive freedom on my campaign website.

As over 20 state legislatures across the country have already taken steps to strip away abortion rights and critical reproductive health care, strong pro-reproductive equity leadership on Beacon Hill is more important than ever before. Reproductive Equity Now is proud to endorse candidates who will ensure Massachusetts remains a beacon for reproductive freedom post-Roe, and continue to lead with creative, bold, and unequivocally pro-repro policy. Learn more at https://reproequitynow.org/maendorsements.

Their endorsement adds to the growing list of policy advocacy organizations who have vetted and endorsed my campaign for State Representative this year, including the Massachusetts Sierra Club, Progressive Massachusetts, Mass Alliance, the Mass Nurses Association, 1199 SEIU, SEIU 509, the Newton Teachers Association, UAW Region 9A, Ironworkers Local 7, and the Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts, with additional support from several other unions.

Gun Sense Candidate

I'm proud to be recognized as a Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate in 2024. (They do not make endorsements.)

Massachusetts has been one of the safer states when it comes to gun violence, and that is no coincidence. Our rational laws and regulations are the reason why. And there is always room to improve, which will continue to reduce gun violence (including suicides and intimate partner violence) and accidental discharges (including by children). Learn more at my gun control platform plank online.

A momentous month in American politics

The past month was perhaps the most dramatic and unpredictable every week of any in 50 years. There has been a palpable revitalization and renewed excitement in the Democratic Party. As an active member of my Ward 5 Democratic Committee and a former member of the Newton Democrats Executive Committee, I am inspired as I see people rushing to get involved in our democracy again, especially my fellow young people.

I’m looking forward to electing Vice President Kamala Harris in November, an early Green New Deal supporter and an organized labor-backed candidate like me. I’m focused in these next five weeks in doing everything I can to make sure Democrats and unenrolled voters in the 12th Middlesex District choose a progressive champion who will help bolster the Democratic Party’s resolve even further to take the fight to these out-of-touch and dangerous conservatives in the Republican Party – and bring in younger generations of volunteers and members. After September 3rd’s state primary, it is on to November with our new national ticket.

I am grateful that President Biden (a fellow University of Delaware graduate like me!) chose to pass the torch to a new generation for the greater good. We owe much to the elected officials who go before us, and it is also important to periodically renew the party leadership and the ranks of elected office with new voices and perspectives, so that our policy programs remain grounded in the ever-changing challenges and opportunities of daily life.

President Biden was younger than I am now when he was elected to the United States Senate from Delaware, and he served through several eras of incredible transformation in American life. We are now on the cusp of another such era, with stark choices ahead in meeting the emergencies of a changing climate. I’m looking forward to rolling up my sleeves to get to work, and I hope to bring a clarity of values and the interests of people of all ages to the debates on those decisions.

Sample ballots for the September 3rd primary

In the 12th Middlesex District in Newton and Brookline, in the middle of your September 3rd ballot, there will be a section for the open State Representative seat (also known as “Representative in the General Court”). It looks like this and you will see that I am listed first:

You may only vote for one candidate and only one candidate will advance to November. There is no general election opponent filed to run, and so the winner of the September 3rd primary – the day after Labor Day – will presumably win the overall election. Now is your opportunity to choose.

If you have requested a mail-in ballot, you should be receiving those in the mail any day now if you have not already. Those must be received back by the local election offices before polls close on Tuesday September 3rd.

If you have not yet requested one, but wish to, please check out the info at the Newton or Brookline pages, depending on the municipality in which you live:

tinyurl.com/NewtonVBM2024

tinyurl.com/BrooklineVBM2024

There will also be early in-person voting at Newton City Hall and Brookline Town Hall in the final week of August.

I hope to earn your vote by Tuesday September 3rd, the day after Labor Day, to be your Democratic nominee for our next State Representative.

Learn more at billhumphrey.org – and please volunteer or donate if you are able.

Newsletter: The Progressive Agenda is Good For the Massachusetts Economy

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One of the ever-present challenges for our State Legislature is how to sustain a strong economy that generates jobs and revenue. Building on this morning’s regional Chamber of Commerce candidate forum for the 12th Middlesex District, I want to talk in this week’s newsletter about responsible and durable economic development strategy and how that fits with a progressive agenda and the agenda of working families in the labor movement. I also want to talk about the big Economic Development bill (the "Mass Leads Act") from Governor Healey, which is now making its way through the legislature. That bill addresses climate tech, life sciences, small businesses, tourism, equitable business practices, and much more.

Why choose Massachusetts?

When it comes to location decisions for businesses that have the ability to move (and whether to open one that can’t), the fundamentals are what matters. Do we have enough housing, reliable transportation networks, sufficient daycare capacity that doesn’t break the bank, great public schools and great universities, a stable and expansive power grid, enough water capacity, access to healthcare, and so on? 

That’s what companies look at in the long run for site location decisions, far and away above tax incentives or overall tax rates. They’re not going to move operations to a state that has no taxes but also doesn’t have functioning transportation, power, water, schools, or amenities their employees are looking for. Even a fairly good state like North Carolina that we in Massachusetts often compete with just had a massive deal fall apart for an Apple campus (Forbes). 

We should be in a race to the top, not a race to the bottom, as a way to make Massachusetts as attractive as possible to business. We need to build a business community that works naturally, not begging businesses to ignore our shortcomings. This is what the experts recommend, such as Chris Steele, the CEO of EBP US, who is a 30 year professional in North American site location consulting, who lives in the 12th Middlesex District. He has endorsed my candidacy as the most likely to advance policy on the fundamentals necessary to support vibrant businesses of all sizes in Massachusetts.

The question is always what are we getting for our taxes? If we have incredible programs for building housing at all income levels, guaranteeing public childcare and eldercare, and taking care of other expensive cost factors to allow our professionals to flourish, and if we meet current global workplace standards prevalent in places like the European Union, businesses will be fighting to get in the door. These are investments in our population that create and sustain jobs and promote economic activity. And they are indeed investments, in a meaningful sense, because they will promote growth that we need to support our revenues.

Health insurance as a business consideration

Supporting universal, single-payer healthcare isn’t just some moral aspiration. It’s something most countries have deployed successfully to unlock the full potential and entrepreneurial spirit of their business-minded communities and people. High costs and unpredictable increases in health insurance for small business owners are way more significant than inflation, for example, in making or breaking the viability of a business. Lack of stable health insurance and health insurance tied to employers holds back entrepreneurialism, too. People might make a career leap or create the next big thing if they didn’t have to worry about where their insurance was coming from.

The housing crisis

Housing, housing, housing is one of the biggest topics in state government and this election – and I’ve certainly made clear my support for (and adding features beyond!) Governor Healey’s ambitious housing legislation, where unfortunately the House of Representatives has fallen short this term. I agree that lack of housing, especially in Eastern Massachusetts, has been a major barrier to promoting a strong business climate and we’re beginning to lose young people. (I myself have always had to choose between living in my family’s home or moving away from my community and maybe even my state.)

​​The key problems in housing policy are how to increase supply (including addressing the financial mechanisms to do so) and how to promote stability for those already in homes. In this newsletter I’ll focus on the former, but I’ve commented on the latter in my website platform and various candidate questionnaires focused on housing.

For affordable housing supply, the legislature should fund rehabilitation and preservation funding for existing stock, expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit for specialist developers, pass the Real Estate Transfer Fee to fund local affordable housing trusts (the legislature unfortunately did not adopt this proposal from the Governor), and directly build quality, mixed-price social rental homes anyone would be proud to live in. 

For middle-income housing supply, there should be an all-price-points comprehensive strategy featuring further intervention into zoning reform and codes that promote smaller units (think triple-deckers, for example), legalizing Accessory Dwelling Units statewide (this is likely to pass in this term, fortunately), capitalizing a public bank with the state’s deposits to offer discounted financing to restart stalled projects, and piloting social ownership units for downsizing middle-income seniors (which would help free up more family homes for young families while keeping our seniors rooted in our communities.)

On both counts, neither the private sector nor the public sector alone will be able to close the gap in need. There is no silver bullet. It will take all hands on deck to build the green homes of the future that we need.

Crucially, as legislators, we also need to ensure that money authorized for bonding to advance housing is actually spent, not just authorized. The state has a bad habit of authorizing borrowing and then not using that authority, thereby claiming credit for progress while not actually progressing.

And, of course, we can’t talk about housing policy without committing to funding strong, reliable public transit services nearby to get people where they need to go, especially to their jobs.

The Mass Leads Act

Right now, the Healey-Driscoll Administration also has proposed, and the Legislature is debating and amending, an economic development bill that marries progressive policy with a strong business agenda. Here’s my analysis of those proposals and how I think they could help or where we could go further.

Small business

To support small business, the idea is to fund and support startup incubators, infrastructure, and state matching programs to unlock federal grant eligibility, as well as to provide “front door assistance” to navigate government processes and regulations for business.

More broadly, of course, we always need to try to anticipate needs and adopt policies that promote our objectives. Other things not covered in the bill that legislators should be paying attention to when it comes to small businesses and progressive thinking include: credit card fee regulation, a state local option allowing vacancy taxes to address storefront vacancies and revitalize business districts by constraining commercial rents, and promoting zoning geared toward small business as opposed to chains (e.g. square footage rules).

Climate tech

My personal priority is always action on the climate crisis and the bill focuses heavily on making Massachusetts a national and global hub for “climate tech” development. The bill focuses on how to attract businesses that want to invent technologies that don’t currently exist that could help not only reduce emissions but maybe also remove greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere. This is addressed in the breakthrough technologies / green tech fund sections. 

There might be some projects that fail, but we’re on the precipice of some really incredible technological changes that can enable a more livable world. Our role as elected officials should be to create the conditions for the innovators to develop here, but we should not put the public on the hook directly for potentially overhyped venture projects. Instead, our public sector should be part of driving forward that innovation by making possible an environment where these breakthroughs are happening here in Massachusetts and not on the far side of the country or the far side of the world. (I would also be supportive of direct, public sector research and development laboratories, but that’s different from some proposals for public dollars or credits to private research firms.)

Some specific technology sectors we might see happen here in Massachusetts under the right conditions include: Offshore wind, sensors and monitoring techs, and waste management / sustainable materials / plastics reduction solutions.

As always, we also need to authorize credits & grants for energy installation and home conversions.

Life Sciences

Life Sciences are a major focus of the proposed economic development bill, too. It includes reauthorization for the Mass Life Sciences Center (the organization that facilitates partnerships with private sector biotech and promoting the Commonwealth to the sector worldwide). Here in our district, Brookline and Newton are “bioready communities” that have permitting and safety processes geared to attract life science and have identified sites where it can go. But there’s a lesson to be learned from how far behind the curve Newton was in trying to get on the bandwagon for life science with all the revenues that would have brought. The very slow political processes to make these types of reforms, whether locally or at the state, caused us to miss out. And besides the interest rates obstacle to life sciences investment, we also simply need to get our housing supply back on track to make those companies view Massachusetts as an expansion prospect, not a place to exit.

Arts/Culture/Tourism

The bill also pays vital attention to the Arts/Culture/Tourism industry in Massachusetts (one representing $27 billion and 130,000 workers), by focusing on historic preservation grants, cultural districts, and the Mass Cultural Council. It’s also important to understand that the draw of tourism plays a role in other industries because this is the first exposure many skilled out-of-state individuals (workers, executives, and founders) have to Massachusetts. 

Equity

The bill also applies a progressive lens to business development through its focus on equity issues. Equity policy in the business community allows us to access the full range of human capital and resources in our commonwealth and it builds up future generations of business leaders and workers from previously marginalized and disempowered communities. That’s a net gain for our economy. The Governor’s bill includes a pilot program for increasing successful bids from minority-owned businesses on public contracts, especially in construction. Likewise, we need to support minority-owned startups through experienced and vetted business incubation and coaching.

The perennial topic of broadband equity makes an appearance too: Not only do our rural and low-income urban communities need high-speed internet equity, decades overdue now, but also we should be investing in quality public internet options in our suburbs too, to support our small businesses, work-from-home workforce, and public schools. The private utilities have consistently failed to deliver a good product at fair prices to everyone.

And finally, as ever, we can’t lose sight of the importance of educational opportunities in future business equity. Everyone regardless of zip code should have an amazing academic experience with clean and safe school buildings – and the chance to attend public higher education for free, especially for the types of professional paths we are trying to fill, like doctors and nurses and so on.

Closing thoughts

I hope you’ll join my efforts to support our Governor’s progressive economic development agenda and the human development legislative agenda of the many labor unions endorsing my candidacy, whose members and leaders are eager to part of the solution for making Massachusetts the place to be. (This week the United Autoworkers and SEIU Local 509 threw their support behind our efforts, too.)

This campaign is about voting for a clear vision for a better Commonwealth for everyone and taking advantage of the organized labor relationships I have built at the State House and in the progressive lobbying community over the past eight years, even while I have been focused on the local work of serving Ward 5 on the Newton City Council.

Learn more at billhumphrey.org – and please volunteer or donate if you are able. I hope to earn your vote by September 3rd.

A Clear Choice Emerges at the League of Women Voters Debate

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“In the League of Women Voters debate for the 12th Middlesex House race, Bill Humphrey stood out as the most qualified candidate on the issues and on his readiness to do the job of State Representative. He will be a strong partner in advancing Governor Healey’s ambitious climate, transportation, and housing goals and in protecting reproductive rights. He has a superior command of the issues facing us as a state and a vision for how to actively advance policy at the Statehouse.” – Liz Hiser, Newton Ward 6 Community Volunteer

Click to watch the full 60 minute debate from NewTV:

I’m Newton City Councilor Bill Humphrey and I’m asking for your vote for State Representative in the September 3rd Democratic Primary for the 12th Middlesex District of Newton & Brookline.

I’m running because Massachusetts should be a Commonwealth for everyone and a Beacon for the nation. 

I have already personally knocked more than 5,700 doors. Voters agree: Massachusetts should be leading the way:

• We need a Green New Deal that gets us off fossil fuels with economic justice, controls flooding, and builds hundreds of thousands of green homes for young adults, seniors, and families.

• We need to restore a public transit system and road network we can be proud of.

• We should create universal pre-K and daycare, properly fund our K through 12 schools, and expand public higher ed.

• We should finally establish universal healthcare, including abortion and maternal health, and address mental health and substance use with more health services, not criminalization.

• We deserve an inclusive society for everyone.

It’s time to stop studying the problems and start implementing the policies we already know work. It’s time to get the Massachusetts House of Representatives moving again.

I will continue to be a responsive elected official with strong communications, political courage, and vision.
 

I’m endorsed in this race by the Mass Sierra Club, Progressive Mass, the Mass Nurses Association, 1199 SEIU, the Newton Teachers, Mass Alliance, the Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts, the Ironworkers Local 7, and many others. Visit billhumphrey.org to learn more about my platform. Thank you.


As always, if you are able to make a contribution to support my campaign, it is very helpful and greatly appreciated! You can request a lawn sign online (or sign up to volunteer in some other way).

Newsletter: Electrification in Newton, Climate state update, debate recaps | Sierra Club endorsement

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This week’s newsletter covers environmental policy updates at the municipal level and state level, my new endorsements from the Mass Sierra Club and organized labor, and recaps of some important points from two recent candidate forums.

Mass Sierra Club endorsement

I am honored to have received the endorsement of the Massachusetts chapter of the Sierra Club, one of our Commonwealth’s leading mass-membership environmental policy advocacy organizations. Environmental action for the people has always been and always will be my number one issue – and it's how we can work on addressing many other issues at the same time: housing, transit, inequality, health justice, and more!

I also just received the endorsement of the Ironworkers Local 7 union! Their big policy focuses right now are on stopping wage theft and ending exploitation of immigrant workers on job sites.

Check out my other endorsements on my website!

Electrification ordinance update in Newton

I wanted to pass along this exciting local update on Newton’s efforts to join Brookline and other municipalities in the Ten Communities pilot program for electrification: The Newton City Council last week adopted our local implementation ordinance just in time for the end of the month deadline from the state, with only one vote in opposition. Green Newton described this as follows:

“The Ordinance is the last step that Newton needed to become one of the ten Massachusetts communities that can participate in a pilot program, referred to as the Ten Communities Program. The goal of the pilot - and the Ordinance - is to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in new buildings and significant renovations.”

Although the final vote was not close, we did have some close calls earlier in the process, even after working with the restaurant community and healthcare sector to create certain exemptions for now, because one City Councilor wanted to create a blanket exemption permanently for indoor gas cooking in new construction and major renovations. That amendment surprisingly passed the City Council at the previous meeting, despite never having been debated or voted on in committee.

I immediately moved for postponement of the item for two weeks, so that the public would have time to write in with their objections to this sweeping change to the ordinance, which would have made us the only community in the pilot program to include such a huge loophole and which would have continued to allow our streets to be ripped up for new gas lines that will soon be considered a stranded asset with very high bills to holdout customers.

When we reconvened – after two weeks of listening to Councilors and taking suggestions from the public, staff, and our local Citizen Commission on Energy policy – I moved to substitute an alternative version of the ordinance that did not include any exemption for indoor home cooking in new construction and phased out the major kitchen renovation exemption after only one year (during which time even those renovations would be required to install electrical equipment for future non-gas cooking appliances). My version was debated for a while before being approved without further modification by a majority of the Council. An amendment to extend that one exemption by a further year was narrowly defeated. The full ordinance was then adopted.

Thank you for all the teamwork that went into this over several years. When I ran for City Council in 2018 and 2019, I told voters at the doors that it was time to stop adding to our gas infrastructure and begin the long process of turning it off completely. We are now in motion on this.

Although some of this will take a bit of getting used to, our state’s Department of Public Utilities has made clear that there is no viable future for gas in our state (in large part because the cost to repair our aging and leaky gas infrastructure would be massively outside the realm of possibility). The indoor air quality problems from gas appliances are also significant.

So, from a consumer protection standpoint, it is time to begin our march towards a gas-free future. The good news is that the induction cooking technology is fantastic at this point, and I encourage everyone to give it a try.

Climate update at the state level & recent debate on green issues

Our next task in Newton and Brookline will be to make sure this doesn’t remain as a limited pilot program forever. It needs to go statewide fairly soon.

Meanwhile, the legislature has been struggling to pass a comprehensive climate action and investment bill this session, including many proposals from Gov. Maura Healey and others, and it is unclear if anything at all will be passed into law before the session ends next month. The Senate is in a mad scramble to try to pass something, while the House seems to be taking no initiative and has seemingly done very little work on this existentially pressing issue for a year and a half of this term. (They’ve passed one watered-down energy siting reform bill out of committee and then it has not gone anywhere further.)

Business as usual in the House is not getting the job done on environmental issues. That’s the case I made in the Green Newton/Mothers Out Front Newton/350 Mass Newton candidate forum on climate issues this past week, which you can watch on Facebook. My top policy priority, long before running for office, has always been climate action and it will continue to be that. There is nothing more important facing us, and we can address most of the other policy challenges in our society by comprehensive efforts to combat climate change, if we work together and link these problems together logically.

Something I feel strongly about given my many years of advocacy on state policy in Massachusetts and in Delaware (where I attended college) before I was in elected office, as well as what I have learned as a Councilor, is that we get better results on policy when we mobilize the grassroots and organized labor and bring them into the process. This is not about pandering to the base, but about empowering people to understand how things get done in government and how they can have the most influence on those decision points.

At the environmental issues candidate forum, I made the case that this theory of change is especially important for advancing environmental policy specifically at the State House. We know that even the best policy in the world, grounded in the most scientific research, does not just get passed into law on its own. Making sure that our constituents (and labor allies) know when items are coming up for debate or votes and having them raise their voices to move issues up the priority list and move legislators with personal stories is the key to success. That’s the approach I bring to government as an elected official, and I will continue to use that strategy as your representative!

Democratic Committees debate

On Monday night at the Newton Free Library, the 12th Middlesex District's four Newton Ward Democratic Committees plus the Brookline Democrats hosted a State Representative candidate debate moderated by the Massachusetts Democratic Party Secretary, Joseph Kaplan. It was a great opportunity for voters to hear more about us and our differences.

Questions from the organizers included labor relations, housing for public workers, transparency in the legislature, state legislative policy on housing, lessons we’ve learned from Council service, MBTA reliability and funding, and relationship-building in the House.

Audience questions were about what issues we would champion, emergency shelter funding, the bottle bill, support for local business, how our professional experience will inform our representative style, and the North-South Rail Link.

There was also an illuminating portion of the debate where we each had a chance to ask a different question of both of the other candidates. One question I got, which has from time to time come up from voters during this campaign and so I will address it in this newsletter too, was about a July 2022 Councilor sign-on letter condemning an anonymous, Antisemitic, Massachusetts-focused website called “The Mapping Project.” I had not signed the letter and was asked during the debate if I would sign on to a letter of that kind today.

To be clear: The disagreement over the letter is not about the substance of the seriousness of Antisemitism – every candidate in the race takes Antisemitism seriously – but about how best to handle these types of incidents, which also depends on the context of when and where the incident happens. One approach is to publicize and spotlight when something like this happens. As I explained to constituents at the time if they asked why I hadn't signed the letter, in some instances, online hate groups are looking for more attention and publicity. Obviously in the context we’re in right now after October 7th, they don’t need much help with that, but in some periods when things are quieter, these groups are trying really hard to get a huge amount of attention. I have repeatedly said that I believe it is not always responsible for elected officials to shine a huge spotlight on every hateful fringe internet project, but I respect that there is a tactical difference of opinion among experts on hate speech on how to respond. That’s also why I chose not to comment to the Boston Globe at the time when asked why I didn’t sign, since that would have defeated the purpose of remaining silent publicly. I have said (and reiterated during the debate) that if the letter had come up after October 7th of last year, given the elevated level of Antisemitic incidents happening everywhere right now, I would have signed on to condemn the website. I also noted that I have always immediately reported Antisemitic incidents or vandalism in Ward 5 to the Newton Police and the ADL.

Newsletter: Meet Bill Sunday or Tuesday! | Disability advocacy | Progressive Mass Endorsement

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This week’s newsletter covers two upcoming opportunities to meet me, the candidate for State Representative, in person; disability issues at the state level; and endorsement announcements from Progressive Mass and the local Progressive Newton chapter.

Meet me tomorrow evening!

I have two back yard campaign meet-and-greet events in the next few days, to give voters a chance to hear from me directly about my candidacy for State Representative. 

If you would like to host one (or help get people to these events), get in touch with me and my Events Coordinator Liz Hiser will help you get started.

The first event is a meet and greet at the home of former Newton Democrats Chair Shawn Fitzgibbons and veterinary doctor / gun control activist Kate Wissel tomorrow (Sunday June 23) from 5:30-7 PM at 300 Homer St (RSVP to Shawn directly)

I’ll give some remarks about my background, how I plan to approach this job to promote my mission of building a Commonwealth for everyone, and what a State Representative does. Then I’ll answer any questions you might have. Please feel free to come to this event whether you are undecided or already on board and looking to take your support to the next level. So far at all my events, everyone seems pretty fired up by the time they depart!

I’ve knocked more than 4,800 doors myself this year, and this is a great chance to hear me in a different setting as well.

A conversation with Bill on Tuesday about disability advocacy

You might have read the front page Boston Globe story today about the activists with disabilities and their caregivers who are pushing back, alongside legislators, to proposed budget cutbacks to personal care assistance at home. This issue, along with some related ones I have been discussing with the 1199 SEIU and SEIU 509 unions who represent many of the state’s home care workers, matter enormously in many people’s lives and those lives are not just lines on a spreadsheet.

Trying to nickel and dime home care for people with disabilities is not only morally wrong but also fiscally incoherent: Programs that spend a bit to help people live on their own with autonomy are significantly less expensive than nursing facility care, which is the inappropriate  but common fallback for many younger and middle-aged residents with permanent or lifelong disabilities when their home assistance needs are not funded. And many of these cutbacks, if carried out, will simply take money out of the pockets of dedicated family members who are taking care of relatives with disabilities whether or not the state helps to lighten the load.

Legislators have an enormous role to play in the budget process and with state agencies on behalf of the residents of their districts who have disabilities and for anyone who helps care for those who do. When we build a society for full inclusion and accessibility, where everyone’s basic human rights are safeguarded and affirmatively advanced, everyone’s life gets tangibly better, even for those people who are not considered to be direct beneficiaries. A society is strongest and most resilient when it embraces human differences.

That’s why I’m excited to be inviting disability advocates in Newton and Brookline to talk with me about these issues on Tuesday evening this coming week!

Please join us for “Disability Advocacy at the State Level - a conversation with Bill Humphrey,” hosted by Ima Jonsdottir, Nathan Persampieri, Katherine Read, and Robert Solomon on Tuesday June 25 from 6:30-7:30 PM at 156 Warren St in Newton Centre (RSVP to Ima here).

I have also been fortunate enough to have many conversations door to door with residents who have a wide range of disabilities and assistance needs from the state. They are amazing advocates, and it’s important for them to have a partner in the House of Representatives.

Today, for example, I spoke to three residents with disabilities about the MassHealth “asset recovery” (i.e. posthumous asset seizure) problem, disabled veteran property tax relief, and public transit access.

Human society has been finding ways to care for people with disabilities since prehistoric times, even prior to the evolution of modern humans. If we're not stepping up to help these folks live full lives in the 21st century with everything we now have at our disposal, our government is not doing its job.

Progressive Massachusetts endorsement!

Progressive Massachusetts is a statewide, member-driven grassroots organization committed to fighting for a vision of shared prosperity, racial and social justice, good government, and environmental sustainability in Massachusetts. I’m thrilled to have earned their members’ endorsement in my campaign for State Representative this year:

"Bill Humphrey knows Massachusetts can do more to live up to its progressive reputation and that our legislature can't coast forever on past successes. Bill's proven determination to help shape a political vision for a better future for everyone made him the clear choice for the Progressive Massachusetts members’ endorsement in the 12th Middlesex House race." 

– Jonathan Cohn, Policy Director for Progressive Massachusetts

I have also received the members’ endorsement of the local chapter in Newton:

"Whenever Bill Humphrey is 'ahead of the curve' on a progressive policy idea, he has a gift for persuading others that it is the next sensible move; soon after, he is usually in good company."          

– Warren S. Goldstein, Acting Chair of Progressive Newton

Progressive Massachusetts joins the Mass Nurses Association, Mass Alliance, and other liberal organizations that frequently lobby the House of Representatives on state policy in endorsing my candidacy for this open seat in Newton and Brookline. Stay tuned for more soon…
 

Thanks for reading! As always, if you are able to make a contribution to support my campaign, it is very helpful and greatly appreciated! You can request a lawn sign online (or sign up to volunteer in some other way).