I’m Bill Humphrey, and I’m running for the open 12th Middlesex State Rep seat in the September Democratic primary to succeed Ruth Balser because I believe Massachusetts should be a Commonwealth for everyone and a Beacon for the nation. I want our representative to bring new policy ideas to restore the collective promise of the American Dream.
I’m the former Chair of Progressive Newton, a third-term Newton City Councilor, and a fifth-generation Newton resident.
As a Councilor, I’ve been known for my responsive constituent services and communications – and for building coalitions on the Programs & Services Committee and the Finance Committee to reach deals on controversial issues.
I’ve also been known as a longtime advocate for people with disabilities and for racial justice. I was a leader on the first campaign for marriage equality in Delaware, where I went to college, and I worked on the successful legislative campaign there for trans rights.
Here in my native Massachusetts, I worked as the Political Committee Chair for the Mass Sierra Club and made a lot of connections on Beacon Hill through those efforts.
I’m also from a union family. My mother is a Mass Nurses Association member at the Brigham.
So let’s talk a little bit about this campaign and the issues at stake.
I’ve been knocking doors almost every day for the past month to talk to people about the issues on their minds this year.
An open seat is the perfect time to look at where we are, and think about where we are going. We have 160 state representatives, and all but a couple dozen of those are Democrats.
So if we want things to move in a new direction, an open-seat primary election in a strongly Democratic district is where we make that happen.
The legislature has made some really great strides recently on issues such as criminal justice reform and reproductive freedom, and I know we can do more in the next term on both of these. They’re also working on stronger gun laws, which is great.
But let’s look at the big picture, too, because when I go door to door I hear a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about the nation’s future.
We are facing some incredible challenges right now as a Commonwealth and as a country. We can acknowledge that first.
New England is one of the fastest-warming areas of the US, and we’re seeing flooding just about every month now. My generation and the people even younger than me feel this climate crisis in our bones.
Many residents of all ages feel frustrated every day with crumbling roads and struggling public transit. It can be demoralizing!
The cost-of-living has reached a state of emergency for so many families. Groceries, health insurance premiums, student loan payments, childcare costs, and eldercare costs all add up. Student debt and unaffordable or inaccessible public higher education opportunities are dragging down our economy and affecting people’s life decisions. But the cost burden of housing is one of the biggest of all.
In the Boston area, the cost of renting or buying even a modest home can be prohibitive for many residents. Housing is a human right. The Commonwealth is experiencing a serious cost of housing crisis, affecting the middle class, working class, and the very poor.
Meanwhile, our current system for emergency shelter is being stretched to the limits as we work to welcome those escaping conflict and climate change in other places.
We see Republicans attacking fundamental human rights for our brothers and sisters who are LGBTQ, who are non-white, who need access to abortion.
From climate change to cost-of-living, from refugees to reproductive rights, and from attacks on our humanity to attacks on our democracy, I know it can feel very dark.
But I remain filled with hope and filled with a passion for changing the things we find unacceptable.
I’m a progressive Democrat. We know there are solutions to every one of these problems. We actually believe in the power of the government to serve the public and to lift up those among us who are struggling the most.
We understand that a working class family with strong union representation is an empowered family on the path to a secure life.
We know the climate emergency is real and that we need mandates and financial support to help people move fast enough to follow the scientific imperatives. We need the government to invest in flooding resilience to protect our residents from the mounting effects of this climate change.
We know that universal healthcare is the rational, cost-effective way to get all our residents the care they need. We need mental health and substance use treatment available everywhere right away when it’s needed – not weeks later.
We recognize that it’s long past time to reintroduce real public funding for affordable housing construction, and we understand the need for housing stability measures to keep residents in their homes and in their communities.
Simply put, we need new affordable housing in our communities to house public employees, service workers, the lowest-income populations, and the middle class. Every community needs more housing available locally, if we don’t want to force long, congested commutes on most workers.
Speaking of which, we need to and we can fix the T and fix the rest of our crumbling infrastructure. That begins with viewing these as integral public goods. My father spent his whole career as a public transportation planner, and the infrastructure issue is in my DNA.
We also see a public responsibility for childcare and eldercare. We want our kids to have the support to thrive here. We want to make it financially possible for our seniors to be able to remain in our communities and part of our civic life for as long as they can – and then to have the support they need when they can’t live independently anymore.
We believe in a vibrant public education system in every zip code with quality school buildings, a safe learning environment, and excellent academics. We see the value in investing in a fantastic public higher education system and vocational training system accessible to all. We know it’s time to wipe out more student debt.
We know that a diverse and welcoming society that guarantees basic human rights for all people, of any age or background or ability or means, is a stronger society that can weather anything together.
There are a lot of problems, but there are so many solutions. They’re not always easy, but we’re not starting from scratch either. It’s about listening to people telling us about what they’re facing and really hearing their ideas on how to make life better here in Massachusetts.
Sometimes in politics, people tell you to pick one issue to focus on. But my friends in government know I see it differently: It’s about having the energy, the drive, and the focus to carry that banner forward across all these issues at once. If we keep only working on one thing at a time, we’re not going to get on top of these problems.
In uncertain times like these, a place like Massachusetts should be a bastion of safety. Our legislature should proudly be a Beacon for the rest of the nation to follow. We can be a Commonwealth for everyone.
My family raised me with the understanding that public service to our community is an obligation for life. I’m Bill Humphrey, and I’m asking for your support on September 3rd for State Representative in the 12th Middlesex in Newton & Brookline. I’m asking for you to volunteer for me before then, or to make a contribution if you can.
But thank you so much for coming and for listening to me tonight, and I’m looking forward to answering questions.