Statement on the Senate Redraft of the Affordable Homes Act

Massachusetts has a housing crisis, and voters across the state are calling for bold action. If only the Massachusetts Senate Leadership would care to listen.

While we are happy to see the bill preserve vital pieces of Healey’s bill like eviction sealing and accessory dwelling units, it in no way meets the urgency of our housing crisis. 

Rather than strengthening and building on Governor Healey’s housing bond bill, Senate Leadership has decided to cave to the real estate lobby, nixing the local option real estate transfer fee and relegating it to a commission that will likely never even meet.  

Let us be clear: the public wants to see robust action on the housing crisis. MA voters support a local option real estate transfer fee by 3 to 1 and routinely show strong support for a wide range of necessary policy solutions. 

Every day, more and more people are being displaced as they can no longer afford the crushing rents and sky-high housing prices. We need every tool in the toolbox, at every level. We can only tackle the housing crisis with investments from the federal level, the state level, and municipal level. Our State Legislature needs to stop preventing cities from playing their part. 

Around the country, right-wing Republican elected officials have been trying to prevent progressive cities from passing their own laws. Massachusetts Democrats, however, beat them to that by a century and—whether out of indifference, elitism, or plain-old corruption—uphold that system today. Our Commonwealth deserves better policy making than this.

Our First 2024 Legislative Endorsements

The Massachusetts state primary is Tuesday September 3​, the day after Labor Day. That’s 10 weeks and 1 day away. And that will go by fast. 

In April, our Elections and Endorsements Committee began sending our comprehensive policy questionnaire to candidates running in contested races for MA House and MA Senate. We view these questionnaires as a vital opportunity to educate candidates about issues that matter to progressive voters, get candidates on record, and create a more informed and engaged electorate. ​Read questionnaires we’ve received for legislative and other races so far here.​​

The Committee reviewed them in May, interviewed candidates, and deliberated to make a first round of recommendations. And then we surveyed our members because, as an organization committed to democracy, all of our endorsements must ultimately be approved by our members​

So we are proud to share our first endorsements for the 2024 cycle. Read more about them below. 

~2024 Endorsements ~

Arielle Faria for Barnstable, Dukes & Nantucket

Arielle Reid Faria is a housing champion who serves as the Managing Director of the Island Housing Trust and the co-chair of the Coalition to Create a Martha’s Vineyard Housing Bank, a key part of the statewide coalition for a local option real estate transfer fee. She brings important lived experience, a strong organizing background, and a passion for increasing civic engagement in the district and beyond. Learn more at https://www.ariellefaria.com/.

Leigh Davis for 3rd Berkshire

Leigh Davis is a housing champion, a former union member, and an environmentalist who serves on the Great Barrington Select Board. She has been a key voice in building Western Mass support for a local option real estate transfer fee and in passing policies to address the housing crisis locally, and demonstrates a strong commitment to fighting for the underserved. Learn more at https://www.leighdavis.org/.

Heather May for 9th Middlesex

Heather May is an educator at Emerson College and a community activist in Waltham. Having been active in the push to unionize non-tenured faculty, she understands the value of organizing, and she is running on strong progressive policies and the need for systemic change in the MA House. We endorsed Heather in 2022 and are proud to do so again. Learn more at https://www.heatherforwaltham.com/.


Bill Humphrey for 12th Middlesex

Bill Humphrey is a third-term Newton City Councilor, the former chair of Progressive Newton, and an outspoken advocate for workers’ rights, public education, affordable housing, transit equity, and climate action. He has shown a willingness to fight for his principles on the Council and understands the importance of building coalitions whether inside or outside of the halls of power to advance progressive policy. Learn more at https://www.billhumphrey.org/.


Evan MacKay for 25th Middlesex

Evan McKay is a union leader, pro-democracy organizer, and scholar of the criminal legal system. They were a part of the successful recent effort to democratize the UAW, making it a bolder and more responsive union, and are running to advocate for a more progressive and responsive State House that views activists as partners in advancing a shared vision. Learn more at https://www.evanforcambridge.com/.

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Erika Uyterhoeven for 27th Middlesex

Erika Uyterhoeven has been a reliable progressive ally at the State House. She has been a vocal champion of such issues as tax fairness, worker’s rights, housing justice, climate action, and decarceration, and she is a forward-thinking policymaker eager to learn about innovative policy ideas and approaches and seed them into the debate. She is someone who has been willing to buck Leadership and stand by her principles, and she has leveraged her role as a state legislator to visit prisons and jails for oversight and accountability and to secure a commitment from the DOC to allow incarcerated individuals to testify virtually at the State House. Learn more at https://www.electerika.com/.

Erin Bradley for Norfolk, Plymouth & Bristol

Erin Bradly is a policy advocate and former State Senate staffer who has written policies that have benefited children and families across the Commonwealth. A member of the Select Board in Milton, she was a vocal supporter of MBTA Communities Act rezoning, and she has been active in building the bench of progressive women to run for office in Milton. Learn more at https://www.erinforstatesenate.com/.