A LEGACY OF NEIGHBORHOOD ADVOCACY

Growing up in Dorchester, I was fortunate to learn from my family the value of working hard for our families, neighborhoods, and principles. Working for the betterment of our neighborhoods runs in my family – all the way back to the 1960’s when my grandfather, Richard Murphy, organized all the local neighborhood associations under one united group, Dorchester United Neighborhood Association, to advocate for a park and community buildings on acres of a former landfill in Dorchester.

Today, we know the space as the Richard J. Murphy School and adjacent sports fields and playgrounds. Thousands of Bostonians since 1965 have benefitted from his leadership and vision of unified neighbors.

Papa Murphy's pride and joy was founding, through DUNA, a community credit union that made very small, low-low interest loans (what we now call “micro-loans”) to working people in the City. The Dorchester Credit Union was ahead of its time, and it is that same sort of Thinking Big for the benefit of everyday neighbors that I will bring to the City Council.

I soon followed in Papa Murphy’s footsteps of activism:

I ran the Boston Marathon three times to raise over $50k for addiction recovery and mental health programs at the Gavin Foundation;
I rallied support and raised a record amount of money for the Dorchester Day Committee as their honorary Mayor;
I brought yoga and mindfulness teaching into my Boston Public School classrooms.

I go out before dawn most mornings to share the beauty of our New England city with thousands of City residents who believe, as I do, that there is so much good going on in Boston’s neighborhoods.

I learned how to lead and how to stand up for all of us from my family. My years giving back to Boston convinced me that the City Council needs to listen more to the voices of our neighborhoods. TOGETHER WE WILL BRING BOSTON BACK.

Always Standing in Solidarity with my Union Brothers and Sisters!

Knowing how important strong unions are to the quality of life for all Bostonians, I will ensure that the City of Boston maintains its commitment to prevailing wage contracts with vendors and contractors, and expands its programs to encourage younger Boston residents to apply for trade union training and apprentice programs, and continue to advocate at the State House for laws and protections for all unions and working families. These will be among my most important priorities as a City Councilor.

I spent more than 23 years as a classroom teacher and a proud Boston Teachers Union member. My family has always been union members through several generations. My father, grandfather, uncles, and cousins have been members of Local 223 for more than 70 years. As a lifelong resident of a close-knit Dorchester neighborhood, I’m proud to count many carpenters and other tradesmen and women as personal friends.

One of the main reasons I am running for City Council is to help ensure that the City of Boston is a place where union workers want to live and raise their families. When union workers live, work, and enjoy their free time in our neighborhoods, everybody benefits. I want every union worker to feel that the City where they work is also the City where they want to buy a home, send their kids to school, and relax on a Sunday in the park. It's important to me personally and professionally for the public to better understand the importance, value and quality of a Union job and how important Union pathways will be in Bringing Boston Back. Together.

We need a strong union voice on the Council. Someone who understands the value and needs of our unions. Someone who will speak up and advocate for our working families.