1. Economy and Jobs
2. Longterm funding solution for MBTA
3. Continue to push legislation for removing Statue of Limitations for Child Sexual Abuse

1. Repeal the new Health Care Cost control bill which will do nothing to limit costs and everything to raise the cost of health care.

 2. Turn Taxachusetts back to Massachusetts

 3. Ensure that cities and towns get first bids on any state land that may become available within that city or town’s boundaries.

After being elected as a member of the House of Representatives in May of 2011, I received a call from Speaker Deleo asking me about my interests and background in deciding which committee assignments I would be interested in.  

Being a Small Business Owner and also having the work experience of working for Fidelity Investments, one of Massachusetts largest employers, gives me a unique background of the challenges of both large and small businesses face in our State. Speaker Deleo appointed me a member of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. 

This has been a great experience and this session the House passed a comprehensive economic development and jobs bill.  Here are some of the highlights of this bill: 

• creates a new local infrastructure development program that gives municipalities a new tool for leveraging private funding to finance infrastructure improvements needed to support economic development projects; 
• Creates a Community Investment Grant Program that seeks to promote long term public and private partnerships at the community level by providing a special donation tax credit for contributions made to selected community improvement efforts; 
• Extends for another two years state and local permits held by any developer who has been unable to proceed with their project because of tight credit markets; 
• provides funds for a competitive grant program through the Small Business Association of New England that averts layoffs at manufacturing companies; 
• creates a new minimum corporate tax credit in the amount of the corporate minimum payment of $456, available to companies in their first three years of filing; 
• established Small Business On Line Portal, which is a one-stop-shop for small business owners looking for help or information; 

These are steps in the right direction to help our economy at the local level.  I have been meeting throughout my time as a member of the Legislature with local business owners. It is important to understand the challenges small business owners face and I will continue to meet with them to understand what we can do at the state level to help support them.

I believe that my experience in working as a City Councilor at the local level for six years provided me with a solid understanding of the issues that local government face. I was first elected in 2006, and shortly after that, the economy went into a deep recession. 

Being on the front lines of the cuts to our Education and Public Safety was an experience I will always be mindful of. I believe that we are on a path to a stronger economy and will continue to fight for local aid funding.  This is and will be top priority for me. In my short time as the State Representative for the 10th Middlesex District, I have been able to use my life experiences to help guide me to become a productive legislator.  I have the experience as a small business owner, a father of five children in our public schools, a former City Councilor, a son of a senior citizen living on a fixed income and also having the experience of being laid off in 2002 from Fidelity Investments. These  experiences give me solid understanding of the challenges many people throughout this district face.

This is a tough one! I grew up in the same neighborhood that I live in today so there is not much about me that is not already known. 
One interesting note about the Newton district of the 10th Middlesex District is my long term friendship with Scott Lennon. Scott was born and raised in the Nonantum area and he is President of the Newton Board of Alderman.  

Scott and I met in high school at a quarterback camp at Governor Dummer Academy in Byfield, Ma.  We both attended Merrimack College together and both played quarterback on the football team.  Scott is very passionate about Newton and especially the Nonantum area. It is great for me to have him as a friend and he certainly keeps me informed of the important issues facing Newton.

I am a High School History teacher who is looking to make a difference for his State and his community.