Massachusetts Is a Great Place to Live That No One Can Afford

0:00 In Massachusetts, we've always led the way. We were the first to say no to kings, the first to put trains underground, and the first to build public schools. Massachusetts is a great place to live that no one can afford. My name is Brhan. I'm the vice mayor of Cambridge and I'm running for state senate. Did you know that 40,000 people left Massachusetts last year?

0:32 >> I didn't know that. >> So, why do you think that is? Take your best guess. >> Probably the unresponsiveness of our elected officials, the cost of living, and the difficulty in transportation. It's just hard to raise a family and people are just getting kind of squeezed. >> For most of my childhood, my mom worked behind the counter at Duncan. She'd come home every night worried about her paycheck, but she'd always say, "At the end of the day, we'll be okay." And that's because Medicaid was there.

1:00 That's because food stamps were there. That's because a politician before us had prioritized these programs so that everyone would have a safety net. When people are in pain, we need things to work. And right now, too many things are just not working. Housing prices through the roof. child care, basically a second mortgage. Utility prices are surging and we have the longest commutes in the nation, taking time away that will never get back.

1:33 >> We have new video tonight of ICE agents taking a Milford teenager into custody. >> And at the same time, we also have a very different crisis. We're all looking around and wondering which of our rights still hold and who might have theirs taken away tomorrow. And so when it matters most, the question is, can Democrats still defend and deliver on their values? When I first ran for office, people warned me how things were. They said progress was slow, that you'd have to settle.

2:08 And yet over my last three terms, we've showed something different. We made universal prek real for every family, no exceptions. And when we talked about clean energy, we implemented a program that would lower emissions and cut costs. For a long time, we've been pushing out the people who built our state. That's why I've pushed to relegalize the types of homes that once made it affordable. triple deckers, starter homes, and affordable apartments. We did it door-todoor, conversation by conversation, and achieved historic victories. And that's why I'm running for state senate, because in Massachusetts, big ideas aren't scary, they're tradition. And I'd love for you to join us.