B'nai B'rith Housing

BBH is a nonprofit developer whose mission is to ease the housing crisis in the Greater Boston area.

  • About Us
    • Meet our Executive Director & Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Real Estate Council of Advisors
    • Our Corporate Sponsors
    • Nonprofit Partners
    • Distinguished Achievement Award Honorees
    • Our Impact
  • Our Properties
    • The Coolidge at Sudbury
      • The Coolidge at Sudbury, Phase 2
    • Covenant House Communities – Brighton, MA
    • The Fairways & Carriage House at 33Comm – Newton, MA
    • The Machon – Swampscott, MA
    • Parkway 1208 – West Roxbury, MA
    • 1201 River Street – Hyde Park, MA
  • News
    • Construction Updates
    • From Our Executive Director
    • Our Newsletters
    • Media Releases & Announcements
    • Housing News We’re Reading
  • Get Involved
    • Subscribe to Our E-news
    • Become a Donor
    • Become a Sponsor
    • Gen2Gen
    • Upcoming Events
    • Sign A Support Letter
    • Volunteer
    • Career Opportunities
    • Contact Us & Subscribe
  • Donate
Home / Housing News / 15th Middlesex race: How would candidates fix the Mass. affordable housing crisis?

15th Middlesex race: How would candidates fix the Mass. affordable housing crisis?

August 8, 2018 by B'nai B'rith Housing News Service

15th Middlesex race: How would candidates fix the Mass. affordable housing crisis? Click here to view original web page at lexington.wickedlocal.com

The latest in entertainment

Hide caption

Five people want to represent Lexington residents, along with residents of Woburn’s Wards 1 and 7, on Beacon Hill. But where do they stand on some of the most important issues facing both communities, and the state?

Voters will go to the polls on Sept. 4 to pick a winner in the Democratic primary race for the 15th Middlesex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Five candidates will be on the ballot: Michelle Ciccolo, Matthew Cohen, Joseph Lahiff, Mary Ann Stewart and William Sweeney. There are no registered Republican candidates, however write-in candidates will be allowed in the Nov. 6, 2018 general election.

In the coming weeks between now and the Sept. 4 primary, the Minuteman will be publishing questions of the week every Thursday, with answers from each candidate on the biggest issues impacting our communities. Each candidate’s answer was limited to 50 words.

This week’s question: Massachusetts is facing an affordable housing crisis which neither the market nor current legislation has proved able to solve. What changes to state affordable housing law would you support in order to address this?

Michelle Ciccolo

For the past decade, I’ve been actively testifying/lobbying for zoning reform. I support the Smart Growth Alliance’s package of reforms that concentrates density near transportation and minimizes construction on raw land, facilitated by a Transfer of Development Rights bank. Among other measures, I support recapitalizing the CPA match to help municipalities build affordable housing.

Matthew Cohen

A) Revise Chapter 40B to provide greater resources, opportunities and flexibility, including protections to communities. B) Improve laws on rezoning for housing, smart growth, commercial and mixed use. C) Fully fund the Community Preservation Act; the state now matches just 17 percent [of funds raised by a community], which is significantly less than in the past.

Joseph Lahiff

I see there are two impediments to affordable housing in the state, affordability and an inadequate supply. I believe that the state can do a better job in defraying costs by funding rental assistance and homeownership assistance programs. Supply can be addressed by raising the requirement for the number of affordable units in any new developments.

Mary Ann Stewart

Housing is a human right. Address predatory development. Invest in state housing trust funds. Increase resources for development and rehabilitation of public and other affordable housing. Meet growing housing needs of young singles/retiring elders. Strengthen and expand home ownership programs. Full support of H.673/S.723.

William Sweeney

The only way to address the affordable housing crisis is to address the underlying causes of wealth and income inequality. In the meantime, our policy needs to be focused on job creation outside the cities, not stacking more people into areas where the infrastructure is already overburdened.

Filed Under: Housing News Tagged With: affordable, housing

Subscribe to Our E-News

  • I agree to B'nai B'rith Housing's privacy policy and consent to receiving periodic communications.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow BBH on Twitter

Tweets by bbhousing

In Their Own Words…

Being able to stay in my hometown, near friends and family was great. And now I have a whole new community at The Coolidge to socialize with, too. It is wonderful!
~ Resident, The Coolidge at Sudbury

Contact Us

34 Washington Street
Brighton, MA 02135
Phone: 617-731-5290
Fax: 617-739-0124

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Support BBH – Your Gift Matters!

Image of GuideStar and PayPal logos.

Thanks to Our 2019 Lead Sponsors

  • Jobs
  • Past Events
  • Donate
  • Subscribe to Our E-news