Cambridge Issues
"Cambridge has incredible diversity. People from all different backgrounds
come together to make Cambridge their home. I want to represent all the people
of this district and work to make sure that every voice is heard."
Preserving the Past, Engaging the Future
To meet the changing needs of Cambridge neighborhoods, we need a hard-working state representative.
- We need affordable and middle-income housing, so families and seniors can afford to live in our city.
According to the City of Cambridge, the median price of a single-family home has now reached $525,000. Soon,
only the wealthy will be able to live here. We need to develop long term plans to keep Cambridge affordable
for all of us.
- We need to work to protect our open spaces, parks, and playgrounds.
We need to find locations where unused old buildings can be cleared for parks and playgrounds. Developers
creating profitable new projects must also create open space and improve existing areas for the community.
- We need to encourage smart growth.
We need to encourage developments close to T stops which permit more travel without cars and increase
the sense of community.
- We need to bring new residents and old neighbors together through community events.
We are more powerful together than any of us are alone. That's why I will work to bring people
together to solve the real problems that affect us everyday.
Holding Corporations Accountable
In 2000, one in three of the state’s largest companies paid a meager $456 in state excise taxes.
Meanwhile, the average family’s state income tax bill was $2,795.
(Boston Globe, 3/19/03)
Even as big corporations exploit tax loopholes, Beacon Hill insiders continue handing out big
breaks to big business. They have created a tax system where the burden falls on homeowners
and renters more than our state’s largest corporations. Let’s close these loopholes and invest
in public education, public transportation, and public health. We need a new, energetic voice
on Beacon Hill to clean up the mess and make corporations pay their fair share.
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Avi Green will fight to hold corporations accountable.
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Mr. Toomey, on the other hand, has a 12-year record of helping big corporations at the expense of
working families:
- He voted to extend corporate tax credits (May 5, 2003),
and just two weeks later, justified his corporate tax cuts by cutting funding for local aid to Cambridge and
Somerville by 1.5 million.
- He voted against taxing capital gains at the same rate as personal wages.
(HB 4100, 4/30/01)
- In 1999-2000, he voted against working families over 50% of the time, according
to the non-partisan advocacy group Neighbor to Neighbor - worse than conservative House Speaker Tom Finneran.
- In 1999, Mr. Toomey also voted against adjusting the minimum wage annually for inflation,
a decision that favored big businesses over working families. (House Bill 4530, 7/13/99)
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Safety and Crime
I support tough, effective gun control laws to keep guns off our streets and out of the hands of
criminals. We need a State Representative who will fight to toughen gun control laws, not roll
them back.
To keep our community safe, we need to come together to demand more from government. While
neighborhood watch groups and parents walking each others' children to school would be a good
start, the state needs to support school-based anti-violence efforts, and good, safe places for
young people to go after school. Quality youth programs are critical. We need to let teens know
that they are welcome as good neighbors in our community - and that violence of any type is
unacceptable. I support community policing efforts to create trust and cooperation between
police officers and neighbors. Community organizing can bring new and old neighbors together
to insure safer communities.
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NEW CAMPAIGN VIDEO! |
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Watch this new documentary about Avi's campaign for
State Representative.
[high res]
[low res]
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