Public education is the investment in our future. As a parent and high school history teacher, Teresa understands the challenges of fighting for needed services, the difficulties of attending parent-teacher meetings, and the despair of watching a child flounder without the needed support. Teresa will work to:

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• Increase local aid to our public schools.

• Fully fund the Student Opportunity Act to give every student the opportunity to succeed.

• Expand efforts to better assist English learners and increase local reimbursements for special education.

• Enact Universal pre-k and debt-free public higher education.

We must act with urgency to confront the global climate crisis. As a leader in technologies and sciences, Massachusetts must take bold and decisive action. Teresa will work with all stakeholders to focus on protecting our watersheds and conservation lands. To make impactful change, we must:

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• Power Massachusetts' electric grid with 100% renewable energy by 2035.

• Transition heating & transportation to 100% renewable energy by 2045.

• Divest public money from fossil fuels, including from the state pension fund and public university endowments.

• Pass the Massachusetts Green New Deal.

Every constituent should be able to understand the legislative process and easily find records of their legislators' voting records. A strong, effective government must be open and transparent. That's why Teresa signed the Voters Deserve to Know Pledge. To uphold a strong commitment to accountability and transparency, we must:

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• Make committee votes and testimony public, and improve our public records laws. Laws mandating the disclosure of public records have existed in the Commonwealth since 1851, except for the Governor and State Legislature.

• Remain accessible through town halls and office hours.

• Pass An Act Promoting Equality and Respect in the Legislature, creating an independent commission to investigate sexual harassment and other workplace allegations on Beacon Hill.

Accessible and affordable healthcare is a human right. Too many of us struggle to access necessary services, pay for prescriptions, or recover from unexpected medical bills. Many systemic problems were exposed during the pandemic. The Legislature must deliver on long-promised reforms such as:

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• Closing loopholes that serve as barriers to preventative care access.

• Increasing funding and access to critical and long-term mental health services.

• Capping rising pharmaceutical prices and indexing the cap to inflation.

• Ending out-of-pocket costs, like copays and deductibles, for working families.

• Guaranteeing healthcare to everyone by transitioning to a Medicare-for-All style system.

• Exploring creative solutions to increase Mental Health services across the Commonwealth and Billerica.

Accessible and affordable housing is a human right, and many Billerica families are struggling to stay in their homes. The pandemic has accelerated the crisis tenants are facing with rising rents and opportunities for homeownership dwindling across Massachusetts. Working-class folks, seniors, people with disabilities, people of color, and those with physical disabilities or mental illness are disproportionately harmed by our current system. It has led to expanding economic inequality, increased homelessness, and damage to our economy.

 

Teresa will fight for policies such as: 

• Protections for vulnerable renters from unjust evictions.

• Increasing resources for community organizations such as Lowell Community Teamwork.

• Zoning reforms that encourage the creation of walkable, sustainable, and inclusive communities.

• Increasing available state funds for local solutions.

• Strengthening tenant protections to ensure all persons understand their rights and can access legal help when needed.

• Removing Legislative barriers that prevent cities and towns from addressing local needs.

The last several years have forced Americans to confront our history and imagine a better future. Divisions over race, religion, identity, ethnicity, and culture keep us from making meaningful progress towards a more inclusive and equitable community. We must lift one another up and focus on empowering one another, not tearing each other down. Justice for all means Teresa will work to:

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• End sub-minimum wages for service workers.

• Protect and expand collective bargaining rights.

• Lower taxes for working families and increase overtime protections.

• Dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline.

The opioid epidemic continues here in Billerica and throughout the Merrimack Valley. Substance use disorder can be solved with adequate supports and quality health care. We must invest in non-punitive shelters and expand resources. Teresa will work to:

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• Fully fund youth addiction and support services.

• Eliminate prescription marketing.

• Increase the availability of the overdose reversal agents.

• Increase access for prevention and long-term treatments.

• Expand funding for counseling and support for children and families.

Teresa was fortunate to grow up near all her grandparents. Their struggles, their triumphs, and their wisdom created the woman she is today. Stories are how we preserve our humanity and our seniors are the holder of our stories. That is why we must:

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• Ensure all seniors have access to humane housing, especially in long-term care facilities.

• Prevent seniors from being forced out of their homes due to rising taxes and housing costs.

• Increase investments in accessible housing for seniors and persons with disabilities.

• Increase funding for non-profit entities like the Council on Aging that serve our residents so well.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Teresa served as an Intelligence Analyst for the Air Combat Command. As a veteran from a military family, Teresa understands the struggles of life after service. Our fellow patriots are more likely to suffer from mental illness, commit suicide, and struggle to readjust to civilian society. From the State House, Teresa will: 

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• Ensure all veterans are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

• Increase funding for younger veterans who are raising children and caring for aging parents.

• Increase housing options for veterans.

• Advocate for every veteran to obtain services they were guaranteed by our Commonwealth and Nation.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization serves as a clarion call to Massachusetts legislators, advocates, and residents of all backgrounds: in Massachusetts and around the country, the constitutional right to bodily autonomy is in peril. The Court is adopting an activist role on matters involving abortion and is poised to eliminate the constitutional basis underlying other privacy rights, including the right to use contraception.

Massachusetts needs to act swiftly to fortify the right to choose in our Commonwealth. By strengthening both the legal and practical ability for people to obtain abortions and contraception in Massachusetts, we can make it more difficult for the Court or Congress to take rights away in the years to come. There is strong proposed legislation currently pending that will advance these efforts. As a State Representative, I would prioritize measures that include:

 

• Prohibiting the extradition by other states of anyone in Massachusetts who had, sought, or aided an abortion;

• Preventing out-of-state parties from reaching into Massachusetts to enforce the civil laws of other jurisdictions;

• Enacting H.1196, An Act Ensuring Access to Pregnancy Care, which would reduce out-of-pocket costs for reproductive health care;

• Requiring Massachusetts insurance providers to cover the cost of abortions;

• Simplifying access to emergency contraception;

• Enacting H.2399, An Act to Require Public Universities to Provide Medication Abortion, has heightened importance in an era when many out-of-state students will not be able to obtain abortions in their home states.