A City Councilor is the closest public official to the people they represent. They need to be grounded in the community and have a good pulse on the day-to-day happenings within the district. During my time in the Council, I saw significant lapses in accountability and responsiveness within City departments and especially through the BOS:311 system. There were hundreds of instances of documented cases that went unanswered or were closed prematurely without resolution. BOS:311 needs to be reformed for better accountability measures and hire quality compliance positions that act as ombudspersons for residents. City Councilors and their staff need to have access to the BOS:311 system because at the end of the day, we should all work together towards a better Boston.

Too often, information sharing or intake from constituents within city departments is an added task to an already busy city worker. We should invest in full time employees in each City Department that have the ability to streamline requests to the right person. This would also assist City Councilors with receiving a response from city departments on issues that filter through their offices as well. 

Boston should function at its most efficient and be responsive at all times in order to be a true world-class City. We should prioritize the “nuts and bolts” issues that may seem small but add up to impact a resident's quality of life. Services such as trash and recycling collection are equally important, in helping beautify our streets and promoting community pride while taking care of our environment. I promise to physically be in neighborhoods and walk the streets with you to assess the quality of our sidewalks, streets, and ongoing development projects in our neighborhoods. I will conduct monthly “Constituent Walks” that have translation services and are live-streamed within Charlestown, East Boston, and the North End to take an accounting of City-owned items that need to be addressed.