Housing & Transportation:
Making It Possible to Live, Work, and Move
Massachusetts cannot remain economically vibrant if people cannot afford to live near opportunity. That challenge sits at the intersection of two systems that only work if they work together: housing supply and cost, and the transit that connects people to jobs, regardless of where they can afford to live.
At a Glance
Azeem centers statewide zoning standards, faster permitting, and denser housing near transit, pointing to Austin's rent declines after a supply increase. Barber, who identifies herself as the only renter in the race, points to specific legislation she authored or passed (the ADU provision, MBTA Communities Act, HomeBase funding, tenant opportunity to purchase). McLaughlin ties housing to a mix of market-rate, affordable, and social-housing models plus reliable bus service. Uyterhoeven centers the broker-fee ban she passed, a 100,000-unit affordable housing target by 2035, and Fair Share surtax revenue for transit.
The Question Candidates Answered: "I support policies that expand opportunity by making it easier for people to live, work, and move throughout the Commonwealth."
Burhan Azeem: I support this principle
How would you advance this principle if elected? Housing policy is my bread and butter, and I've already done a lot of this work on the city level in Cambridge. We need to build more housing because there is a shortage, and because we are losing political power on the national stage as people leave Massachusetts because it's too expensive. We need to ensure that there is one statewide standard applicable to zoning and speed up the permitting process. We should allow denser housing to be built near transit hubs and prioritize the MBTA. We should also consider a land value tax so that places that are benefiting from letting land go unused will be incentivized to actually build housing or add value to it. In the meantime, we also need to strengthen tenant protections and ensure that we are incentivizing and building 100% affordable housing so that people are not displaced.
What would success look like? After Austin built more housing, their rents went down for 19 straight months. Success would look similar to that.
Christine P. Barber: I support this principle
How would you advance this principle if elected? I rent. I am the only renter in this race, and I write housing policy from that vantage.
Supply and stability are not competing agendas, and I have worked both. I authored the accessory dwelling unit provision (ADU) in the 2024 Housing Bond bill. I filed and helped pass the MBTA Communities Act, which requires multifamily zoning near transit. I doubled the funding for HomeBase so families in the shelter system can get supported housing and stay longer, renew, and receive more assistance. I secured millions in funds for Clarendon Hill affordable housing in Somerville and Walkling Court in Medford.
On stability and tenant protections, I co-sponsor H.2328 to let cities and towns stabilize rents, and I passed tenant opportunity to purchase in the House to allow affordable homeownership. Production alone will not keep a senior in Medford or a family in East Somerville in place while the market moves faster than any pipeline.
On permitting, I support cutting delay that is purely procedural while preserving the review that protects environmental justice neighborhoods near Route 93 and Route 16 from further pollution burden.
On transportation, I fought for and helped fund the Green Line Extension and the Community Path, and I am still pushing for the Route 16 stop. Next is bus service that actually reaches Medford and Winchester, low-income and fare-free bus policy, full electrification, and a capital plan the T can execute on schedule.
What would success look like? Rents that stop outrunning wages. Seniors able to downsize without leaving the community where they raised their kids. Accessory units and small multifamily getting built near transit instead of stalling for three years in review. Buses frequent enough that people in Medford and Winchester actually use them. A Green Line that is reliable and extended.
Matt McLaughlin: I support this principle
How would you advance this principle if elected? Housing and transportation are inexplicably linked to making living in Massachusetts affordable. Our housing policy must serve families, seniors, and working people, not just speculation and luxury development. In Somerville, I helped substantially improve our inclusionary housing program, ensuring growth delivers real public benefit. I also supported the city's first modern triple decker ordinance, expanding family sized housing while preserving neighborhood character. Developing equitable housing is all about levers, and we need to ensure that we continue to invest in affordable housing (like the Somerville Affordable Housing Trust and Overlay), market rate housing (done equitably with inclusionary housing and done efficiently through drastic reforms to the building code), and government housing through social housing models. That model is gaining steam in Massachusetts and I will continue to advocate for more public investment in creative social housing models to make them a viable reality. By supporting all these levers we can develop a model for housing development that increases housing supply responsibly, protects tenants, and keeps long term residents rooted in their communities.
What would success look like? Success is a rapid increase of both market rate and affordable housing of a variety of different models, making clear investments in social housing and radical improvements to the building code. Reliable, frequent bus service is the fastest and most cost effective way to improve mobility across the Second Middlesex District. So the solution will look like more dedicated bus lanes, transit signal priority, and operational funding that allows the MBTA and regional transit providers to run buses often enough that people do not need to plan their lives around a schedule.
Erika Uyterhoeven: I support this principle
How would you advance this principle if elected? I passed the broker fee ban to end the practice of charging renters thousands of dollars for the privilege of signing a lease, and in the Senate I will fight to ensure the state builds 100,000 new permanently affordable homes by 2035. The Fair Share surtax is delivering $595 million a year for MBTA investment, and I will fight to protect that revenue and direct it toward what riders need: service frequency, the low-income fare program, and a bus network redesign that reaches the communities where housing is growing. As someone who commutes by e-bike year-round, I will champion the multimodal investments that make housing and transit work together: dedicated bus lanes, protected bike infrastructure, and reliable T service funded to match the ridership the MBTA is rebuilding. Massachusetts cannot meet its housing and transportation goals if people cannot get to the jobs those homes are near, and I will fight to connect the two.
What would success look like? 100,000 new permanently affordable homes built by 2035 so that no one, including lower-income residents, are priced out of their communities. Fair Share revenue funding the transit improvements that connect those homes to jobs. It looks like a bus network that actually reaches the communities where housing is being built, protected bike lanes on the roads that need them, and a T reliable enough that no one's commute depends on whether they can afford a car. That is housing and transportation working as one system, and every resident able to get where they need to go.