Access to safe, clean water is a human right. As a resident of Housatonic, I’m committed to ending the Housatonic water crisis.

It has become clear that the only effective, sustainable solution is creating a public water utility. This would allow us to access government funds that we can use to perform needed upgrades without passing the majority of the costs on to the residents of Housatonic and the taxpayers of Great Barrington.

Without affordable housing, we don’t have a future. Everyone deserves to live comfortably without being financially burdened, and the town needs to do everything possible to make that a reality.

I’m committed to continuing the great work of the Affordable Housing Trust, Planning Board, and Selectboard in finding new solutions for our affordable housing crisis. We need to continue finding new, responsible development opportunities for affordable housing while providing rent relief for the essential workers who make this town what it is.

Access to affordable, reliable child care is one of the biggest hurdles for parents looking to raise their families in Great Barrington. Massachusetts has some of the highest child care costs in the country, with monthly tuition often costing as much (if not more) than what families pay for housing.

We need to find more ways to incentivize the creation of child care programs in town while providing tax or housing relief to ensure that child care providers can actually afford to live in Great Barrington.

We must ensure that our downtown and village center are safe for pedestrians. Any solution that fails to fix the “blind spot” caused by the inner lanes of traffic isn’t doing enough to protect the people of Great Barrington.

I also believe that expanding and repairing the sidewalk network in Housatonic is a vital part of its continuing redevelopment that will help attract interest while allowing residents to walk safely through the village.

Over the course of my life, I’ve watched as Great Barrington has evolved into a premiere tourist destination. And while I believe there are plenty of benefits to the tourism economy, I don’t think relying on one form of industry is a sustainable path forward.

We need to find ways to bring more small scale manufacturing and knowledge work to Great Barrington so that our residents can access careers where they can advance and earn competitive wages.