Accomplishments

Brookline for Everyone endorses candidates, writes and supports Warrant Articles, and hosts educational forums.

Endorsed Candidates Elected

2023: B4E endorsed 64 candidates across 16 of 17 precincts, and 52 of these candidates were elected, a rate of 81.25%! All 26 endorsed incumbents were re-elected, and we added 26 new pro-housing voices to Town Meeting.
2022: 88 of our 122 endorsed Town Meeting candidates won election, including many first time candidates.
2021: Miriam Aschkenasy elected Select Board
2021: 38 of our 41 endorsed Town Meeting candidates won election, including many first time candidates.
2020: Heather Hamilton re-elected Select Board
2020: 22 of our 27 endorsed TM candidates in contested precincts won

Warrant Articles Passed

Fall 2023 – STM4-WA 1: Town Meeting voted overwhelmingly (by 84%) to pass the Consensus MBTACA Warrant Article
Fall 2020 – WA34: a resolution that put housing affordability on the agenda for the town, leading directly to the HPP. 11 co-petitioners, both Town Meeting Members and residents, across 6 precincts.
Fall 2020: changed requirement of neighbor notices to go out to renters as well, not just property owners.
Spring 2021: Legalized micro-unit dwellings (smaller homes) than previously allowed (was 500 sq ft.)
Fall 2021: Lowered minimum parking requirements for residential areas near transit

Public Forums Hosted

2023: Co-sponsored with Abundant Housing Massachusetts (AHMA) and others, a panel discussion with Richard Rothstein, co-author of Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted under the Color of Law, and Karilyn Crockett, author of People Before Highways, about how to challenge housing segregation and build people centered communities. Link to recording is here; use this passcode bFk0WC+m to view the Zoom recording (note: the beginning has background noise that ends after about 10 minutes).
2023: Co-sponsored with Brookline Booksmith, a conversation with Katherine Einstein & Maxwell Palmer, authors of Neighborhood Defenders: Participatory Politics and America’s Housing Crisis. Einstein & Palmer, political science professors at Boston University, examine how local land use boards and institutions enlarge the power of entrenched interests and privileged homeowners. The result is diminished housing stock and higher housing costs, reproducing inequality.
2022: Hosted a State Representative debate with Rep. Tommy Vitolo and former Select Board Member Raul Fernandez on housing, climate, and transportation. Co-hosted by BHS Climate and Food Justice Club and Biking Brookline, moderated by Transit Matters’ Jarred Johnson
2022: Co-hosted a conversation with A Better Brookline to discuss efforts for Brookline cityhood
2020: Hosted a conversation with Congressman Jake Auchincloss about housing policy at the local level
2019: with Building a Better Brookline, co-hosted their 1st forum on Housing in Brookline