Priorities.

Representative Scarsdale is a champion for the priorities of the First Middlesex District on Beacon Hill.

From securing millions of dollars of new state funding for our district, to passing legislation to make our communities more vibrant and affordable, Representative Scarsdale has been among the most effective first-term representatives. We must re-elect Representative Scarsdale as our State Representative this fall so she can continue her ongoing work to tackle unfunded and underfunded state mandates; reduce the tax burden for seniors, working families, and veterans; expand incentives for affordable housing; fight for additional resources to protect the environment and combat climate change; and rein in utility monopolies.

Returning Our Tax Dollars to Our Communities

The budget cycle is often a painful process in small towns: With a limited tax base, which is overwhelmingly residential, our communities are often forced to make difficult choices in order to put forward a balanced budget. As your state representative, I have been an active -- and proactive -- participant during these cycles by meeting with town leaders at the start of the budget process to understand requests for additional state resources for needs like purchase of new equipment or local improvements, as well as opportunities for specialized earmarks. This is in addition to my ongoing work to remedy structural deficiencies in the state’s school funding formula, which shortchange communities like ours year after year (see below).

As someone who grew up in a household that struggled to make ends meet, I know how important prudent fiscal policy is. That is why I voted for tax relief for working families, small businesses, and veterans, which will improve both our economic competitiveness and your family’s budget. I’ve continued to champion legislation that will drive down the cost of living, by reforming utility monopolies like Unitil and investing in affordable housing. I also voted to add new guardrails to state spending, in light of both declining tax revenues at the state level and our communities’ collective budget challenges this fiscal year.

Every year in the state budget, legislators secure tens of thousands of dollars for the towns in their district: This funding is critically needed every year for local projects in our communities. It’s one way to make sure that we see our tax dollars put to work in our communities. To date, I have returned over $6M for the First Middlesex District in local earmarks for our schools, fire departments, police departments, senior centers, and rail trails. I consider this a top priority for this District, and will continue to submit funding requests on behalf of our communities for every budget cycle that I am your State Representative.

Education & Adequate School Funding

As a former teacher, I understand the power of education to create new possibilities and change lives. Educational costs are also a significant part of First Middlesex town budgets, and inequities in funding from the state must be addressed -- specifically for regionalized schools, special education, and charter school reimbursements. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is legally required to fully reimburse regional school districts (RSDs) for transportation costs, subject to appropriation. The State Legislature has never kept this promise, leaving Pepperell, Townsend, Ashby, Groton, and Dunstable scrambling to pay the shortfall.

As your state representative, securing additional state funding for our public schools has been my top priority. I am the only Representative who has filed legislation to fully fund the reimbursement rate for regional school transportation. I championed the budget earmark for 100% reimbursement for regional school transportation in the most recent budget, getting the sign-on of over one-quarter of my colleagues in a broad, bipartisan manner. I am coordinating meetings with state and local stakeholders to organize strategies to get critical investments in our students and our communities across the finish line, both for the First Middlesex District and for minimum aid school districts across the state.

School funding reform that addresses the needs of our District is long overdue. It's a complex issue but that hasn't deterred me, and I won't give up the fight: Our schools and our communities deserve their fair share.

My stalwart approach to representing the First Middlesex District is putting our District back on the map at Beacon Hill and is all the more reason why voters should send me back to the State House this fall. We have more work to do, built on the solid foundation that I’ve been laying.

Affordable Housing

Affordable housing is a core component of building vibrant communities and a strong local economy. It is the gateway by which young families and people in our service economy -- our first responders, our teachers, and others -- can join our communities. It is the means by which seniors can remain in the communities they’ve called home all their lives, and veterans who have served their country can have stability in the place they choose to call home.

As your State Representative, I was proud to support recently-passed legislation which will make record investments in affordable housing and create new policy and tax initiatives to promote and preserve housing across Massachusetts. Previously, in my role as Select Board Chair in Pepperell, I was an early and vocal champion of establishing an Affordable Housing Trust as a foundational step in solving this ongoing problem. I will continue to work with colleagues in the legislature and leaders within our communities to identify additional opportunities to improve access to affordable housing options within our region.

Climate Change, Environment & PFAS

Climate change is often referred to as the defining crisis of our time: That’s not the whole truth. It’s not only the defining crisis of our time, it is the crisis that will define every other time after this one.

There is no more time to wait, no more time to equivocate: Of all the fundamental issues that face our world, our nation, and the towns of the First Middlesex District, there are few more foundational than trying to mitigate the effects of climate change, and preparing for its impact, which affects our health, our economy, our food supply, and our environment, to name just a few.

I’ve found that there is nothing more sobering than talking to young people, including young adults, about climate change. While all hold out hope that it’s not too late for us to make a difference, they all also have the same quiet understanding that the world they are facing is going to be fraught with radical changes: They understand that it’s not just warming waters and rising seas, or more violent storms, and the associated economic costs of those; they grapple with weighty ideas like food shortages and land shortages, and the conflicts that will accompany those.

Meeting the state’s 2050 Net Zero carbon goals will require dedicated, focused efforts: It’s one of the reasons I helped create a regional municipal climate change consortium, whose mission is to foster and strengthen collaborative municipal efforts, including legislative, to combat climate change.

As your representative, I have continued to champion legislative initiatives which will increase funding for green projects in our towns, help reduce the health impacts of air, water, and land pollution, and create new green economy jobs to help us leave this planet a better place for our children. I also continue to advocate for a statewide approach to mitigate the impact of PFAS contamination, which impacts the vast majority of communities across the Commonwealth but remains costly to remediate. Locally, I am working closely with our delegation to secure funding for the Pepperell-Groton-Dunstable tri-town PFAS solution.

Community & Economic Development

Vibrant businesses are a key component of successful cities and towns: For small towns, this has become a tenuous relationship, particularly as businesses struggled during the pandemic. Even the loss of one or two businesses can have a detrimental impact on a downtown’s appeal, the vitality of a commercial corridor, and people’s wallets.

In the legislature, I sit on the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses, which is focused on making our communities more attractive places to live and work. In partnership with the Small Towns Collaborative, a group of local business owners and community leaders convened by my office, we recently hosted the legislative committee for a listening session on opportunities and challenges faced by local businesses in North Central Massachusetts.

I was proud to vote in favor of a $3.4B economic development package, which will make historic investment in growing sectors of our economy, modernize some of our employment laws, and enable new tax credits to spur investment. I have also sponsored and cosponsored legislation aimed at making our communities more attractive to businesses and residents, including improved transportation options, access to affordable housing, tax policy and business incentives, education, vocational, trade and workforce development programs, reforming utility monopolies, and more!

Healthcare

One of the single largest expenses for households -- beyond mortgage or rent payments -- is the rising cost of healthcare. The COVID-19 pandemic made these challenges clear, with many losing jobs and health care coverage, which is immediately impactful for those looking to access care or prescription medicine. Everyone deserves access to affordable healthcare and medications -- from inhalers to insulin.

I have co-sponsored legislation that improves healthcare access and affordability, especially for vulnerable populations like veterans and children. I am also proud to have voted in favor of recently passed bills which aim to improve substance use disorder treatment and recovery and maternal mental health outcomes. I have also stood in firm opposition to the closure of Leominster Hospital’s maternity unit and to any reduction in services at Nashoba Valley Medical Center due to Steward’s financial mismanagement. These are both healthcare facilities our communities have relied on and I was proud to support legislation recently passed in the House to prevent situations like the Steward bankruptcy from happening again.

Senior Citizens

Our seniors are at the heart of our communities: They ground us in our towns’ histories, and deepen conversations with their perspective: They are also a key part of an intergenerational model that towns need in order to be truly vibrant. Seniors also face unique challenges, such as accessing affordable housing as they downsize, limited public transportation options, and dealing with rising costs on a fixed income.

As a long-time volunteer at the Albert Harris Center (Pepperell’s “Home Away from Home” for older adults), I’ve come to know seniors not as a “constituency,” but on a personal level, as friends who laugh with me and trust me to handle issues that are bothering them.

As your state representative, I have been a close partner to Councils on Aging and other key stakeholders across my district, and have championed legislation that establishes means-tested property tax exemptions for local seniors. I recognize the catastrophic impact cuts to services for seniors will have on our community and the significant hardship a rising tax burden would have on those with fixed incomes. That’s why I have been tireless in my quest to bring additional state resources back to our district, so our communities can avoid making these challenging decisions going forward.

Support For Our Veterans

I am committed to tirelessly advocate for the needs of our veterans: As the daughter of a soldier left for dead on the battlefields of Korea, I understand the selfless patriotism of those who are prepared to give their all for their country. I also understand the difficulties veterans can have when they return to civilian life and recognize the important role state policy has aiding in that transition.

As your State Representative, I am honored to stand in partnership with our local veterans, at community events and in the State House, where together we passed an amendment to the HERO Act which will simplify the process for veterans to access the benefits they richly deserve. I was proud to vote in favor of this legislation, which included additional property tax relief, a 25% increase in annuities, and a new behavioral health assistance benefit to help veterans access outpatient mental health care.

Thank you to all of our veterans and their families!

Constituent Services

As State Representative, I serve the First Middlesex District on a full-time basis, and with the same passion, commitment, and record of accomplishments with which I served Pepperell, as a member of the Select Board, and prior to that, as a leader on various community issues.

I am proud of the success my office has had connecting constituents with resources within state government. Whether it be ensuring our local fire departments received long overdue access to state-owned land to respond to potential emergencies, securing commitments from DCR to improve the Nashua River Rail Trail, or coordinating local infrastructure improvements with the Department of Transportation, my office has worked in close partnership with our communities to solve local challenges.

In order to be transparent to the constituents, I post regular updates on my work and priorities. Additionally, I hold monthly office hours open to all community members, because I am committed to establishing meaningful lines of communication with residents and local officials to best serve our District. Each vote I take, both on the House floor and in my legislative committees, is made public by my office and I personally review and reply to emails from constituents regarding pending legislation.

Civic Engagement & Strengthening Our Democracy

I believe that democracy is a true living ideal: That it is brought to life by the breath of those who participate in it, and thus shape it. In this way, it is also a fragile ideal, and subject to broad swings in how it manifests itself and what it values. 

This makes civic engagement, for me, a powerful, community-building effort, and it’s one of the main reasons I proposed and instituted a non-partisan Civic Engagement Night (CEN) forum in Pepperell. The goal of this forum is to educate voters in a non-biased way about key warrant articles at Town Meeting, provide an opportunity to meet candidates for contested races, and encourage robust, respectful questions and discussion.

As your state representative, I have been steadfast in my commitment to the values of community-building, fostering respectful and inclusive dialogue, and passionate representation of the district.

Join our dedicated team of volunteers. Your time and energy are invaluable resources that can make a tangible difference in our outreach and engagement efforts. Let's help Rep. Scarsdale get re-elected to the State House in 2024. 

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