Our platform

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Right to the City Vote! Platform 2025

Our Right to the City: Remain. Reclaim. Rebuild Boston.

 

Right to the City Vote Action envisions a Boston rooted in racial and economic justice—where working-class people and communities of color have the right to stay, shape, and thrive in the city. We organize for a city where public land and resources serve the people, not profit. We affirm the leadership of those most impacted—renters, workers, immigrants, young people, and families—and fight for policies that reflect our lived experience and community needs.

Our updated 2025 platform outlines five core rights:

 

1. The Right to Remain in a Stable Home and Equitable Development

Everyone deserves a stable, affordable, and dignified place to live.

 

We fight for:

• Housing justice for low-income families, including deep affordability at 0–30% AMI
   

• Tenant power, including the Tenant Option to Purchase (TOPA) and Right to Counsel
   

• Rent stabilization and eviction protections to prevent displacement
   

• Luxury transfer fees and other tools to increase public funding for affordable housing
   

• Strengthened Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP) and further reforms to deepen affordability
   

• Abolition of the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) and the establishment of truly democratic, community-led planning
   

• Support for community land trusts and the Acquisition Opportunity Program (AOP) to expand community control of land
   

 

2. The Right to Economic Justice and Good Jobs

Economic justice means stable, dignified work and community wealth-building.

 

We fight for:

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• Living wages, fair scheduling, and strong job standards
   

• Increased access to union jobs for BIPOC communities historically excluded
   

• Support for worker centers, small businesses, and cooperative enterprises
   

• Local civilian jobs to reduce reliance on costly police details
   

• A Universal Basic Income (UBI) for low-income Bostonians
   

• Expanded workforce development linked to housing, transit, and climate investments
   

 

3. The Right to Democratic Participation

Everyone must have a voice in the decisions that shape our city.

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We fight for:

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• Deep resident participation in decisions on housing, jobs, schools, budgets, and land use
   

• Fully funded participatory budgeting, including 1% of the City budget
   

• Multilingual and disability access across all City Departments and ballots
   

• Justice in redistricting, protecting voting power in BIPOC communities
   

• Municipal voting rights for all Boston residents, regardless of immigration status
   

• Ranked Choice Voting to make elections more representative
   

 

4. The Right to the Public Good

Public goods must serve the people—not private profit.

 

We fight for:

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• Equitable access to public schools, libraries, health care, and safety net programs
   

• Elected school committee and community input in school closures and renovations
   

• Expansion of PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) to ensure institutions pay their fair share
   

• Support for migrant families seeking shelter and resources in Boston
   

• Sanctuary policies for undocumented immigrants and LGBTQIA+ people
   

• Support for Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) child care, including HB.542/SB.341
   

• Investment in treatment and recovery services, including the Shattuck redesign
   

• Exploration of municipal broadband to expand internet access and lower costs
   

 

5. The Right to a Healthy Environment

Our communities deserve clean air, transit, green space, and protection from environmental harm.

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We fight for:

• Equitable, affordable public transit, including fare-free MBTA programs
   

• Renewable energy and community choice aggregation
   

• Lower utility rates and accountability for National Grid and Eversource
   

• Resident-led street redesigns that prioritize safety and access
   

• Climate resilience and emissions reductions, especially in environmental justice communities
   

• A Green New Deal that centers BIPOC workers
   

• Abolition of the racially unjust BPD gang database
   

• Racial justice and protection from white nationalist violence
   

• Criminal record reform, including automatic sealing, juvenile protections, and upholding the presumption of innocence

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• Vigilant resistance to federal rollbacks on civil rights, immigration, and environmental protections—including standing against harmful policies promoted by the Trump administration and others that undermine our communities