Right now, the loud voices on the issues we face are highly polarized. Too often, they rely on oversimplification and misinformation to pull us into their corners. Patty has been, and will continue to be, driven by values and pragmatism, NOT rigid ideology. She’ll continue listening to all constituents, doing research, and being data-driven.  She will continue to connect the dots on  our complex issues and not accept easy, yet inappropriate, answers.  She will pursue policy that balances the needs and values of our City’s diverse citizens including those who are — and those who are not — polarized at an extreme.

While the entire Council is working hard to push back on federal government overreach, Patty is doing it in her non-existent spare time. She is one of two co-chairs of Crimson Courage, a coalition of over 19,000 Harvard alums who support Harvard’s resistance to federal government overreach (perhaps you were at a demonstration that she helped organize in Cambridge or at the courthouse in Boston or were able to sign onto the amicus brief that Crimson Courage helped support).  She is now working with alums of other universities to ensure that higher education institutions nationwide stand up for academic freedom and the rule of law. See her recent op-ed  in US News & World Report.

Patty cares about transparency.  Take a look at her newsletters.  She shares what’s going on in the City, what the Council is working on, and what votes are coming up.  She tells you how she’s likely to vote and why, so you can challenge her if you want. She also fills you in on her committee work as Chair of Finance and the Health & Environment Committees. The fact that she remembers commitments and goals, shares data on results, and makes the effort to communicate consistently makes her, and the newsletter, a valuable and useful resource.