Born and raised in Lynn, Brendan comes from a long line of Lynn residents steeped with a strong sense of community involvement. His maternal grandfather worked at the GE factory, his paternal grandfather fought in World War II earning a Purple Heart, and both his grandmothers worked full time while raising their families. Brendan’s mom currently works as a physical therapist, his dad and brother are both pharmacists and his sister and sister-in-law are school teachers.
As a former city councilor Brendan understands the tight budget constraints that every municipality faces. While each community has different development priorities, Brendan is committed to ensuring they have access to the tools and funding necessary to help those developments come to fruition.
Brendan spearheaded the efforts to have Lynn’s Downtown and Waterfront formally recognized by the state as a Housing Development Zone. Developments within this zone are incentivized to develop market rate housing, increase residential growth, expand diversity of housing stock, support economic development and promote neighborhood stabilization.
In order for our community to attract new residential and commercial development it must first take care of its own public property. During his time on the City Council, Brendan spearheaded a first-of-its kind $4 million infrastructure bond that repaired parks and playgrounds, preserved historic and cultural monuments, enhanced access to some of our greatest natural resources, and improved neighborhoods.
Recognizing that arts and culture can spark economic development, Brendan created the Lynn Public Arts Commission, sponsored several mural projects, helped the city receive state designation as an Arts and Culture District, and worked to make major investments in Lynn Auditorium.
Throughout his time working on Economic Development issues Brendan knows there needs to be a balance between promoting the developments that the community wants and preserving the character of our neighborhoods.
Brendan is a graduate of Lynn Public Schools and will fight to make sure our children get the best education possible. He continues to advocate for more resources for our students, teachers, and families. He was a proud co-sponsor of Senate Bill 308, “An Act Strengthening and Investing in Our Educators, Students and Communities.” This legislation, which became the basis for the Student Opportunity Act, passed in 2019 and would provide historic funding increases for our school districts.
As a parent, Brendan has experienced the challenges that come with the costs and availability of child care and early education. He believes that our public education system needs to begin at an early age and is committed to funding universal Pre-K and other early education programs.
Brendan worked at a local after-school program throughout high school and college, later serving on their board of directors. In 2019 he was appointed to be the Senate Chair for the After-School and Out of School Time Commission. His experience working directly with youth has inspired him to be a strong supporter of expanding after-school and out of school time programs. Learning shouldn’t stop when the school bell rings. Our children need positive activities and learning experiences during their time out of the classroom. Unfortunately not every child has the opportunity to take part in these programs. Brendan is committed to find ways to improve accessibility for every family.
As someone who has struggled with student loan debt, Brendan is determined to make higher education more affordable. An entire generation of graduates have been saddled with debt, forcing them to hold off on important life experiences like buying a home, getting married or starting a family. As part of the solution, Brendan believes that we can help keep costs down by investing more in our state colleges including our community colleges.
In July 2020 Brendan was proud to support the Senate Economic Development bill that authorizes $455 million to help bolster Massachusetts’s economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes provisions related to small businesses, local economic development projects, vocational schools and community colleges, clean energy, restaurants, the tourism industry, infrastructure investments, and housing reform. It also contains a student loan borrower bill of rights that creates protections for students here in the Commonwealth who are saddled with student debt. This bill is currently being negotiated in Conference Committee during the extended legislative session.
While he has supported many state-wide economic initiatives, Brendan is always focused on directly helping people in his district. For the past three state budgets, Brendan has secured funding for the E-Team Machinist program in Lynn that has trained workers and connected them to good paying jobs.
Brendan is proud to serve on the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies as Vice Chair. In this role he worked with his colleagues to pass an economic development bill that included funding for the Workforce Skills Capital Grants program. Since that time, Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute has been awarded over $700,000 to upgrade its machinist program and provide capital improvements for a new HVAC program.
Brendan is committed to fighting for a 21st century transportation system that we can all be proud of. Study after study has shown that Massachusetts is not spending enough money to maintain our roads, sidewalks, bridges, buses, rapid transit and commuter ferries. Brendan is well-versed with transportation policy and will be a strong voice in support of finding ways to adequately fund all modes of transportation.
Brendan joined the Lynn legislative delegation, local officials, businesses, community groups and residents to successfully fight for the prioritization of his proposal known as the Environmental Justice Corridor. The EJC would electrify the commuter rail line from Boston to the North Shore and would increase frequency, which reducing costs to subway-like fares. While this transformative project was approved, he is committed to seeing it funded and operational as soon as possible. He recognizes that the North Shore can no longer afford to wait for access to near rapid transit.
During his time serving on the Lynn City Council, Brendan authored a nationally recognized “Complete Streets” ordinance that mandates the City consider all modes of transportation (pedestrians, drivers, cyclists, those with mobility issues) when planning transportation projects. By passing this ordinance, not only does the City improve access and safety, but it is also eligible for additional state funding.
Brendan has worked on the Lynn Commuter Ferry project since planning initially began. He started as Sen. McGee’s legislative aide advocating for the construction of the ferry terminal to the Seaport Advisory Council and as a State Senator he is now making the case to the Administration that continued commuter ferry service to Boston is a worthy investment and a game changer for the North Shore.
In Massachusetts, we are facing a housing crisis. The most effective way to fight this crisis is to create more housing and to diversify our housing stock. There needs to be housing available that meets the needs of everyone in our community.
Brendan spearheaded the efforts to have Lynn’s Downtown and Waterfront formally recognized by the state as a Housing Development Zone. Developments within this zone are incentivized to create market rate housing, increase residential growth, expand diversity of housing stock, support economic development and promote neighborhood stabilization.
Additionally, recognizing that working families need access to housing near transit, Brendan began the push for Smart Growth Zoning. Though in its early stages, this zoning also known as 40R, encourages communities to create dense residential or mixed-use districts near transit stations and town centers. In addition to creating housing opportunities, this program would make would make communities eligible for additional state funding.
Through Brendan's efforts on the Lynn City Council, the City reformed its zoning ordinance, expedited its permitting process and made significant infrastructure investments to foster housing development. Since those initiatives, there have been over 1,000 units of housing permitted in the Downtown and Waterfront.