I understand that democracy can only survive when the public’s confidence in our elected leaders is high.  I have devoted much of my career to combatting public corruption on the local, state, and federal level, having investigated and prosecuted law enforcement officers, elected officials, appointed officials, corrupt businesspersons, campaign donors, and even a judge. On Beacon Hill, I will hold myself and my colleagues to the highest ethical standards and will be a force for progress in promoting ethics and integrity in state government. I am committed to being the most accessible, transparent, hard-working, and communicative legislator that I can be. I will treat this job as what it is: the privilege to represent and serve YOU on Beacon Hill. A healthy democracy also means protecting and strengthening everyone’s right to participate in the electoral process. I support the VOTES Act. We need same day voter registration, because a senior, recent immigrant, or busy single parent who is eligible to vote should not be disenfranchised by arbitrary deadlines. Furthermore, we should lower the voting age to 16 in municipal elections. We can help secure the lifelong civic and political engagement of our current high schoolers by allowing them the right to vote. Our youth have the most to gain or lose by electing the right or wrong leaders, so they should have a voice in choosing who runs their municipalities.