Special to the Journal
Candidate for the Ward 2 seat on the Revere City Council Manuel Carrero has launched his official campaign platform: Change that Works for Us. Launched through his campaign website, votecarrero.com, as well as through the Revere Democratic City Committee’s Candidates’ Forum last week, the Change that Works for Us platform centers Ward 2’s hard working people.
“All of Ward 2—Shirley Avenue, our stretch of Revere Beach, the area around the Garfield School, and Youngs Hill—has changed tremendously over the past several years. The time is now for us to leverage these changes for the benefit of all residents. For us to continue to be a welcoming neighborhood for new neighbors, new investments must be allocated towards our infrastructure, our housing stock, and—most importantly—our people. I look forward to representing all Ward 2 residents and forging a path towards a brighter future.â€
The Change that Works for Us platform includes three immediate priorities that Manuel will tackle once elected to the City Council: housing affordability & development, infrastructure & quality of life, and government accessibility & representation. He also believes strongly that the City should use ARPA funds to launch a universal childcare pilot program that would lift a huge burden off of working families and allow for greater workforce development and social mobility.
Housing Affordability & Development
Whether you’re a homeowner or a renter, Manuel will ensure that local government is doing all it can to maintain affordability and promote homeownership. Leveraging federal funding, local policies, and voices from the community, Manuel will make sure our neighborhood remains a welcoming, dynamic home for all. A renter in the neighborhood, Manuel has felt firsthand the impacts of change in the Shirley Ave community. On the City Council, Manuel will work to ensure that all residents are able to share in the neighborhood’s prosperity. His platform includes support for a multi-pronged approach to housing affordability, with some specific policies he would like to explore being inclusionary zoning, an expansion of the city’s first-time homebuyer program, and other innovations.
Infrastructure & Quality of Life
Manuel’s engineering background allows him to innovate solutions to ensure our sidewalks, roads, and water infrastructure are clean and safe for all to enjoy. Manuel will tackle issues like rodent control and traffic congestion while promoting environmental sustainability and employment for residents of the neighborhood. He believes the City Council ought to focus on building climate resiliency by supporting the massive replacement of our aging water and sewer infrastructure. Transportation is also a key issue, and he supports reducing congestion by making alternate means of transit more attractive. In order to keep Ward 2 students safe during their walks through Bell Circle, Manuel will organize the community to make sure the State offers a more viable path across their roads.
Government Accessibility & Representation
Revere has welcomed new Americans generation after generation, but too often our hard working neighbors do not feel like City Hall works for them. Manuel’s lived experience as a first-generation American in a low-income family with mixed immigration statuses reflects the perspective of a vastly underrepresented number of families in our community. Translated materials and direct outreach have allowed more and more residents to engage with City Hall, but now is the time to ensure municipal policies work for all. At all levels of government, the people of Ward 2 have been under-represented. A diverse neighborhood, Ward 2 demands a leader who can bridge the experiences of all community members. On the City Council, Manuel will be a voice for all Revere residents, and advocate for those who have been ignored by\ old-school policies and perspectives. Manuel supports a transition towards a School Committee with Ward seats to ensure each community has a say in their childrens’ education, and also plans to host precinct meetings to promote civic engagement. Manuel will fight for policies that place families and small businesses at the forefront of Revere’s priorities.
Manuel’s campaign has developed serious momentum heading into the final weeks of the election, with a successful fundraiser at Cinco de Mayo and the endorsement of the Revere Democratic City Committee, and he believes Ward 2 is ready for change that works for everyone. To learn more about the campaign, visit votecarrero.com.
