Letter To The Editor: Building a Blue Fortress in Brookline

BROOKLINE, MA — The following letter to the editor was submitted by Chi Chi Wu, a Brookline Town Meeting member from Precinct 7.

It’s a question I ask myself repeatedly, and I’m sure I’m not alone: what can I, as a resident of a deep blue state, do to make a difference? Voting seems inadequate, given that Democrats overwhelmingly win in Massachusetts. I’ve given money to out-of-state candidates and written postcards to Florida, but it doesn’t feel enough. Should I join friends who’ve traveled to out-of- state to volunteer on campaigns? Give more?

I’m sure many of you wrestled with these thoughts since Friday’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. As I was doomscrolling through Twitter, I noticed a thread written by Cambridge resident Loren Crowe. Crowe gave a compelling account about how his platoon survived a harrowing ambush in Afghanistan by sheer perseverance, written as a parable about persisting when all seems lost. Three of the tweets struck me as particularly relevant for us in Brookline.

Many Brookline residents don’t realize it, but Town Meeting made a significant right-wing shift this Spring. Several bills or “Warrant Articles” that were progressive in nature were rejected. Most notably, Town Meeting rejected an Article that would have established a Complaint Committee with expanded powers to investigate incidents of discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, familial status, and other protected classes. This Committee would have had subpoena power and the ability to recommend fines, which are important tools.

As Crowe notes, adopting measures like a Complaint Committee is exactly what those of us in blue states can and should do:

"Those of us lucky enough to live in blue enclaves need to turn them into fortresses.
Whatever federal protections we thought we needed should be doubled at the state
level. Local offices for civil rights protections in every town. Civil rights are local
infrastructure."

Yet we in Brookline unfortunately rejected this form of local infrastructure just a few weeks ago. More details of this Article and its defeat are discussed in this earlier piece published in the Patch.

Moreover, the conservative shift in Town Meeting was the work of a group called Brookline by Design, which was able to elect 183 of the 256 members of Town Meeting. The group’s main focus is to promote neighborhood-based planning as a check on development –which sounds well meaning but is the type of philosophy that has resulted in a dire shortage of housing as discussed in a recent New York Times article. And combatting this housing shortage is another key battle that should be fought by those of us fortunate enough to live in progressive places. As Crowe notes:

"We also need to recognize a duty to those who aren't lucky enough to live in deep blue
cities. We need to encourage civil rights migration to places where people can live and
thrive as they are. We need to spend money on this. Housing. Relocation grants. Health
care. Support.”

"What good are blue cities to a Texas family with a trans kid if they can't afford to move
here? What's the use of us at all? Republicans want a red wall on the southern border?
We've built a blue wall of housing costs and sky-high costs of living."

"Tear that [expletive] down."

If the blue states are to serve as places of hope to marginalized folks seeking to leave increasingly intolerant red states, we need to have places for those folks to live. Places like Greater Boston, New York City, the Bay area and Southern California are sanctuaries, but they are also notorious for out-of-control housing prices. We who have benefitted from this welcoming environment need to make sure it remains welcoming.

Now, some people would argue that we need progressive folks from historically oppressed communities to stay in red states, if we want to flip them to purple or blue. That debate could fill another op-ed. But as a woman of color, I really don’t want to move to a red state. So I’m not going to tell another person seeking a safer, more tolerant place to live that they should stay in a red state.

Those of us in Massachusetts can advocate for these issues- civil rights and affordable housing – right here. We can focus on electing truly progressive Democrats who will be champions for them, such as Raul Fernandez here in Brookline.

And while Brookline’s Town Meeting may have turned conservative this year, unlike the Supreme Court, we can return to a path of progressive reform as early as next May, when one- third of Town Meeting will be up for re-election. If you want Brookline to be a place that has a strong Discrimination Complaints Committee and where folks from marginalized communities can find a safe and affordable haven, make sure to vote for progressive Town Meeting candidates in May 2023.

Chi Chi Wu