ESSAIBI GEORGE HIGHLIGHTS VISION AND RECORD OF RESULTS FOR EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD IN FINAL MAYORAL DEBATE

ESSAIBI GEORGE HIGHLIGHTS VISION AND RECORD OF RESULTS FOR EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD IN FINAL MAYORAL DEBATE

Calls on Wu to give specifics on ‘Free the MBTA’ and rent control

Boston, MA — At the final debate of the general election, At-Large City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George highlighted her vision, record of results and the bold action she’ll take as Mayor. Essaibi George continued to demand specifics from her opponent, Michelle Wu, on the key tenets of Wu’s campaign, such as ‘Free the T and rent control. 

Throughout the course of her campaign, Wu has not only made promises outside the jurisdiction of the Mayor’s Office, such as making the MBTA free and implementing rent control, but has failed to provide the residents of Boston with a tangible plan for these promises, including funding mechanisms, cost associations, or timeline.  

Over the course of the debate, Essaibi George highlighted:

•  Her plan to offer universal child care and early education to all children in Boston ages 0 to 5, giving an opportunity for women, who are often the primary caregivers, to enter or re-enter the workforce, while also benefiting family members that work non-traditional work hours. 

• Her experiences as a former Boston Public Schools teacher and how that experience allows her to transform our schools through a big vision, such as ensuring every school is a high quality one, and the nitty gritty that is often overlooked, such as early literacy programs, standardized curriculum and baseline resources. 

• Her firsthand experiences with climate injustice as a coach at East Boston High School and practicing softball directly under flight paths, and her plan to lead on climate action with a community-based approach.

• How she will close the racial wealth gap by advancing her Equity, Inclusion and Justice Agenda to make investments in down payment programs for first-time and first-generation, workforce training programs with pathways to good jobs, and vocational technical education programs in Boston Public Schools.

Essaibi George also highlighted her action plan for Mass & Cass, which was informed by her years of leadership on the Boston City Council on the issues of homelessness, mental health, and substance disorder. She founded the Committee on Homelessness, Mental Health and Recovery in 2016 with the goal of spotlighting these three specific issues, and has continued her advocacy in this space.

Essaibi George turned this advocacy into action, sponsoring the first ever Needle Take Back Day in the City of Boston, passing an ordinance to create 100 additional sites for safe needle disposal, securing funding to increase the number of B.E.S.T clinicians that support residents during a mental health crisis, and creating the first Special Commission to End Family Homelessness in the City of Boston through her ordinance which was unanimously passed by the Boston City Council.