Politics

Boston City Council District 4 Race: Brian Worrell and Evandro Carvalho

Two candidates, Brian Worrell and Evandro Carvalho, are vying the District 4 seat, which was left empty by a former mayoral candidate, Andrea Campbell.

Neighborhoods covered by District 4 include parts of Mattapan, Dorchester, Roslindale and Jamaica Plain.

By Mihiro Shimano

3 minutes to read

Below are the responses to the candidates’ policies and thoughts on current issues that affect the city of Boston. Brian Worrell did not respond to Boston.com’s questionnaire.

What are your thoughts on Mass and Cass and what solutions would you suggest to the problems that have arisen in the area?

Carvalho: I will work with the Mayor, City Council, and our State Legislature to continue to work on the issues of the methadone/recovery mile. As we know, these issues are difficult, relating to mental health, homelessness, and more importantly drug and alcohol addiction. I would propose each and every day, having teams of clinicians and outreach workers speak to everyone at Mass and Cass about their needs and take steps to help with treatment, affordable housing, food, and mental health support. We also need to inventory best practices on opiate addiction treatment and prevention to add additional approaches.

How can housing in Boston be more affordable and inclusive of all communities while mitigating gentrification?

Carvalho: Affordable housing is personal to me. Growing up, I remember my single mother working three jobs and still struggling to pay rent. I would allocate a substantial amount of the $430 million ARPA federal grant received for affordable housing development, to cover subsidies to build such housing and downpayment assistance to enable homeownership of existing homes. I would also support increasing the affordability requirements for the City’s Inclusionary Development Program which is now at about 13% of units in market-rate developments having to be affordable or contributing into a fund for affordable housing.

How would you, if at all, adjust the Boston Police Department budget?

Carvalho: If we as a city understand the core purpose of public safety agencies’ budgets as I believe, we need to evaluate if and how it could be adjusted. It could be adjusted based on these two steps: I believe we need a task force to study overtime in the police department and how it can be lessened. I believe we can have civilian teams answer many 911 calls related to homelessness, addiction, and overdoses, mental health crises, so that over time we may be able to need fewer police. I welcome the opportunity to learn more about this and how the community feels.

What are your top priorities for Boston Public Schools right now?

Carvalho: We know a quality education can change a child’s life, and I’m here today as proof of that. Boston received $400 million in federal ESSER school aid recently and it should be spent on more teachers, support staff, tutors, after-school programs, and summer programs to meet the learning loss so many students have suffered during the pandemic. In order to close the achievement gap, we need to continue to invest in Universal Pre-K and provide more vocational and job training to our students. I will work with principals, teachers, administrators, and BPS so that each school in District 4 has a plan with learning goals and goals for increasing English and Math skills.

What are two of your top priorities that you would like to address?

Carvalho: For me, my top priorities are investing in at least four free-standing Boston Center Youth Families (BCYF) community centers in District 4 to serve as villages or hubs of economic empowerment with job training and fairs, financial literacy programs, and youth programs. I’m also focused on closing the wealth gap by investing in first-time homebuyer programs and down payment assistance, supporting our small business owners and ensuring minority-owned businesses receive their fair share of the city contracts. Investing in the education of our children by fighting for universal pre-k and for a tech/voc department in BPS with a director and adequate staff to make sure all schools prepare students for a wide variety of skilled jobs and careers. Increasing affordable housing by advocating for at least 20% of new housing to be affordable to our low-income families and rent stabilization measures. Lastly, investing in our lowest-income families in District 4 through Universal Basic Income to help them pay for food, utilities, and other basic necessities.

Advertisement:

Responses may have been edited for length and clarity.

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com