Press release - platform launch
June 29, 2023
Grassroots groups launch progressive platform for Greenfield elections #
Greenfield, MA – Building on years of grassroots efforts to address community concerns, local progressive groups have released a comprehensive policy platform aimed at making Greenfield more affordable, inclusive, and responsive to its residents’ needs and concerns. Organizers of the platform will hold a short press conference at 10am on Saturday, July 8, on the Greenfield common. The group welcomes interested volunteers to sign up and join the effort, in person or through their website.
The Progressive Blueprint for Greenfield platform gathers diverse community priorities across categories of education, community safety, economy and jobs, cost of living, environment, health, housing, and democracy and participation. Through extensive community outreach this election season, volunteers plan to use the platform to inspire conversation among neighbors and foster better awareness of current issues in Greenfield government. Organizers of the platform will also publish electoral candidates’ responses to a questionnaire, so that the voting public knows where candidates stand on a range of issues.
Various groups and many individuals contributed their policy priorities to the platform, convened by members of Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution (FCCPR) and Greenfield People’s Budget. Organizers say the platform envisions a future for Greenfield that is “racially and economically just” and addresses “serious problems with city leadership, especially the mayor, the chief of police, certain members of the school committee, and the chair of the board of assessors.”
According to the platform statement,
No real progress is possible without basic changes to our city government: Greenfield deserves honesty, integrity, and humility from its elected officials. We need our government working in our collective public interest.
In this spirit, the platform calls on the city of Greenfield to “consult and listen to residents” and “establish avenues for the public to be actively, collaboratively involved in developing policy and budget priorities.” Among its many proposals, the platform also includes calls to
- fund Greenfield schools and offer our children and youth a high-quality education;
- reassess what types of calls police respond to;
- develop a plan to make Greenfield a more affordable place to live;
- work to increase the supply of affordable housing;
- collaborate with residents to ensure a thorough clean-up of the Lunt facility;
- audit property tax assessments and ensure that businesses and high-value property owners pay their fair share of taxes;
- enforce health codes in rental housing;
- and much more…
Read the full platform at blueprintforgreenfield.com.
For media inquiries, use our contact form.
Since 2016, Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution (FCCPR) has worked to build on the momentum of Bernie Sanders’s ground-breaking campaign and create a government that works for all of us, not just the rich and powerful. More information at https://fccpr.us.
Greenfield People’s Budget wants community-led solutions to public safety in Greenfield and Franklin County. We want programs that reduce harm and meet people’s real needs. Find out more at our website, https://peoplesbudgetgreenfield.com.