The true kings in this country are not our elected officials. The true kings are the people they are supposed to serve. It is the American who pays taxes, obeys the law, raises families, works hard, builds businesses, serves in uniform, keeps communities alive, and contributes in countless ways to make this country function. For far too long, our politicians have treated us like subjects. They lie to us. They deceive us. They enrich their friends. They sell out our communities. They ignore our suffering while demanding our loyalty. Every American A King is not just a slogan. It is a reminder of who the American people are. It is a declaration that we were not born to bow before corrupt politicians, foreign interests, corporate donors, or government elites. When you elect Rasheed Walters to be your next Congressman in Massachusetts Congressional District 8, I will not go to Washington to kiss the ring of the powerful. I will go there to fight for a country where every American is treated like royalty in their own land—where your work is respected, your voice matters, your family can thrive, and your government serves you instead of ruling over you.
Massachusetts has the 2nd worst roads in the United States, with 29.3% of major roadways in poor condition. Drivers nationwide spend an estimated $26.5 billion annually on repairs, tire damage, alignments, and suspension work caused by deteriorated pavement and potholes. Yet Massachusetts has committed only $300 million through Chapter 90for Fiscal Year 2027—an increase from prior years, but still insufficient for the scale of the problem. Meanwhile, experimental transit projects continue to receive massive federal allocations. The Northeast experiences pothole damage 60% more frequently than other regions, making Massachusetts drivers particularly vulnerable. Over the past two years, the state has received billions in federal infrastructure funding. The Blue Hill Avenue bus lane project alone carries a total cost of $152.65 million, with federal taxpayers absorbing over $95 million for center-running bus infrastructure. Yet in Boston, Brockton, Quincy, and Weymouth, pothole conditions persist. Bad roads increase car insurance premiums and shift maintenance costs directly to drivers who use these streets every day. As Your Congressman, I will: • Redirect federal transportation funding away from new bike and bus lane projects toward road repair and resurfacing. I will vote against any federal transportation bill that allocates funding to new multimodal infrastructure projects without first demonstrating that 80% of existing state and local road repair backlogs have been eliminated. The Blue Hill Avenue project costs $152.65 million—that's enough to fully resurface over 100 miles of Massachusetts roads at standard resurfacing costs. Every dollar spent on experimental transit projects is a dollar not spent on filling potholes, repaving streets, or maintaining bridges. • Pass legislation establishing direct federal grants to local Departments of Public Works, bypassing state DOT bureaucracy. I will co-sponsor and push for passage of the Municipal Pothole Relief Act, which creates a $5 billion annual federal program distributing highway repair funds directly to cities and towns based on road mileage, condition ratings, and traffic volume. No state-level gatekeeping. No conditions requiring multimodal components.Massachusetts municipalities that currently wait for Chapter 90 reimbursement will receive direct appropriations, allowing immediate procurement and repair. • Create a Federal Pothole Eradication Program that establishes a maintenance-first national standard. I will introduce legislation requiring that before any jurisdiction receives federal funding for new transportation infrastructure, it must demonstrate that 100% of its roads rated "poor" or "fair" have either been resurfaced or brought to "good" condition within the past 7 years. This applies to all federal highway, transit, and discretionary grants. Repair existing infrastructure first. Build new infrastructure second. • Require every federally funded road project to reserve 15–20% of construction budgets for long-term maintenance and resurfacing cycles. Currently, roads are built or repaired once, then abandoned until they fail catastrophically. I will amend the Surface Transportation Act to mandate that federal highway funds include mandatory set-asides for scheduled, predictable resurfacing every 15 years. This breaks the cycle of neglect and creates stable, long-term maintenance schedules that cities and towns can budget around. • Direct the Department of Transportation's Inspector General to conduct a comprehensive audit of transportation spending priorities and fund diversion. I will request a formal IG investigation into how Massachusetts and other Northeast states have used federal infrastructure dollars, specifically examining: (1) whether state DOTs diverted road repair funds to transit projects; (2) whether Chapter 90 allocations have kept pace with documented road deterioration; (3) cost overruns and delays in multimodal projects vs. road repair projects; and (4) community benefit analysis comparing outcomes of road repair spending vs. new infrastructure spending in similar communities. • Establish a Rapid Repair Emergency Fund with $500 million annually for municipalities hit by major infrastructure damage. When snowstorms, flooding, or extreme weather cause widespread pothole formation or road failure, cities and towns can apply for immediate federal reimbursement without waiting months for state approval. Funding covers full pothole patching, emergency resurfacing, and temporary repairs. Applications processed within 30 days. This is especially critical in the Northeast, where freeze-thaw cycles cause an estimated 60% more pothole damage annually than other regions.
Special deals for insiders while working families struggle. Corruption and mismanagement plague Massachusetts politics. Boston's controversial White Stadium project, championed by Mayor Michelle Wu, locks taxpayers into an estimated $135 million commitment for a billionaire-backed women's soccer team. Costs nearly tripled from earlier estimates while internal cost projections were hidden from public view, raising serious accountability questions. Simultaneously, a federal audit found the Boston Housing Authority failed to maintain public housing. 86% of inspected units showed deficiencies, with frequent elevator breakdowns leaving elderly and disabled residents stranded for weeks, unable to reach medical appointments or groceries. At the state level, Governor Maura Healey's administration awarded no-bid, poorly managed contracts for emergency shelter services costing hundreds of millions with minimal oversight. The failed attempt to award highway service plaza contracts to Irish company Apple green drew protests for lacking competitive bidding and transparency. As Your Congressman, I will root out corruption everywhere: • Conduct a Comprehensive Federal Audit of Pandemic and Relief Funding I will request a full federal forensic audit of every dollar in pandemic and relief funding flowing through Massachusetts including $558.7 million in American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds received by the City of Boston, the $8.7 billion in total ARPA allocations to Massachusetts state and local governments, and over $1.6 billion in FEMA Public Assistance grants awarded to the Commonwealth. I will work directly with the U.S. Treasury Office of Inspector General, the HHS Office of Inspector General, and FEMA to investigate how these funds were spent, ensuring no misused taxpayer dollar goes unaccounted for. I will invite auditors from the City of Boston, District 8 municipalities, and federal agencies to participate in a full accounting. • Push for a Federal Investigation of the White Stadium Deal I will push for a comprehensive federal review of the White Stadium project's bidding process. If there is evidence of collusion, bid-rigging, cost concealment, or corruption in the procurement process, I will refer the matter to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation. • Fix Boston Public Housing Now I will work with the HUD Inspector General to ensure Boston public housing is safe, secure, and up to federal standards, so elderly residents and families are not trapped in unsafe buildings. • Create a Local Anti-Corruption Task Force I will establish a local anti-corruption task force of federal agencies dedicated to investigating and stopping corruption in every corner of District 8, holding politicians, insiders, and special interests accountable. • Investigate Corruption in Federal Agencies I will investigate corruption in federal agencies, including misuse of funds, backroom deals, and preferential treatment for special interests, ensuring accountability at the highest levels. • Review Executive Branch Actions Without Partisan Bias I will review executive branch actions under any presidential administration, regardless of political party, to uncover abuse of power, conflicts of interest, or unlawful spending, and pursue justice wherever wrongdoing is found. •Fight for Transparency and Integrity at Every Level I will fight for transparency and integrity at every level of government, sending a clear message: no elected official, no agency, and no president is above the law. Wherever corruption exists, I will be there to hold politicians, insiders, and special interests accountable, because working families deserve a government that works for them, not the connected few.
The MBTA Communities Act is a one-size-fits-all mandate that strips suburban towns of their right to make their own land use decisions. It mandates housing density without funding schools, utilities, or infrastructure that suburbs must pay for. It transfers zoning power from elected local boards to state agencies. It solves nothing about truly affordable housing while enriching developers. The Problems: Housing density mandates come with no state funding for schools, utilities, or infrastructure, costs that fall on property taxpayers. No safeguards exist on housing type, allowing luxury and subsidized units built simultaneously without community input. Zoning authority shifts from elected local boards to state agencies, eliminating community voice on neighborhood character. The mandate enriches developers while solving nothing about genuine affordability. As Your Congressman, I will: • Protect Suburban Zoning Authority I will defend suburban communities' constitutional right to local zoning control. No town should lose authority over land use decisions because it is not in a state-defined transit zone. I will support legal challenges to state overreach and file amicus briefs for towns defending their right to self-determination. • Condition Federal MBTA Funding on Local Control The federal government provides approximately $1.3 billion annually to the MBTA. I will work with Congress to require that any state receiving federal transit funding must respect local zoning authority. If Massachusetts overrides local communities, Congress should condition federal transportation dollars on restoring local control or repealing the mandate. • Require State Funding for State-Imposed Mandates If the state mandates increased housing density, the state must pay for the consequences. I will introduce legislation requiring that any state-imposed land use mandate include dedicated state funding for schools, utilities, and infrastructure. Local property taxpayers should not subsidize state policy. • Investigate Coercion Through DOJ and DOT I will direct the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to investigate whether Massachusetts is withholding state funds for emergency services and essential infrastructure to coerce compliance with unfunded mandates, a potential violation of constitutional protections. I will work with the Department of Transportation to review whether the state's use of federal transportation funding to enforce this mandate complies with federal grant conditions. If federal dollars are being misused to override local zoning authority, that violates federal law. • Introduce the Suburban Zoning Protection Act I will introduce legislation that prevents federal or state officials from imposing land use mandates on communities that opted out of regional transit planning. Suburban communities should have the same right to self-determination that cities demand. • Back the towns in court. Milton was stripped of grant funding after its voters rejected compliance, and the SJC's Attorney General v. Town of Milton decision left the underlying question of coercion unresolved. Any municipality in this district that defends its zoning authority in court will have my support: amicus briefs, congressional letters into the record, and public backing. Towns should not have to choose between their local vote and their road repair money.
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