A dozen Mayors, two dozen Councilors, Selectpersons, County Officials, and School Committee members join coalition to defeat ballot question that would decimate municipal budgets
BOSTON, MA – April 15, 2026 – Dozens of Mayors, City Councilors, and other local elected officials have joined Housing for Massachusetts, the coalition formed in opposition to the proposed rent control ballot question. United in their concerns about the one-size-fits-all question’s impact on municipal budgets and housing creation, the elected officials together represent cities and towns across the Commonwealth that span a wide range of geographies, demographics, and socio-economic realities.
Mayors who have joined the coalition against rent control include:
- Agawam Mayor Christopher Johnson
- Braintree Mayor Erin Joyce
- Everett Mayor Robert Van Campen
- Gardner Mayor Michael J. Nicholson
- Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia
- Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña
- Leominster Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella
- Methuen Mayor David P. “D.J.” Beauregard
- New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell
- Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch
- Revere Mayor Patrick M. Keefe Jr; and
- Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty
A new study from the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts found rent control would eliminate $300 billion of Massachusetts property values over the next decade, crushing municipal budgets and forcing local leaders to cut back on key services or drastically shift the tax burden to homeowners and condo owners to maintain investments in education, infrastructure, and public safety.
“Cities and towns across the state are already struggling to provide critical municipal services without raising taxes on their residents,” said Methuen Mayor D.J. Beauregard. “Rent control would devalue properties with crushing effects on our budgets that support teachers and education, police, fire, and public safety, and infrastructure maintenance and improvement in our cities and towns.”
The ballot question would mandate the same policy across every city and town across the state with no opt-out, meaning that even if voters in a town reject the policy at the ballot box, it will still become law in their community if it passes statewide, removing local control from housing policy.
“This is the classic ‘Boston knows better than everybody else in Massachusetts’ policy,” New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell told WBSM radio earlier this year. “It’s clear as day to me that this will not work here. It’ll be counterproductive. It’ll raise housing prices on people who can’t afford them. And people should vote against this measure when it comes up in November.”
The question would limit annual rent increases to the annual change in consumer price index (CPI) – which has averaged just 2.58% over the past 20 years – up to a maximum of 5%. In other places that have recently implemented rent control, the policy has led to landlords raising rents up to the maximum each year.
A recent Wall Street Journal report on St. Paul’s rent control policy included local perspective on the actual implications of the policy for renters:
“Landlords of older properties, meanwhile, say they are raising rents more often since they are limited to 3% increases.
Alisa Lein, a property manager who lives in St. Paul, used to keep most annual rent increases well below 3%. She raised the price when the apartment turned over. But St. Paul’s ordinance outlawed that practice. Now, she raises rents by the 3% maximum every year.
“Even though I’d love to give someone who’s been in the apartment for 20 years a bit of a break, I can’t anymore,” said Lein.”
As Governor Maura Healey has repeatedly noted, the ballot question is already impacting housing creation in the state, further limiting supply. At a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce forum last month, the Governor said that thousands of units have already been put on hold and that housing investors are “just going to other states. It’s totally at odds and counterproductive to what we’re trying to do.”
“In the housing plan we laid out in 2025, we found that Worcester needs to create 12,000 new homes by 2033 to keep up with demand,” said Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty. “In other places with rent control policies, it has been found to discourage the production of new homes. Worcester cannot afford any additional barriers to housing creation.”
In Cambridge, MA under the Commonwealth’s previous rent control regime, the city lost 2,500 renter-occupied units in just ten years between 1980-1990 according to the U.S. Census. Those declines were reversed only after rent control was banned by voters through a statewide ballot question in 1994.
This 2026 proposed ballot question goes even further. Not only will it apply to every community in Massachusetts, but the limited exemptions in the measure would control virtually every privately owned rental property in the state, including single family homes, condos, and two and three-families that are not owner occupied. The measure treats individuals or families who rent out one unit the same as a hedge fund that owns and rents 10,000.
The Governor and Mayors are not the only ones concerned. The Housing for Massachusetts coalition has now also been joined by more than two dozen elected officials, including:
Greater Boston:
- Marlborough City Councilor Mark A. Vital
- Boston City Councilor at Large Edward M. Flynn
- Boston City Councilor at Large Erin J. Murphy
- Boston City Councilor John FitzGerald
- Quincy City Councilor at Large Noel DiBona
- Revere Council President Anthony Zambuto
- Revere Councilor at Large Joanne McKenna
- Revere City Councilor Paul Argenzio
- Revere City Councilor Chris Giannino
- Revere City Councilor Ira Novoselsky
- Revere City Councilor Marc Silvestri
- Revere School Committee Member Stephen Damiano Jr.
- Revere School Committee Member Alexander Rhalimi
- Watertown City Council President Mark S. Sideris
- Watertown City Councilor Vincent Piccirilli
North:
- Gloucester City Councilor Dylan Benson
- Methuen City Council Chair Neily Soto
- Methuen City Councilor Yanilda Santos
- Methuen City Councilor Patricia Valley
- Peabody Councilor at Large Jon Turco
Central/West:
- Springfield City Councilor Michael Fenton
- Worcester City Councilor at Large Kathleen “Kate” Toomey
- Worcester City Councilor at Large Morris A. Bergman
- Worcester City Councilor Tony Economou
- Worcester City Councilor Jose Rivera
- Millbury Board of Selectmen Chair Mary Krumsiek
- Worcester School Committee Member Alex Guardiola
South:
- Braintree Town Councilor James Daiute
- Brockton City Council President Jack Lally
- Brockton City Councilor Philip E. Griffin
- Brockton City Councilor Jeffrey A. Thompson
- Brockton School Committee Member Stephen Pina
- Kingston Town Selectman Carl L. Pike
- Plymouth County Register of Deeds John R. Buckley Jr.
- Rockland Town Selectwoman Lori Childs
- Weymouth City Councilor at Large Rick Coughlin
These elected officials join more than a dozen business groups across the state, including Associated Industries of Massachusetts; the Charles River Chamber of Commerce; the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce; the Greater Boston Real Estate Board; MassBio; the Massachusetts Association of Realtors®; the Massachusetts Business Roundtable; NAIOP – Massachusetts, The Commercial Real Estate Development Association; the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce and many more in opposing this ballot question.
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Housing for Massachusetts is a coalition of Massachusetts citizens, small property owners, family-owned real estate companies, affordable housing developers, and housing advocates. We aim to educate and advocate for policies that support housing creation in Massachusetts, improving availability and affordability for all. Learn more at HousingforMass.com
Media Contact:
Julianne Hester
press@housingformass.com