Michael McGraw-Herdeg

I'm a parent in Brookline looking to represent the interests of our kids. I've lived in town since April 2014 and feel so fortunate to be here. My two kids are getting a wonderful education in our schools. I enjoy exploring our vibrant local business scene, meeting and working with our neighbors, and going out to many parks and playgrounds across town. 

I work as a software engineer and settled in Brookline after working in big cities (London) and suburbs (Redmond, WA) and going to school just across the river (at MIT in Cambridge). Having seen many different sized municipalities, I'm encouraged that our town often works very well and am grateful to the staff and volunteers who keep it running.

Town Meeting is a large group that works collaboratively to achieve political outcomes good for our whole town. Here are the key issues I'm thinking about helping with:

(1) We must keep good, well-run, and well-funded schools. Our kids deserve this, and it's part of why many people choose to live here. Town Meeting has influence because they set the total school budget amount.

(2) We need contingency plans to "keep the lights on" for town services if we abruptly lose any federal funding. In our post-January 2025 climate it's unsafe to rely on any continued federal support. Town Meeting sets our budget priorities.

(3) We need to protect our residents from the unlawful and frightening federal snatch-and-grab operations that have begun to target student visa holders and lawful permanent residents. I will be honest: I do not understand how local government can effectively protect our residents. But we need to work together to try, to show our neighbors that we care about them and are finding ways to help protect them. 

I'm proud to be endorsed by Brookline for Everyone and the Brookline Equity Coalition.