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MASSACHUSETTS
Raul Fernandez has a deep understanding of how public policy can support and impede thriving. Fernandez grew up in Spanish Harlem and the Bronx in a family of union transit workers. While Raul attended Bronx High School of Science, the public high school in his zoned district graduated fewer than 3 in 10 students. This contrast motivated his work around equitable education. Fernandez has extensive and varied experience in the education ecosystem; he holds a doctorate in education from Boston university where he is a lecturer in this subject area, he is also a member of SEIU Local 509. Raul’s commitment to quality education transcends academia as he serves on the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Racial Imbalance Advisory Council and served on the Brookline Select Board, where he was also elected Vice Chair by his peers. As part of his Select Board role, Fernandez pushed initiatives that helped Brookline re-imagine policing, secure additional funding for public housing and fight identity-based harassment. Raul is one of five “Courage Democrats” that Sonia Chang-Díaz has chosen to support for the remainder of the election cycle.
POLICY
Raul Fernandez led five community conversations with local advocates and public policy experts on the five areas where he heard the most urgency from Brookline residents: racial justice, the climate crisis, housing, education, and economic justice. He has released platforms on each of these policy topics and plans to release a platform on reproductive justice in the upcoming weeks. Fernandez has also emphasized State House transparency and accountability in his campaign, and has signed the Act On Mass Transparency pledge, committing him to vote for House rules reform when elected.
DEEP DEMOCRACY DYNAMICS
Raul Fernandez’s deep connection with community organizations in Brookline means that his campaign is helping develop the long-term political capacity of their members—for example, by training new canvassers and investing in relational organizing. This connection also means that community groups are well-equipped to hold him accountable to his commitments while he is in office.
CAMPAIGN TEAM AND THE FIELD
Fernandez’s campaign has emphasized direct voter outreach on the doors. The campaign has already completed two passes of its core super-voter universe and is moving on to an expansion universe. Raul’s staff includes a full-time Campaign Manager, a full-time Organizing Director, two part-time paid fellows from Brookline, and Rivera Consulting team as general consultants and strategists.
In addition to the support of Sonia Chang-Díaz, Raul has been endorsed by several current and former elected officials including U.S. Representative Joe Kennedy, former Congressional candidate and two-term Brookline Select Board member Jesse Mermell, Select Board member Miriam Aschkenasy, several Brookline School Committee members, and dozens of elected members of Brookline’s Town Meeting.
FUNDRAISING & OPPORTUNITIES FOR GIVING
The campaign has raised $110,000 from 867 contributions since launch, including 345 contributions from within Brookline. In addition to maintaining staffing through the summer and into GOTV, the campaign is raising additional funding to run a persuasion and GOTV targeted mail program. Donate