About Me
My background
Thank you for visiting my page. I currently live in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston and was raised in the B.H.A. in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston for over 35 years. As a child, my family faced the same problem as many inner city families today: lack of education, housing and access to directed resources. I was raised by my grandparents in the BHA and though my grandparents encouraged me to pursue my interests, they were unable to guide me toward higher education. They had no idea how to access resources or information about college and higher education. As a result, I dropped out of high school, had a child, and became directionless. However, my uncle, who owned an electrical school, rescued me from this situation. I am now a licensed electrician, and after obtaining my GED and graduating electrical school, I pursued my education in electrical engineering which allowed me to provide for myself and my family.
What I have not yet mentioned in my story is my experience with alcoholism & prescription drugs. I am a recovering alcoholic and addict and have battled this disease throughout my life. I've tossed aside and neglected important relationships, got divorced and lost jobs along the way. Although today I have a great relationship with my ex-wife, I'm sure she could tell ya a few stories about what makes ma a lousy husband! Years have passed now, one day at a time and I'm grateful my youngest son has no memory of his father in this condition and he is turning 19 in May. Everything I've achieved has been due to the arrest of my addiction. The correlation of sacrifice & service to my happiness is direct & the necessity for peoples like myself to be of service, to reach back in and lift up the parts of our community that need help is paramount. We give attention and respect to all but especially to those of us within the community who are suffering, that are homeless, battling mental health issues and that perhaps are the most misunderstood. Unfortunately often times the resources designed to help them are just not reaching them or perhaps even worse, not offered leaving them in the same paradox so many low income residents get stuck in. And now we find out that funding keeps getting mishandled and cut and our elected politicians are being indicted for fraud and nepotism. We are the ones who have to pay for this erroneous behavior. Unfortunately there are elected officials that all to often neglect the role and ability to truly care and effect true change. Not political talk or points but real change. Look, I understand what I am up against. I am not a career politician. I don't have any strong political allies or friends. I'm not part of their crowd. What I do have is a desire to affect change. Change within the policies that are increasingly making it harder for us every day. Policies that make it easier for our young people to get good descent jobs in spite of what their record may say in the past. We all have a past. Whether the best candidate for a job had been arrested and dismissed in the past is not particularly important to me. What is important however, is the respect of my community and the way I achieve it. I believe I have a lot to offer my neighbors and friends. So here it is: My name in Michael Grant and I am seeking the city council seat representing District 4. Please consider lending me your support to represent you in 2025! I promise to do what I say and say what I do
Michael Grant 4 Boston!!
My top issues
There are numerous issues within City Hall that I believe need attention. The current elected officials seem to be having a hard time working together to rectify these issues. This list is long so I will share 3 issues that mean a lot to me. My first issue is one that I believe most Bostonians are struggling with, Housing. The fact that we have a housing shortage in Boston coupled with the ever rising rent prices are decimating working class Bostonians. Our wages are just not keeping up with the price of living. The mayor and city council have spoken extensively about this publicly, however there is no tangible evidence that anything is being done to address this serious inconsistency. This is called rent gouging and is illegal. This has gotten way out of control. I recently spoke with 2 people who have full time jobs but are homeless and living in their car because they just cannot afford the cost of living in Boston.
The second issue is criminal justice/C.O.R.I. reform. Please don't misunderstand, I am pro police & order and for safe neighborhoods. This issue is 2 fold. First, I think we need to work on a solution that fosters a good partnership between the police and the community. Right now there are too many complaints regarding illegal searches, traffic stops & wrongful arrests and detention. This may seem like a small thing in the grand scheme of things however it infringes upon our rights and causes lasting consequences & serious resentment. These complaints are supposed to be investigated by an independent body which often is not with no consequence or retraining for the offending officer. There is a principle behind this and in order for something to called a principle it must apply to everyone equally, including officers, most importantly officers. Again, please don't mistake what I'm saying. I have several good friends that are Boston police officers. Most are great honest officers, Most! The current policy seems to be "arrest them and let the court work it out". Well the problem with that is even after your found not guilty or out right dismissed due to their mistake, that arrest follows you around forever where employs and public can view. It may reflect dismissed within your C.O.R.I. however the damage has been done. The candidate with nothing on their record will almost always get the job over the candidate with the charge on his record even though is was dismissed. Law enforcements argument is that this information is still pertinent to them even if its a dismissal. I'm not sure how an innocent mans wrongful arrest on their record helps anyone. Maybe we can make that info available only to law enforcement and not employers or the public. The last issue I'd like to share a bit about would be one of the foremost reasons I decided to run for district 4 seat and that is the corruption and lack of representation for all Bostonians within City Hall. This coupled with the lack of desire to work together is crippling. It appears that some of these councilors have put themselves on a pedestal of separation from the rest of us. For the 3rd time in recent years another councilor is being indicted and stepping down. Its almost like they cant help being corrupt, then lying about it. Its just not a good look, the optics are bad for anyone paying attention. I'm not sure what myself or anyone can do but my goodness we have to try. Lastly, Ill leave you with this. While we were out getting ballot signatures and speaking to the residents in my community, not one knew who their councilor was. I promise to be present for my community and listen to the issues that are important to you. If its an issue with you, its an issue with me. Thanks for taking a few minutes and I hope we can earn your support!
-Mike-
MG4BOSTON
My involvement
Describe your involvement with organizations and events.