It's Night Side with Dan Ray. I'm WBZY, Boston's new radio.
All right, nine o'clock, just about to start here on night Side. You've arrived just in time. My name is Dan Ray, and we are going to talk a little politics with a favorite guest of ours, Massachusetts State Senator Peter Durant. Peter, Welcome to Nightside. How are you, sir.
I'm doing well. Thanks for having me on, Dan Well.
I followed the news, of course, like everyone else does, and you've been in the news a little bit the last few days, and it looks like you're at least thinking about the possibility of running for governor a year and a half or so from now, in twenty twenty six. I don't expect you to make an announcement here on Nightside, but I love to know what goes through the mind
of a politician like yourself who's been very successful. I mean, you're elected as a member of the Republican Party in a state that's a Democratic state, overwhelmingly as a state representative, and then you stepped up a little bit challenged for a Senate seat, which is a more exclusive group the Senate, for those who don't know, in Massachusetts, only has forty members in the House has one hundred and sixty members.
So now you're in, you know, kind of a obviously an equivocal branch of the legislation of the legislature, but it's senators a little bit more little.
You represent more communities, all of that.
And now, I don't know what it appears to me that you're thinking about maybe.
A statewide run. How do you process that you and for your family?
Yeah, it's a really good question. Sometimes I ask myself that same thing, you know, Dan, Yeah, we're thinking about it. But as you point out, it's it's a process. And I mean I think, first of all, of course, it starts with, you know, asking yourself, do you do you like? Do you like what you see?
Right?
And obviously the answer to that is no, And not just because I'm a Republican and the governor's a Democrat, but you know, I don't think we see a lot of leadership in the corner office at this time, and I don't think we have for a couple of years now. So you know, you start to ask yourself questions, you say, do you think you can do a better job? Right? You know, my wife once said to me that you know,
you can't complain and not do anything about it. And so you know, you kind of start having those conversations with your wife and with your with your supporters, with your with your team, and you start to you start to think about if it's possible or not. And it's not an easy it's not an easy question to answer, you know. It's it's a big undertaking. It involves every waking hour of your time if we decide to do it,
and it involves a ton of money. And so it's there's a lot of different factors that go into it. It's it's, uh, it's got so many different moving parts, you know.
Uh.
But I always do say people always asking me, they ask me the same thing all the time, and you say, oh, what's next for you? You know? And at one point we saw that it was the Senate. You know this, this looks like a good thing to do, and it looks like we can go there, so we'll give it a shot. And but I always used to say to people is when they ask that question, what's next for you? I always used to say, I don't know, but we'll
know it when we see it. And so we're kind of wondering if we see it right now, and you know, in some days, you know, some days you think, oh, yeah, definitely, and then other days you're like, oh yeah, are you nuts? You can't do this?
So with Bill Hammer and a lot of those things.
Though, let me put this in some perspective for our listeners, because this is I think fascinating to talk to someone who is contemplating something like this. When you're a state representative, you represented? How how many communities there are three hundred and fifty one cities and towns in Massachusetts. How much did you represent when you were a state representative.
As state rep I represented four districts, four towns.
Did that district ever change during the time you were a member of the House of Representatives or did it say stable it?
Surprisingly, it only changed because I came in in a special election in twenty eleven. We were going through a redistricting year, so I literally spent six months in that district and then it changed. But that was it. It hadn't changed in the next reistrict, so I pretty much did the same for the next twelve years.
So what were the communities that you represented as a member of the House.
As a member of the House. I represented Spencer, Charlton, Dudley, and Salthbridge.
Did you pick all of those towns up when you became a state senator?
Were they all member? Were they all part of your new Senate district?
No, only my hometown of Spencer was, so I have Yeah, twenty to the Senate district is twenty two towns. Only Spencer was part of that. So yeah, so twenty two cities. Two cities in the twenty towns all brand new to me.
So which of the cities?
So it's Worcester, just a little piece of Worcester and then Gardner.
Okay, so you now, if you add in the towns that you represented as a state representative with the other towns you now have represented in the legislature over the course of your career, twenty five of the three hundred and fifty one cities and towns in Massachusetts.
Ye.
So, I mean that's almost really ten percent of the state. I mean, so you've represented a pretty good swath of Massachusetts.
So that's interesting.
Republicans do better in central Massachusetts than they do out in the Berkshafts or Republican Okay, you do better on the Cape.
I learned.
Actually, I was watching an interview that Jake Congressman Jake Auchincloss had done with The New York Times, And I don't know if you're aware of this, but did you know that the city of Fall River, which is an overwhelmingly Democratic city, actually voted for Donald Trump last fall the first time, the first time that the city of Fall River had voted for a Republican presidential candidate in over one hundred years.
Yeah, it's it's pretty amazing. But in you're absolutely right, Dan, and those kind of things factor in when you talk about, well, when you talk about how in this presidential election, how this state did shift a little. Yeah, I think it was the second most of any state in the country.
So I didn't realize yeah, okay.
Yeah, which is obviously he's still you know, President Trump still lost the state by a wide margin. I think you got forty two thirty eight percent. So he still lost by March, but he had he had moved it by about eight points. And so you know, when you when as you kind of go through this process, you
think about that. And that's one of those things that you have to pay attention to, is that you're not living in a bubble, and Central Mass is a fairly red area, except for, of course, the city of Worcester, but central Mass, Wincester County is pretty red. And you have to realize, as you just said, you know, everybody's lives in Wister County, they live in Suffolk County, they
live in Middlesex, and those are much bluer. You get some red areas, as you say, down in the Cape, in the south Shore, and then there's a there's a good pocket up on the north Shore as well. But you have to focus that in and one of the important things is is that you don't just you sit in this bubble. You know, I had a back when I started in politics. I had a political advisor that gave me the best advice, and they said, don't listen to your friend, because your friends are going to tell
you got this in the bag. Don't worry about it, and it will cause you not to work. They said, Yo, listen to your friends. You just work and and win your race. And so you kind of have to be careful of that. It's it's something that you have to think about. And you know, remember too, Dan that my wife she ran for Lieutenant governor a couple of years ago, so you know what that process is all about as well, and it's it's consuming.
Oh I.
I always go back to the great story that Tip O'Neil told many years ago that when he was a student at Boston College, his first bid for elective office I believe was for the school committee in the city of Cambridge. Uh, and he lost by a single vote. And I've heard this. I've never gone back and checked the records, and I hope that Tip wasn't wasn't telling it.
As you know, I think it's a true story. So he thanked the people on his street, went around the day after the election and thanked them all for voting for him, including his next door neighbor who he thanked. And his next door neighbor looked at then Tom O'Neill, who was probably twenty one years old sometime in the nineteen thirties, and said, well, why do you think I voted for you? And he said, well, I've known you my entire life, babysitter, I assumed you voted for me.
She said, you never asked me to vote for you.
And Tip used to always tell that story, and again it was an allegory or whether it was actually the specific proof. So I think you ask people to vote for you, and if you can't meet all six million people in the Commonwealth, but you can, you get out there.
So lit'st do this.
I want to talk We'll put the conversation about a potential campaign aside and I want to take a break. And what I want to do is talk about the stay of the Republican Party. And I want to talk about more Healey. Governor Healey. There are more and more stories every day that she's thinking about running for president in twenty twenty eight. That adds another element to this formula, this equation, which yeah, so I want to talk about that. And I also want to talk about how the legislature
is doing. And I want to talk about I'm assuming that you are not only in the minority as a Republican, but you're in the minority as a legislator. You're in favor I assume of what the Democratic State Auditor Diana Desauglio wants to do, which is to audit the books of both the House and the Senate. I assume, so
I am I'm going to talk about some of that. Okay, my guest is State Senator Peter Durant, if you like to talk to one of the forty members of the Massachusetts State Senator Senate, I should say, and there are now four Republicans now that cal has five five, Oh my goodness.
Unbelievable to twenty percent boosts.
It's enough for a caucus. I mean, five of five of forty. That's okay. It's a it's a hearty band, that is for sure. Uh.
And if you'd like to talk politics, you can do that as well. Six one, seven, two, five, four ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty Back with Massachusetts State Senator Peter Durant, a Republican from Central MASSACHUSETTSS district kind of between Gardner and Worcester, if you know the geography of the state. And we'll be back on Nightside with more conversation with Peter Durrant. And I hope some phone calls from some of you back on nightside right after this.
Now back to Dan ray Line from the Window World.
Night Side Studios on.
W b Z the news radio, My guess state Senator Massachusetts State Senator Peter Durrant, Republican who is at least thinking about running for governor. I assume that there are probably others. How important is it, Peter for the Republicans to have a legitimate contender in twenty twenty six to run against Governor Healey, who I'm sure wants to win reelection and maybe maybe use that as a launch a launch pad for a presidential campaign.
Sure, I mean, you know, look, that's what we're really focused on, is making sure that we put the best person forward. You know, one of the things I've said is is that, you know, Dan, I don't have to be the leader. I don't have to be the governor. Let's find who out who the best person can be.
It.
If it ends up being me, okay, then we're going to go in. We're going to be one hundred percent behind this. But you know, Massachusetts has had a history of electing Republican governors. They actually the people of Massachusetts have historically said we like a little bit of divided government where we have a fiscally conservative governor and then the legislature itself is a balance of more liberal priorities.
And it has worked. It's worked. Look, we've only had two demo credit governors in the past thirty years, and so that's something that Massachusetts does. Like, our job as a party is to make sure that we put the best person forward. We find out who that is there are, you know, and I've talked to the other candidates as well, or at least the other people who have expressed interest, and you know, there's gonna be a primary and we'll all figure out how it works. But but yeah, it's
this is the number one thing. We have an opportunity here to take back the corner office and more. Heally, you're right, it certainly appears that she's trying to elevate her national profile. She I mean, you know, it only makes sense that that means she wants to run for president.
But I don't know how that works because if you're going around touting some kind of Massachusetts miracle as the governor right now, I would say that makes it kind of tone death if you don't see what's actually going on around you, and you're going to go out to America and say, hey, let's make America like Massachusetts said, I think he's going to have a problem.
Well, I will say this. I mean there's been a lot of recent in recent years. I mean, the last president from Massachusetts we've had you know several, both of the Adages and President Kennedy, and there's been one or two others along the way. But if you go back in the last few years, Governor Ducacus, you know failed. You know, he was at a tough time running because Ronald Reagan had done a great job in my opinion, as President of the United States.
Argey was for a change.
He lost to a Brigan's vice president George Bush. But then you know, Ted Kennedy has certainly looked at it, looked at it. In nineteen eighty he couldn't beat Jimmy Carter the Democratic primary. Paul Songus, John Kerry. I think Deval Patrick thought about running for it, although I don't think he ever. He may have formally announced for it, but he didn't stay in it long. But so Massachusetts is not a state that has turned out presidents, have
turned out Democratic presidential candidates. And of course mid Romney also from Massachusetts on the other side of the aisle, he took a shot at it and that didn't work too well, as did Paul Songers, Member Senator Sungus in too. So so yeah, it's it's I if I would advise it to Governor Heay I would say, be careful what you wish for, because you never know. So let's talk what sort of a rating would you give her? Is there any areas that you feel she's.
Done well in?
Well, if you're gonna if we change that around and say, are there any areas that she's done well in? I think one of the things that we can point to is an appointment of filling over at the NBTA. I think I think Phil's doing a fairly good job over there. It's a it's an enormous task with an agency that's just been plagued with problems, as you know, over the years, and and so I think Phil's been doing a good job. I think he's he's doing the best job that he
can with the system that he has. So I think we could point to something like that, But I just see so many other problems than that that go along with what more Healy's doing. She she stumbles from crisis to crisis and seemingly doesn't see something coming until it's upon us. We just, you know, just looked recently at the electric rates going through the roof. I mean, we knew this was coming. These rates were put in place
in November, and we all knew they were coming. Yet they show up and it's, oh my god, what's going what's going on? I demand to know why the raisers are really.
Here's the thing that it was interesting And here's the thing was really interesting to me about that when she she basically told the commissioners to lower the rates five percent for all utility providers, and the utilities get back and said, will lower the rates ten percent. I mean, it was like I actually felt that she would have been smarter and she wouldn't take it. Didn't take my advice,
but I advised her on the air. I think she should have asked for the resignations of those three DPU commissioners and said, you know, thank you for your service, but based upon this debacle of this winter, I don't I don't think that we need your.
Service next year. And I would I would, I would ask them to resign.
Was that something that you might have considered if you had been in the corner office?
Well, you know, it's honestly hard to put myself into that positions too, but you're right. Here's the thing is is those rates were approved, right, it was a thirty plus percent increase in rates that were approved by the DPW. Now she controls the DPW, so and so she should she could have done that. But and look at that when she said we're going to do I demand to be reduced by five percent. Remember what the next sentence was was, but you can get it back in the summer.
Absolutely, So it's a it's.
By the way, with interest, So I might as well just put I might as well just put my electric bill on my credit card because it's the same thing. So your your solution to lowering rates was to actually make people pay more. So that really made no sense to me. But at the end of the day, Dan, one of the things, look, you got to go back to why are the rates going up so high?
Now?
Again, rates are set based on the previous winter and things of that nature.
It was cold.
I get all of that. But at the root of this matter is the fact that more Healy was very proud to say two years ago that she stopped to natural gas pipelines from coming into the state. The state relies. There's the state. It's seventy five percent of its energy
or it's electricity from natural gas. And so when you have a cold winter, gas gets prioritized to go to the people get a little wonky, but gas gets prioritized for the houses first, for heating, which means the utility companies, the generators you have a tougher time getting them, which of course makes the price go up. It's not rocket science. So we need those natural gas pipelines to come into this state so we can actually have reasonable rates.
But yeah, she played to the NIMBI people, not in my backyard. I want my house warm in the winter, and I want my house the rates as low as they can be, But I don't want a pipeline anywhere near me.
Uh. We're going to take a quick break here for the news at the bottom of the hour, and we're going to talk a little bit more about that. Have you ever looked at the the biographies of these three DPU commissioners, by any chances to Peter.
I have not try it. Try it.
Only one of them has any potential connection educationally or geographically with Massachusetts. It's it's an interesting when you look at their bios. They are truly well from out of state. And I still think that that when you look at the bios, you say to yourself, now, Baker appointed one, and I think Heiley has appointed two. But I think that you should have done somethings and shown some leadership and said, Okay, thank you very much for your service.
We appreciate it. That's that's what I was thinking.
And you know, Dan, as a leader, the most important thing you can do is surround yourself with people who are smart at what they do.
Right.
I always say that my team, you know, I always I always say that they're the ones that make me look good. They know what they're doing and they make me look good. You put people into positions so that they're the experts, they're the ones who know do and you manage them. And we just don't see that happening here.
Yeah, let me take a quick break. I got a newscast.
We'll talk more about that, uh, and talk about the other problems that you see that need to be addressed, what your priorities would be, if indeed you did decide that you wanted to take the next big step. We'll take a break here. My guest is Massachusettstate Senator Peter Durant.
If you'd like to call and ask a question, feel free encourage him or tell him that that you'll love more Healy and that there's no need for change six one seven either way anyway six one seven, two thirty six one seven, nine, three thirty back on night Side.
Right after this.
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZY, Boston's news radio.
All right, let's keep rolling here.
I want to get to phone calls, Peter, and we can we can work in some of your your criticisms of the Healy administration. And I think that that the MBTA Communities Act. I assume that's something that you're not a big supporter of.
Am I correct on that, Yeah, you know, the MBTA Communities Act. I think what I would have liked to have seen is the implementation of this lot. It should have been more along the lines of the community compacts that the Baker administration have done, which is to say, more carrot less stick. Say we understand, you know, we need to build more housing. We'd like you to increase your stock. If you agree to do so, we'll give you will help you out with some grants and things
of that nature. Instead, it's been do this or else, and I just don't think that's the way to go about it.
It also takes away from communities. And again, there's no question here. I just want to make people understand there's no question have some sort of you know, constitutional issue where some community is keeping certain people out of the town, where there's constitutional issues. Now, these are communities who enjoy what their community is. Some some of the more rural, some and more suburban, some are more urban or whatever. And zoning has always been the precinct of the most
local leaders. Communities decide on how their community is going to be zoned. If they don't want liquor stores, or they don't want bowling alleys or drive in theaters, they don't the government can't force that down their throat. But the government is forcing this down people's throats and it's really undercutting I think the most fundamental obligation that a local community has to itself to itself.
I mean, I mean to your point, Cities and towns get to decide how it is that they want to grow, and exactly right through zoning, through their select board or city councils. They get to decide, this is what we want to do, this is how we want to grow. They manage their growth. Instead, what the NBTA communities that just did was it just came along and say, you know, you have to do this and you know, some of those towns and some of my towns are affected by this.
But some of those towns said, you know briefly, so they said, well, we don't want to do that. And if you're not going to give us grants, that's fine. We don't want your grants, but we're not going to do that. And it turned into again this this punitive do this, or will sue you, and it really just handled very very poorly.
I mean, the only next card that they could that the administration could play would be threatened jailing to the select and the aldermen in these communities, and I don't know.
And the other thing is all of the Democrats on in authority and power, they use that authority and power to basically force communities to do what instinctively they don't want to do. But they're not willing to use that force and power and authority to tell the legislature, hey, comply with the law that was passed last fall, which will which mandate that the state auditor audits the legislature. And it's interesting when they want to use power they do.
When they choose not to use power, which in effect is a use of power, they choose not to. Let's get to phone calls, Peter. Let me go to Steve and Cambridge. He's not a constituent, but I suspect he's going to be a fan.
Steve.
You and I live in the state of Massachusetts, so I could be a constituent.
Yes, yes, yes, that's that's sure. Peter likes to hear that. Gored ahead Row State Senator Peter Durrect Peter.
I think the consensus is that Kamala Harris lost to Trump in part because of the Democrats, let's say, emphasis on abortion, DEI, LGBTQ matters, in other words, social issues. How would that figure into a possible full campaign on your part? Would you take that into account or would you simply stay fiscal.
No.
I think we have to, you know, it's I think we have to stay grounded in fiscal responsibility here. I think that a big part of this your law, the loss from the Democrats is exactly that, uh they went in. It was a lot of lecturing and telling people why they're wrong and that you're a bad person, and that you have to do all of these things. I think government asking it back to the basics and do what it is that you're supposed to do, which is boring things.
Keep people safe, educate your kids, right, these are these are kind of boring thing, but it's just we need to we need to do these things. We need to be fiscally responsible and handle our checkbook more appropriately.
Well, Peter, I certainly hope you consider running. And I'm not a complete uh. I think more Healy has handled yourself reasonably well. But I certainly would like to see someone who would concentrate more on fiscal matters and stop lecturing the public on what they should be thinking and whom they should be associating with, et cetera.
I agree. You know, one of the things I've always said to Steve is, you know, the the American dream right is different for everybody, and and people just want to live that. They just want to They just want to be left alone to go about and make their way in life, whatever way works best for them.
Uh.
You know, some people like to start businesses, others like to just you know, I have a job and start a family. And everybody's got these differences. I don't think that it's government's responsibility to be telling you how to how to be a moral person or what you should think in how you should, uh, you know, how you should feel about some of these some of these issues. So I agree. I think at the next governor needs to focus on on physical responsibility and leave the social stuff alone.
Okay, thank you very much, Dan, thank you, Peter.
Thanks Steve, thank you. Great night.
All right, we take a quick break here six one, seven, two, five, four ten thirty one line there also six one seven, nine three one, ten thirty. We try to get everyone in. Stay there.
We have a.
Constituent coming up Tony and Gardner Paul in Boston, and room for you coming back with State Senator Peter Durant. He's a Republican from central Massachusetts and has been asked by many people about potentially running for governor in twenty twenty six as a Republican obviously, and has said that he would consider it and he would make a decision at some point.
And I just thought I would.
Give you an opportunity to listen to him tonight, So when you read about him or see him on television, you're gonna have an opportunity to yourself to say, hey, listen to him.
And maybe even I spoke with him back on night Side right after this.
Now, back to Dan Ray live from the Window World Nightside Studios on w News Radio.
My guest is Massachusetts State Senator Peter Durant. He's a Republican from central Massachusetts. He's been on the phone on the on the show before, and he has been quoted in a couple of news articles that I saw in the last couple of days that he is at least considering the possibility of running for governor in twenty twenty six against more Heali, let's go to Tony and Gardner. Tony would be a constituent of yours.
Peter.
I assume Tony, welcome, you're next time, I side with your state Senator Peter Durant.
Go ahead, right, go.
Ahead, Tony, Tony, Hi, Dan, Hi, Peter.
Thank you very much. And I voted Peter.
He's a he's a great state senator out here.
Thank Peter.
I want to you welcome.
Peter.
I wanted to ask you have you given any thought to maybe extending the Fitchburgh cronkered line for the west towards Gardner. I think if we had a commuter line out here, it would really help the city.
You know.
We yeah, we we have had some talks about that, and I know that that there's been a kind of a concern and something that could go out to Gardener to help that situation out. You know, one of the things that I've said is that we talk a lot about the East West Rail, which is of course down in the southern part of the state through southern Winster County, and one of the things that I have said in the past is, you know, we need to kind of get our house in order at the MBTA first before
we can expand out. But what does make sense between the Fitchburg and Gardener rail is is that's a corridor, a natural corridor for that rail that comes through. And so that's something that we actually are talking about in the state level and trying to trying to figure that out. I think that given the amount of money and it's going to cost and things of that nature, I'd be hard pressed to say that it's something that's going to
happen real soon. But I do know that. But we've been pushing forward with it with a lot of the reps out in that area as well as some of the other senators up there. It is a quarter that is of interest to us.
Great well.
You know, it sounds promising because we have a freight train that comes out here, so we could get the commuter rail.
I think it would be great. Thank you, Peter. Thanks Dan.
All right, Tony, great, claud great question.
That's what a constituent does ask at paul political leader a question and maybe you got the answer you need.
Thanks Tony, appreciate it. Next up is Paul in Boston.
Paul, you were next on nice Ioway State Senator Peter durank A right, hit Paul, all right again.
Are you and getting Senative Sena my contunity boss. A little bit about your education and work experience in the private sector. What had gone downe on the past?
Yeah, so quick, So I guess I'm going to try to go backwards. Prior to becoming a state center, which was back in November twenty three, I was a state representative. I got elected in twenty eleven. Prior to that, I worked in the construction industry. I was a national project manager for a temperature controls company out of Atlanta, and that was from about two thousand or so to about two thousand and eleven. There was a couple of companies
in there. And prior to that, in the eighties and nineties, I had my own temperature controls company in the Wister area that I then sold. So I had some business a business experience through owning my own contracting company. Education wise, I started out of high school. A lot of people don't know this, but I started out of high school. I went down to Florida a college called Florida Tech,
where I actually became a commercial diver. I did that for a very short period of time, and then came back up to Massachusetts where I started my company shortly thereafter a couple of years after that, and and I earned my bachelor's degree during that time from Northeastern University and political science. That's the kind of Nickel tour, the quick thirty second Nickel tour of my life.
So'd you grew up in Massachusetts, Peter? Are you a native?
Yeah?
Yeah, I am. I grew up in I've lived in Spencer all my life. In fact, yeah, the house I live in is next door to the house I grew up in. When my parents at a piece of land and they separated them office as us kids got older, and we have a little what we call the Durant compound out here.
So you wanted to become a diver, a diver, a marine diver. Is that what you were looking to be in for a while.
Yeah, yeah, commercial diver. I want to work in a short stint out in Louisiana, and but it didn't really didn't enjoy it as much as I had had hoped and decided that I would come back up to Massachusetts. It's a it's a tough life.
Yeah, interesting background, Paul, those are great questions. I had never thought to ask those questions. Thank you.
Good management experience.
Yeah sounds great, Paul, appreciate that experience. Yeah, all right, thanks again. Let me get one more call in for State Senator Peter Durant. Let me go to Rick, who is joining us from North Reading. Rick, you're on night side with State Senator Peter Durant, Right.
Ahead, Rick, Hey, senator called, So if if you actually answer this question, I apologize our guess. My question is what is the number one priority you want to go on do elector? And why that ad?
Yeah?
Easy affordability. We need to make Massachusetts more affordable. We have fifty thousand people every year that leave Massachusetts in search of greener pastures, and they're middle class families that that just can't afford to stay here anymore, their kids coming out of college. We've got a great brain trust that comes out of college. They can't afford to stay here. They can't afford to raise a family and buy houses.
So we need to make Massachusetts affordable. And there's so many different things that we can do to get there. We talked earlier about the electricity prices. It's simple things like that. I say simple, you know, simple in concept. They're a little bit more complicated to get done. But we have to bring down the cost of living here, otherwise we're just going backwards in this state we have.
We're coming into a position right now in Massachusetts where our middle class is leaving, so we're left with two classes of people in a wide income disparity. We need to correct that.
Gosha just just want to ask a little bit of an operating question. By you're talking about affordability, are you subseifically referring to housing price or overall everything?
Well, housing is there's a lot of different facets to it. Again, we talked about energy. Housing is an enormous thing we have to build. I think we're short about two hundred thousand units right now. So that's an enormous amount and we get there. The MBTA Communities that looks to solve that problem, but it doesn't do it efficiently and it doesn't do it in a very good way, especially when you have so many towns rebelling against it. But we can.
We did some work with the Housing Bond Bill last year where we made accessory dwelling units by right, so now you can put up some more units. We need to really aggressively go after these commercial buildings that are that are sitting empty now because of you know, more of a remote work type the atmosphere. A lot of those can be converted to housing, as well as old
mills and things of that nature. So we have a lot of building that we need to do, and quite frankly, out in western and central Massachusetts there's more land to build. So I think housing is an enormous issue here in Massachusetts that we have to solve, and we have to solve that as quick as possible.
Those are great question, flat out at time. Thanks Rick, Senator Durant, thank you very much. I appreciate your time tonight and keep us posted as you go through the decision making process. And I happen to think that you would be a wonderful candidate to run for governor.
You've been there for a while, and I think it would be a very interesting race. So let's keep in touch, okay, Peter Durant.
I appreciate it.
If folks want to get in touch with you, what's the easiest way.
The easiest way to go is to reach out to me at Senator Durant dot com. We'd love to say I love to have you all.
One word, Senator Durant du r A n T dot com sounds great.
You got it, Peter.
Thanks, we'll be in touch.
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