Mayor Erin Joyce Loves Braintree As It Is, Which Is Why It Must Change

BRAINTREE, MA — Mayor Erin Joyce spoke at length on Tuesday about her visions for Braintree, what it means to be the first woman to hold the position and, perhaps most interestingly, what changes she believes the town must fight for.

Joyce shared the story of her family planting roots in Braintree.

It was the summer of 2007 and the Joyce family was buying their first home on Merritt Avenue. Joyce's husband, Mike, couldn't even look at the home due to illness, but Joyce was smitten, and the family moved in.

"Buying our first home in Braintree was a huge investment. Starting our family in Braintree was a dream," Joyce said.

The family stayed in the home until 2013 when they moved across town into a home near Hollis Elementary School, Joyce said. New friendships were established in that neighborhood, as was the education foundation for the next generation of the Joyce family.

"We are so lucky to have put our roots down in Braintree, and as mayor, my administration wants you to be able to put roots down, and your family to be able to put roots down, and we want you to be able to stay in Braintree," Joyce said.

The remark was a lead-in to the second half of her speech, in which she stated emphatically: "The town of Braintree is going to change."

That doesn't necessarily mean Joyce is coming in hammer in hand, swinging away at the bones of the establishment built in Braintree.

Change, she said, can be small and incremental, but it must happen.

"Towns were never meant to be built to a final state," she said. "They are always evolving. With time and people, they transform."

Earlier in Joyce's speech, she discussed affordable housing for both seniors and young families in the community. At this point, she spoke directly about the areas of the community newly designated as MBTA community zones, areas designated for growth and revitalization in the new town master plan and at places like South Shore Plaza.

While she acknowledges that a complete consensus won't ever be reached, and that the town itself will have to make compromises in some negotiations, she believes her administration to find ways to build toward long-term stability.

Joyce ran on a platform of developing economic stability within Town Hall. One of the first ways she plans to follow through on that promise is to hire an economic development professional who will work with the mayor's office and the planning department.

This person will focus on business development and conduct outreach with businesses already operating in town. But the position will also have a regional angle, ensuring that Braintree is a part of the discussions when it comes to regional economics.

"Our town has struggled to find the right fit for development, and we've seen sluggish to no growth in the past few years," Joyce said. "We cannot keep that pace if we want to be fiscally responsible and stable."

Braintree has fiscal challenges to address in Joyce's first year at the helm, with a less than rosy spending picture in the fiscal year 2024 budget. Still, Joyce's economic vision is clear: Right the budget ship, and get active in business development as soon as possible.