Public school teacher Chris Boyd is looking to take down incumbent Jake Auchincloss in the race for Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a district that includes Newton and stretches nearly a dozen communities south of Boston.

“[Current politicians] are not fighting for everyday people like you and me,” Boyd said in an interview with The Heights. “They’re fighting to keep their jobs and get as much fundraising as they can, so they can keep their jobs, and it’s a vicious cycle, and I think we can just do better than that.”

Years of frustration encouraged Boyd to run for Congress, some of which stemmed from the United States’ handling of the 2008 recession.

“There wasn’t really an individual turning point,” Boyd said. “It was just years and years of watching this … it sort of started back in the recession because, seeing how they reacted to the recession, I think one person went to jail, and it was basically a slap on the wrist for them. And we should have sent hundreds or thousands of people to prison.”

Boyd, who grew up in Bellingham, Mass., said the recession had a significant impact on his family and required them to rely on their community. 

“My family, we grew up on food stamps,” Boyd said. “We grew up with a lot of community support.”

One of the most important support systems of Boyd’s early life was his school’s music department, which he became involved in after trying the drums in his fifth-grade band.

“[Music] really provided a sense of community for me in a time when my family was struggling, and it gave me a place to be,” Boyd said. 

Boyd was later motivated to become a music teacher in public schools across the state, and he currently teaches at Whitin Intermediate School in Uxbridge, Mass.

“That community, especially as I got into high school, really made me feel welcome and wanted, and it gave me extra role models, and that sort of inspired me to go into music education because I wanted to provide that same community for my students,” Boyd said. 

Jeff Daniels, the band director at Danvers High School—where Boyd used to work as a percussion director—described Boyd as someone who cares deeply about his students and is highly motivated.

“The students really liked him a lot,” Daniels said. “They were very sad when he left, too. He was a very passionate educator. So, one of his biggest strengths was—and this is good for any teacher—was building those positive relationships with students.”

Boyd’s former coworker at Randolph High School, Bill Whitney, was not surprised by his bid for Congress. 

“If I were to think of all the people I know who might just be like, ‘You know what? F—k it, I’m running for office’, he is one of my friends who I’d be like, ‘Oh yeah, actually, I’m doing that,’” Whitney said. 

If elected, Boyd says that his first and biggest priority would be the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

“We need to impeach Donald Trump and all of his lackeys,” Boyd said. “That is the first thing, because we can’t get anything done with an authoritarian maniac in the White House and all of his big billionaire buddies behind him. Think your Peter Thiels, your Elon Musks—you can’t have all these people in power.”

Boyd’s progressive platform aims to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), implement a universal basic income, pass Medicare for All, make public college tuition free, and overturn the Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court decision. He also demands an immediate end to the war in Gaza and wants to expand the size of the House of Representatives. 

He emphasized that he would refuse to take corporate Political Action Committee (PAC)  money. 

“I think we need politicians who are willing to take big swings with big ideas,” Boyd said. “We don’t need another politician who accepts corporate money and then plays it safe so that they can appease all of their constituents.”

Boyd’s criticisms of the current state of Congress extend deep. He highlighted how congresspeople refuse to put their names on the bills they sign, especially on programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which Boyd relied on throughout his childhood.

“Don’t put bills behind committee,” Boyd said. “Put these Republicans on the record voting against SNAP. Put them on the record voting against these big ideas. Bring them to a vote and make them put their f—king name on the decisions that they’re supporting.”

Boyd’s refusal to take corporate money, lack of political experience, and lack of public media exposure put Boyd at a disadvantage as he tries to take down Auchincloss in November. 

Yet Boyd is not the only one in the running: AI researcher Jason Poulos, along with lesser-known candidates Steve Chasse and Ihssane Leckey, are all joining him on the ballot, according to Ballotpedia.

Boyd explained that Auchincloss, who won 22.4 percent of the Democratic primary vote when first running in 2020 at a 1.4 percent margin, lacks energy and interest in change. 

“The incumbent has money, but he doesn’t have energy behind him,” Boyd said. “He has money. We have people who are interested in change … I think getting a progressive into office is like, whichever of the three progressive candidates we have in this race—and one of them is not Jake, I’ll tell you that—I think getting one of them into office is more important than which one.”

More than anything, Whitney believes that Boyd’s character sets him apart from the other candidates in this upcoming midterm election.

“He genuinely gives a shit,” Whitney said. “If you talk to him, he’ll listen, and if there’s a concern, he will try to address it … if I was in the district, I’d vote for him.”