Despite the costliness of the tax credit and other expensive programs, such as increasing health care benefits to immigrants and low-income families, many of Barrios' ideas have been passed into law with bipartisan support.

For example, the Community Preservation Act was passed through the joint effort of local and state officials who established a fund to rejuvenate Cambridge's parks.

The program was also sponsored by Republican Governor A. Paul Cellucci, whose clashes with the Democratic legislator have been angry and often, and who also supported the tax credit as part of his push for less government bureaucracy.

But although Barrios has mastered the art of practical politics since his election to the House of Representatives in 1998, his agenda is still a liberal one--and he is proud of it.

This shows in his support of the living wage campaign for human service workers, an issue which traditionally falls along party lines.

Barrios criticizes the "mistakes of the Republican administration" in allowing the wage for social workers to fall almost 25 percent over the last 10 years.

"They weren't paid so well to begin with," Barrios says. "Since Weld and Cellucci, their wages have fallen considerably."

Barrios' door-to-door campaigning style has been one of the major factors in his popularity. The public has been receptive to his message because of the simple fact that he listens to them.