 Hi, I'm Mindy Dom, I'm running for state representative from Amherst, Pellum and the first precinct of Granby. I want to thank Amherst Media for this opportunity and I want to thank you for listening. Up until about five years ago, I spent most of my work life working in the HIV epidemic, initially making sure that government programs were available to people who were sick, and later advocating and pressuring the federal government to recognize and respond to the epidemic. Over the years, I continued to work in the epidemic as a community educator, a public health trainer, a community organizer and an advocate. My work brought me into churches, synagogues, factories, homeless shelters, drug and alcohol treatment programs, detoxes, jails, hospitals, school auditoriums, even bars and beauty shops. Working in the epidemic for me was more than just teaching people about a retrovirus and how our immune system works. For me it was about how we care for one another as a community. It was about how social acceptance and social rejection can become public health issues, and how we offer or don't offer people the information, the tools and support they need to lead healthy lives. It showed me that the essence of government service is responding to people in need. The epidemic was a place where the reality of who has access to doctor and insurance dictated, who was visible, who got care, who receives treatment, who even gets to participate in research trials. Fighting for people's right to love, who they choose, fighting stigma, addressing racial justice in health. The epidemic engaged me on all of these issues. Some people call it advocacy, I also call it solidarity. Fast forward to the past five years where I've been the executive director at the Amherst Survival Center, a unique organization in our region, the Commonwealth and the country, and every day people come to the Amherst Survival Center to offer support, assistance, and be a community for one another with respect, fairness, and dignity. While I've been at the center, I've been proud to be a part of expanded programs around access, food and nutrition, and advocacy. Here's what I believe, social change happens when we work in coalition with each other, and working in coalition with each other requires experience, expertise, strategic thinking, and bringing everyone to the table. I know how government works as a government official, a state-funded administrator, and advocate. I enjoy working with you and others to make government work for everyone. Here are the issues that motivate me every day. I want full funding for public education. Addressing our school budget shortfalls means we need to deal with the reality that charter schools are draining much-needed resources from our public schools with no public scrutiny. I will fight to keep the cap on the number of charter schools in Massachusetts. I oppose expanding enrollment in existing charter schools, and I support full funding of initiatives that decrease the cost of charter schools for our towns. I am committed to finding ways to create debt-free community colleges, trade schools, and public higher education. I am committed to responding to student hunger. I will fight for economic equality, and I will advocate fiercely for a living wage, food security, affordable housing, expanded public transit, and especially strong unions. I will fight to protect the environment and respond to the climate crisis. I will champion universal health care, Medicare for All, with a single-payer system. I will champion reproductive rights and everyone's right to determine the families they wish to create. I will champion human rights, including LGBTQI, defending workers' rights, and protecting immigrant rights. I will fight for more criminal justice reform and racial justice in the Commonwealth, and I will fight for economic development that represents our goals to promote green economy, our creative economy, our region's farming economy, and investments in UMass. It's 2018. I'm a progressive Democrat running to fight back against Trump, leverage our district's expertise, and make the Democratic Party more progressive. As your state representative, I will seek out opportunities to create space to hear from people, to listen carefully, to engage them in others' advocacy, and to build coalitions. I have a track record of getting things done. Policy starts with people's needs and challenges. As your state representative, I will seek out information and I will act. Please join this campaign by going to www.mindydom.com, and I hope I can earn your support and vote on September 4th. Thank you.