 Hi, my name's Eric Nakajima and I'm happy to be with you today to share with you the reasons why I'm running for state representative for the Third Hampshire district and Amherst, Pellum and Granby I've been out campaigning since the beginning of March knocking on doors going to events and meeting you and I've had some absolute blast doing so we're going to be campaigning hard straight through September 4th But there's a chance I might not get a chance to make it to your door if I don't I'd love to hear from you Please write me at Eric Nakajima gmail.com or contact me through my website at Eric Nakajima.com You can also find out great information there about my background and positions on issues as well as learn how to volunteer or donate to the campaign One of the big things I've heard from people during this campaign is How unsettling to these times are where there's national issues with Donald Trump going after the environment Undocumented immigrants the rights of women and under cutting collective bargaining and the rights of unions or even in our own community Where over the last few months we've now lost our entire legislative delegation up and down the Pioneer Valley One through a tragic death another through resignation and then through other retirements that are occurring Even in the town of Amherst with our turnover in a town government to a new town council We're looking forward to an entire new day That's exciting, but it also can be deeply unsettling I share those concerns and it's one of the reasons why I'm running to be state representative At every step of the way in my life. I've been happy to take on challenges that help to bring people together Work collaboratively through consensus building techniques to bring my expertise in public policy To make a difference on things that really matter to us That's why I took on the school committee a little less than two years ago We all know that we face significant challenges in our school district. Well, I'm a proud product of our schools My mom is a school teacher in our district a number of years ago I graduated from Amherst public schools as well as UMass and I understand deeply the value of public education as a Gateway to opportunity in life to expand your horizons for personal and human fulfillment and to be a full member of our community It was absolutely unacceptable to me that our schools would be allowed to be not only in disarray But also as governance issue, but also to become a bit of a laughingstock frankly when I would go around the state That's why I stepped in to be chair of the regional school committee The members of the school committee are fantastic. We work together and I think we've made substantial progress That's one of the skills. I want to bring to bear a real devotion to this community a devotion to working collaboratively with others and A devotion to results. I think that's needed more than ever now If you look at what's going on nationally with the rollback of EPA regulations And if you look at what's going on here in our state with chronic under-investment and public education skyrocketing student debt and Frankly kind of a flat or stagnating efforts on climate change where we need to invest in green infrastructure Green buildings including zero energy energy elementary schools We need to fully fund chapter 70, which is a state program that funds our schools And I deeply believe because of the amount of money we need to do this over a billion dollars by many estimates We need to separate out charter school funding from our local municipal budgets to fund a separate state-line item We all know our property taxes are higher than we'd like them to be Puts a lot of strain on seniors and many other families So we need to do more at the state level to relieve the burden on our communities and on climate change I strongly believe we need to move to a carbon pollution fee one that creates a fund to invest in green infrastructure And mitigation of for low-income families and communities and also that expands transportation and public transit We also need a progressive income tax to do the same thing These are specific issues They need to be addressed and they're going to take a lot of hard work to do That's why I'm so pleased to be able to bring my experience not only in our community But also on Beacon Hill as assistant secretary for governor Patrick I served eight years working with legislators municipal officials labor unions and many others in order to be able to draft Legislation and implement programs that are making a difference people right now across to our Commonwealth I want to bring that experience and those skills to you here in the Third Hampshire district That's why I'd be honored to have your vote and your help in this race and your partnership after September 4th Again, please write me at Eric Nakajima calm to learn more and please reach out I'd love to talk to you and work with you now and in the future. Thanks so much