Accountability and Change

Image by Paige MacKinnon

AN INTERVIEW WITH REPRESENTATIVE MATTIE DAUGHTRY

BY PAIGE MACKINNON

“We all talk about 2016 being the year of the woman, but what we are about to walk into is the year of accountability on many different fronts.”

— Mattie Daughtry

Representative Mattie Daughtry has been my state representative for eight years and is now running for the District 24 seat on the Maine State Senate. Having met her before and having been her constituent for eight years, I knew that she was passionate, forward-thinking, and driven toward change, but after our interview, I know that she and many other legislators are ready to bring about change and that there is a lot of work that can be done outside of political office.

Accountability

One part of our conversation that really stood out was Mattie’s perspective on what the upcoming election will bring to the political landscape. Representative Daughtry said; 

“We all talk about 2016 being the year of the woman, but what we are about to walk into is the year of accountability on so many different fronts. I want to be able to go home and talk care of my child…I want to make sure I am able to live in my area with access to safe water, I want to make sure that I actually have a chance to survive in my neighborhood. Things are going to change.”

We see that now. Across the nation and the world, conversations around government’s accountability to its citizens and society’s accountability to the world more broadly are occurring. These conversations and the issues they are addressing, such as clean water rights, BIPOC rights and safety, healthcare, climate change, poverty, and education, are not new. However, many of these issues are gaining more attention as the pandemic tears down long-standing structures in our society, and this attention is bringing with it a call for politicians to take responsibility and enact real change. But what can we as citizens do, especially those who aren’t yet eligible to vote, to continue these conversations and ensure that those actions toward accountability are taken? 

The Impact of Young People

In her interview, Representative Daughtry emphasized that there are many changes that need to happen in the coming years and that young people can have an impact in the upcoming election and in the policies that are established in the following years both nationally and locally. In high school, she was involved in voter registration drives to ensure that her peers were voting when she could not. She recommends that the best way for students to make an impact is by being involved in whatever way they can like she did in High School when she organized voter registration drives. This could be working on voter turnout, canvassing and helping on campaigns both local and national, or organizing protests and teach-ins. 

She also encourages holding your representative accountable; Representative Daughtry herself looks at letters and input from the students she speaks to as a guide for her policymaking. Recently, she has seen a shift in student engagement toward very real issues as elementary classrooms discuss climate change and various youth movements gain momentum fighting for justice and equality across the United States. This increase in action is why she sees 2020 as the year of accountability. 

Who can be involved in politics? Everyone.

One of the more powerful and effective political actions you can take is running for office when you see a problem that is not being addressed. When I asked Representative Daughtry what advice she would give young women who are considering running for office, she said, “Just do it.” When she became a Maine legislator, she did not have a law degree, she was not over forty-five, and she did not have a picket fence and two and a half children. She did have conviction, passion, and an ability to listen, the three things she sees as what qualifies someone for office.

Her advice: think about what matters to you and what makes you passionate about your community and use that because “when it comes to policy, government impacts all of our lives at any age whether you’re just born or whether you’re retiring….and what you have to offer and what you have to say is important.”  Your age and your experience do not and cannot restrict your engagement in your local, state, and national politics.

Jill Schupp

INTERVIEW BY EVELYN SMYTH

Photograph from Jill Schupp

JILL SCHUPP, MISSOURI STATE SENATE, REPRESENTING THE 24TH DISTRICT

On reluctance to vote for herself: There was a Rabbi of ancient times, Rabbi Hillel, whose quote stays with me to the day. And what he said was “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” And since that time, putting that quote together with that reluctance to vote for myself, I have since that time voted for the person who I believe to be the best candidate. And when I ran I ran because I believed I was going to be the best person to represent the people that I ran to support.

On experiencing sexism: I didn’t experience what I would say was sexism until I got into the Missouri legislature. And I was surprised to see it. In the legislature our numbers as women who were elected officials were never more than twenty five percent. And what I saw from my women colleagues was that we all had a very strong belief that we had to know everything, be totally informed on the issues that were before us. We had to be able to speak on the floor from a place of absolute certainty and knowledge or we didn’t get up to speak. Our male counterparts didn’t have that same sort of self imposed pressure on themselves.

“I realized that I was not going to be handed a seat at those negotiation tables, that I had to take it upon myself to do that.”

Lindsay Sabadosa

INTERVIEW BY BELLA LEVAVI

LINDSAY SABADOSA, MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 1ST HAMPSHIRE DISTRICT

On her place of special meaning:  I definitely have a favorite spot by the ocean. By the ocean it is very peaceful and quiet, and I have been going there for years. Every time I go there I feel rejuvenated and relaxed. It's been a place for me, especially in college when I just needed a break, and I do that now sometimes. You can take the train from the statehouse and get there...It has been a lifesaver for many occasions.

It was a joy to talk to Representative Lindsay Sabadosa. It was incredibly interesting to compare experiences at historically women’s college. I got to see how learning and growing in those institutions creates such thoughtful powerful women. It was also amazing to see how much Sabadosa cares about her constituents and the community in Western Massachusetts. She is clearly extremely excited about all she is doing, and her work is creating a better country for us all.

Kimberly Rosen

INTERVIEW BY PAIGE S. MACKINNON

KIMBERLY ROSEN, MAINE STATE SENATOR, DISTRICT 8

On where she came from: …like a lot of young people… you work hard, but here, of course, I picked potatoes, … I’d go to school during the day and then I was a certified nurse’s aid from three to eleven.  The work ethic that I learned here and here on the pond really helped me be a strong person…be willing to put in long hours and long days knocking on doors, meeting people. That was a lot of effort.

On confidence: One of the questions, when they were interviewing me, was “If you had it to do over again like high school, right after high school, what would you do differently?” I just said, “I wish I’d had more confidence.” When I got out of high school I wish I’d just had someone, a mentor to say, you know, “you can do this.“

On August 10th, I had the privilege of interviewing Senator Kimberly Rosen at her camp on Pleasant Pond in Island Falls, Maine. Senator Rosen has served eight years in Maine’s House of Representative and six years in the Maine State Senate, and this year she is seeking reelection to the Maine Senate. Currently, she serves on the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee as well as the Conduct and Ethics Committee.

Regina Young Interview

Photo via PA Senate Democrats

BY: CAITLIN MULDOWNEY, SUMMER COLLABORATOR AT POWER IN PLACE

Regina Young’s entrance into politics was not spurred by ambition, but rather necessity. Before running for State Representative of Legislative District 185, she worked in the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Education as the Community Schools Organizer. As a longtime social worker and community organizer, she felt that there was work to be done beyond the scope of the role she was currently filling. 

Throughout the interview, it became clear that two things have run consistently throughout Regina’s career: her commitment to education and community development. While her job titles and employers have varied, she has consistently placed the importance of human capital at the center of her work. This is evident through her campaign in the listening tour she embarked on prior to running, and the consistency she displayed in connecting with her constituents throughout the pandemic. 

In her recent talk with Power in Place, she urged attendees to center their careers on an issue they are passionate about, rather than a specific industry or position. In her own words, “connect your importance with who you are.” This advice is particularly salient as it becomes more common for employees to spend a shorter amount of time in a role before moving on. [1] Therefore, dedicating one’s career to a set of values or causes they care deeply about will not only be more fulfilling, but will also make it easier to chase new opportunities and to deal with change.

Regina took her own advice in deciding to run for office. As she put it, it was “an opportunity [she] couldn’t ignore” and, “a risk [she] had to take because [she] wanted to see the community more empowered.” Although politics was not a path she would have predicted for herself, she embraced the change and risk because it offered her an opportunity to expand upon the work to which she was passionate and committed. Regina’s grassroots campaign against a longtime incumbent was successful, with her becoming the Democratic nominee this past June. [2] Even if this were not the case, I am confident that she would find new ways to promote education, economic development and criminal justice throughout her community and beyond. [3]

References

[1] Landrum, Sarah. “Millennials Aren't Afraid To Change Jobs, And Here's Why.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, November 10, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahlandrum/2017/11/10/millennials-arent-afraid-to-change-jobs-and-heres-why/ 

[2] Marin, Max. “With Less than $10,000, Philly Candidate Scoops PA House Seat from Democratic Dynasty.” Billy Penn. Billy Penn, June 16, 2020. https://billypenn.com/2020/06/13/with-less-than-10000-philly-candidate-scoops-pa-house-seat-from-democratic-dynasty/

[3] “Platform.” Regina Young For PA 185. Accessed August 13, 2020. https://www.reginayoung185.com/platform

Caitlin Muldowney is a rising senior at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in International Relations and Modern Middle Eastern Studies. She is involved in Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed national community service fraternity and works as a research assistant studying the effectiveness of international organizations. She is passionate about international human rights and learning new languages.

Interviewing Margarita Guzman & Valerie Gomez

Photo via Town of West New York

BY: SARAH DECARO-RINCON, SUMMER COLLABORATOR AT POWER IN PLACE

On July 31st, I had the pleasure of photographing and interviewing Commissioner Margarita Guzman and her nominee Valerie Gomez. I have had the privilege of knowing Commissioner Guzman since I was a sophomore at High Tech High School. Along with being a commissioner for the town of West New York, NJ, Margarita Guzman is also a Spanish teacher that goes out of her way to support & help her students. Before interviewing Commissioner Guzman, I knew that she was a kind, intelligent, & moral person. Our interview not only strengthened those views, but also showed me how much she cares about her community and constituents. 

Throughout the interview, Commissioner Guzman stressed the fact that being in politics is about serving your community, and doing what is best for your constituents. Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, Commissioner Guzman has helped to start a project that is feeding West New York, NJ. Commissioner Guzman, alongside others from the community, have been going door-to-door handing out bags of food to those in need. This is not the only way Ms. Guzman helps our community. Commissioner Guzman’s Special Place of Meaning was the park she helped rebuilt that has a gorgeous view of the New York Skyline. The park on 58th street and J.F.K. Boulevard East represents her first action as Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, and the New York Skyline, an open door for opportunities for all immigrants, including herself. 

Every year on International Women’s Day, Commissioner Guzman hosts a luncheon to support and applaud the strong women in our community. She invites business women, police officers, politicians, and even her students to show them all that they are truly valued. Commissioner Guzman does all she can to encourage and inspire other women to be involved in their communities & to take positions of power and leadership. A great example of this is Commissioner Guzman’s nominee, Valerie Gomez, who does an amazing job at taking leadership in our community. 

Valerie Gomez was born-and-raised in West New York, NJ and is a middle school math teacher in Brooklyn. The work that Valerie does for our community is noteworthy and inspiring. Ms. Gomez is the co-founder of Food for Us, an initiative/organization that gives food & resources to those in need all over Hudson County. One thing that Valerie emphasized was the importance of offering plant-based options, fresh fruits, & vegetables because they “believe in de-colonizing the diet. We realized that we have been fed a lot of the residue food that is just unhealthy for us. It’s what feed this cycle of heart problems, diabetes, all of these things we tend to see in communities of color.” The health of our community is at stake because of COVID-19, and Valerie is doing what she can to help our immune systems. 

Both Commissioner Margarita Guzman & Valerie Gomez are two very intelligent, proud, strong women of color who are improving our community with their leadership. Every step that they take to better the lives of the people around them is another step in inspiring more young women to try and take charge. I want to thank them again for taking the time out of their days to help Power in Place to continue to spread the message of female empowerment. 

Sarah DeCaro-Rincon is part of the Sarah Lawrence class of 2023 and her concentrations are Political Science and Pre-Law. Some of Sarah's passions are immigration reform and the rights of workers in the service industry (hotel, restaurant, etc.). Her favorite part about being a part of Power in Place is working with and hearing from strong, intelligent, inspiring women.

LISE OLNEY, WELLESLEY BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEMBER

Photograph by Damon Bates Photography.

BY: SOFIA HERNANDEZ PERILLA, SUMMER 2020 COLLABORATOR AT POWER IN PLACE

“I was knocking on the door of the Board of Selectmen all the time to do things and I thought “well I guess I’ve gotta stop knocking on the door and just go into the room!””

My long term vision for Wellesley is that it become a place that is a leader in sustainability and carbon emission reduction and that we have a sort of community wide effort to build that model of a sustainable community. I don’t just mean from an environmental standpoint. Wellesley has a lot of work to do to become a more welcoming community, a more inclusive community and I think we can do that in the context of becoming a more sustainable community as well...so it’s kind of a green new deal for Wellesley.

An Advocate for the Voiceless

Photo by Facebook.

BY: JULIET SCHULMAN-HALL, SUMMER 2020 COLLABORATOR AT POWER IN PLACE

Every phone call rang for what felt like an eternity, while she waited for someone to pick up and tell her the words she wanted to hear: her student was safe and cared for. 

Monica Martinez was a tenured assistant principal of a middle school, determined to fight for the children she looked after. One afternoon, she realized why one of her sixth graders refused to go home: her home lacked heat or food, and her mother worked two jobs and was often absent as a result. 

With the hopes of helping this child, Martinez called the Department of Social Services. She was left with stinging words in her ear, telling her that there was nothing they could do because she was merely a school administrator. 

It was at this moment she realized she needed to do more for the young people walking the halls of the middle school at which she worked every weekday. 

Martinez was elected as the New York State Senator for District 3 on January 9, 2019 [1]. Her first constituent case after she was elected involved a situation similar to what she had previously experienced with that sixth grader, involving a different child in the same middle school at which she had been an assistant principal. This child, like the last, had no heat at home. It took one phone call from State Senator Martinez to the Department of Social Services, and three hours later the family received oil and had heat in their home. 

She realized in that moment that she could help more people as a politician than she did as an administrator. 

For all of her life, State Senator Martinez has focused on helping women, animals, and those who are often marginalized and voiceless. 

Martinez became the first woman and first Latina to be elected a State Senator from District 3. She has found that politics can be a difficult profession but her family helps her cope and are there for her whenever she needs support. She tries not to take attacks personally, and continues to hold the belief that individuals who try to put her down have something else going on in their lives. Ultimately, Martinez emphasizes that adversity helps her become a stronger and more resilient person and politician. 

Upon taking office she found out that two bills intended to protect women had been stuck in the State Senate for years. The first proposed bill is Shannon’s Law, which requires health insurance to cover mammograms for women starting at age 35, rather than at age 40 or older. The second proposed bill makes it illegal to disseminate or publish sexually explicit images without that person’s consent. State Senator Martinez advocated for the two proposed bills, and ultimately was able to help pass both bills and enact them into law. Martinez prides herself on having been able to make a difference in the lives of other women through aiding the passage of these two bills. 

Martinez has also worked on bills to help the lives of animals—a topic that is rarely discussed in politics but is crucial to Martinez. According to the State Senator, animal welfare is linked to human welfare and needs to be discussed more. Martinez believes that those who commit crimes against animals are more likely to commit a crime against a human being. She concludes that stopping animal abuse and educating people about animal welfare is both a good in itself, and leads to a better society in which people act more humanely toward each other. 

Martinez is currently working on improving and providing more support to animal shelters across New York State. She hopes these efforts will result in the adoption of more animals into their “forever homes” and to discourage and ultimately eliminate unnecessary euthanization of adoptable pets. 

Martinez works for all of the people, but believes her mission is to advocate for those who are often overlooked both by society, and by most politicians. The legislation she drafts or advocates for, and her hard work as a NY State Senator presents, in her words, “an uphill battle right now.” But she continues these battles, because she believes that there is nothing which “can’t be done...everything is possible.” 

References

[1] “Monica Martinez.” Ballotpedia. Accessed August 10, 2020. https://ballotpedia.org/Monica_Martinez.

Juliet Schulman-Hall is a rising junior at Smith College majoring in English Language & Literature, minoring in Sociology, and concentrating in Poetry. At Smith, she is involved in Emulate Magazine, the club volleyball team, and the Sophian Newspaper. She is passionate about criminal justice reform and animal rights and advocacy and is the Communications Lead for an animal nonprofit called Global Strays. 

U.S. Mistreatment of Migrants

Image from Pinterest.

BY: SAHER AL KHAMASH, SUMMER 2020 COLLABORATOR AT POWER IN PLACE

As the child of immigrants, I have witnessed some of the struggles, cultural and financial, that immigrants face in the U.S. Based on what my parents have told me, the process of entering the U.S. and becoming citizens did not seem to pose as much of a challenge as the processes of assimilation, settling down financially and raising a family. For many migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers the process of entering the U.S. has gotten significantly harder and more violent. In a time when migration throughout the world is rapidly increasing due to the harsher conditions of our global context, such as violent war, terrorism, and environmental catastrophes caused by climate change, now is perhaps the worse time to close off and militarize our border. Time and time again, U.S. policy has shown that it does not value the lives of migrants. For example, in his book The Land of Open Graves, Jason de León explains how the U.S. method of Prevention Through Deterrence uses the potential for death as a deterrent for people considering crossing the border. Since the 1990, PTD has strategically and deliberately funneled people into the dangerous, hostile terrain of the Sonoran Desert [1]. This strategy has failed to stop or even reduce illegal immigration. The fact of the matter is that people cannot be deterred when the push factor for leaving their home land is the fear of death. In his book, The Dispossessed: A Story of Asylum at the US-Mexican Border and Beyond, John Washington explains this dynamic: “Draconian deterrence policies push asylum seekers onto the horns of a horrible dilemma, but it is the immediate fear of death that typically overrides the fear of flight. If you are on a burning boat, you’re probably going to jump into the water even if you don’t want to get wet, even if the water is cold, and even if there are sharks swimming beneath. If you make it into the water, at least you have a chance” [2]. 

Not only has the U.S. government revealed its disregard for migrant lives through its Prevention Through Deterrence strategy, but through ICE, detention centers, and family separation. Many have demanded the release of those detained especially because they are at greater risk of contracting, spreading, and dying from COVID 19. Instead, ICE continues to detain and deport people - sending even those infected back to countries less equipped to deal with the virus [3]. Due to the unsanitary and negligent conditions of the detention centers during COVID 19, detained migrants have been holding hunger strikes to potentially obtain better conditions [4]. Also in recent news, the U.S. Border Patrol conducted a military-style raid of the aid site of No More Deaths, an advocacy group that provides medical aid, food, and water to migrants crossing the desert regions of Arizona. They also detained 30 migrants, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Humanitarian aid worker for the group, Montana Thames, described the violent event: “after they [Border Patrol] seized 30-plus migrants that were seeking food and medical attention, they proceeded to completely trash the camp. They slashed all of our tents. They slashed people’s personal tents. They overturned anything that we had. They slashed open cots. A complete ransack of the place. They took all of our medical records and all of our phones that were in the office and on volunteers, for evidence. They disconnected the only water source that the camp has...” [5]. Perhaps the greatest irony of the United States’ blatant disregard for the lives of asylum seekers, is that U.S. interventionist policies sanctioned and supported the violence which migrants from Central America are fleeing [6]. 

Although my parents were immigrants, they were fortunate enough to stay in the country safely with their family. For those of us privileged enough to not have our human rights stripped away and experience violence at the hands of the state, it is urgent we are informed of and fight against the injustices committed by our government. The United States is a state which calls out the human rights offenses of other states when it is in its interests, but it will not recognize or change its own violence unless we take a stand against it together. The first step is to educate ourselves of what is going on, to fight for migrant rights in the ways we can, and to remember that humanity should always comes before nationality.

References

[1] De León, Jason. The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. University of California Press, 2015.

[2] Washington, John. The Dispossessed: A Story of Asylum at the US-Mexican Border and Beyond. Verso, 2020.

[3]"'Release Them All': Calls Grow to Stop Jailing Immigrants as Transfers and Deportations Spread COVID." Democracy Now!, 4 Aug. 2020, www.democracynow.org/2020/8/4/ luis_angel_reyes_savalza_immigration_detention. Accessed 8 Aug. 2020.

[4]"'It's Basically a Death Sentence': Hunger Strikers Demand Release as Virus Surges in ICE Jails." Democracy Now!, 4 Aug. 2020, www.democracynow.org/2020/8/4/ luis_angel_reyes_savalza_immigration_detention. Accessed 8 Aug. 2020.

[5]"Militarized BORTAC Border Patrol Raids and Ransacks Medical Camp on U.S. Border, Arrests 30 Migrants." Democracy Now!, 4 Aug. 2020, www.democracynow.org/2020/8/4/ no_more_deaths_aid_camp_raid. Accessed 8 Aug. 2020.

[6] De León, Jason. The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. University of California Press, 2015.

Saher Al Khamash is a rising senior at Middlebury College, where she majors in Global Security Studies. She also loves studying Spanish, Arabic, Religion and Art History.

Carolita Johnson Interview

Illustration by Yang Sun.

BY: SOFIA HERNANDEZ PERILLA AND YANG SUN, SUMMER 2020 COLLABORATORS AT POWER IN PLACE

Last Thursday July 30th at 12pm E.S.T. Yang Sun, a Power in Place collaborator from Amherst College, had the honor of hosting an Instagram live interview with New Yorker cartoonist Carolita Johnson! If you missed the interview make sure to check out the full video which is now posted on our Instagram (@powerinplace) or read below about how the interview impacted PiP collaborators Yang Sun and Sofia Hernandez Perilla.

Sofia Hernandez Perilla:

The part of this interview that most stood out to me was Carolita Johnson’s story of moving to Kingston and how it showed her the importance of a woman’s financial independence. From the day that she moved there five years ago, she realized that a lot of the women around her were very empowered and she came to the conclusion that the common factor that the majority of these women had was the fact that they had been able to afford their own rent. Their financial independence had sort of acted as a step for them to reach their full potential! This argument made total sense for me. I know that in the future I want to be in a position where I don’t have to depend on other people for my most basic needs. This is partially because if I ever was in a position where I did depend on others then I would also feel compelled to stay in relationships that aren’t working for me or compromise some of my values to stay safe and this is not something that I (or anyone as a matter of fact) would ever want to do. Carolita’s words and advice on financial independence were really inspiring to me. As she says “women are like a piece of silk (in their beauty), but silk is strong.

Yang Sun:

When I first saw Carolita’s “Women’s Works” Series, the freedom, passion, strength, rebellion, and humor involved sparked something in me. She perfectly captured both obvious and subtle prejudices against women in our society through documenting her own life. I began to reflect on myself: my fear, my strength, and my prejudices.

Her unconventional perspectives and adventures of taking different jobs in different countries fascinate me deeply. I wanted to know more about her. Thus, when she accepted our invitation, I was thrilled and honored to be able to interview her!!!

During the interview, one thing Carolita said stood out to me. She said that as an artist, you do not sit in front of the table and pull inspiration from thin air. You should interact with the world around you. Being a young artist myself, I realize how much my works are detached from people, society, and the world. We all hope to brighten our world with art. Yet, the first step is getting to know the world around you.

Sofia Hernandez Perilla is a rising sophomore at Amherst College with a prospective double major in Mathematics and Economics. At Power in Place she coordinates resources for the Black Lives Matter team, and is a part of both the Politics & Arts Instagram Live Series team and the Instagram team.

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Yang Sun is a rising Sophomore at Amherst College intending to major in Theater and Dance. She is involved in visual art and performing art groups on campus. She has volunteered for theaters and performing groups in China. Her passion lies in the art and its connection with humanity.