The first woman to ever hold the 1st Hampshire District seat, Lindsay Sabadosa has her AB from Wellesley College (‘02) and her MSc from the University of Edinburgh (‘06). She was the recipient of the Wellesley-Yenching Program Fellowship, which led her to spend a year in Nanjing, China as a fellow at Ginling College at Nanjing University. She then moved to Italy where she worked in Marketing & Communications at CUP2000, a company in Bologna that strives to improve access and delivery of health care and provide telemedicine solutions throughout the European Union. In the same period, she opened her own small business, a translation firm, specializing in Italian and French legal and financial translation with a focus on international litigation, contract law, and finance. She ran this firm, with over 300 clients on six continents, for nearly 17 years until her election.
AN ACT ESTABLISHING MEDICARE FOR ALL IN MASSACHUSETTS (H.1267)
With rising healthcare costs making health care inaccesible and unaffordable, a single-payer health care system is the way forward. This bill would remove profit-driven health insurance companies as the barrier between patients and providers, and instead allow the government to reimburse health care providers directly.
AN ACT ENSURING ACCESS TO FULL SPECTRUM PREGNANCY CARE (H.1196)
This bill ensures that full-spectrum pregnancy and abortion care are not subject to any deductible, coinsurance, copayment or any other cost-sharing requirement that would place unreasonable restrictions or delays in the health coverage for pregnant persons.
AN ACT RELATIVE TO MEDICAID COVERAGE FOR DOULA SERVICES (H.2372)
This bill would ensure doula services are covered by private insurance and by MassHealth after doulas have completed all training necessary to be a certified doula. This bill would also establish a statewide registry of perinatal doulas.
AN ACT ASSURING PROMPT ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE (H.1195)
Too often, patients with high deductible plans who suffer from chronic illness skip primary care visits, only to end up in the emergency room when their situation becomes acute. This bill would require medically-appropriate out-patient evaluation and management services to be part of a basic benefits package that does not require a deductible, saving money over time and ensuring patients access the care they need.
AN ACT TO REQUIRE PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES TO PROVIDE MEDICATION ABORTION (H.2399)
Medication abortion is the use of two pills to induce an abortion, and is one of the safest medical treatments available. This bill would require public universities which have student health centers on campus to provide medication abortions, making basic health care accessible to students who currently face numerous barriers to access.
AN ACT CANCELING THE RENT AND PROVIDING RELIEF TO ALL IMPACTED BY THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY (HD.4072)
This bill would require add two additional members to the Northampton Housing Authority. One member will be a tenant in a building owned and operated by (or on behalf of) the housing authority and another member will be a member of the Northampton Housing Partnership or such successor municipal body charged with promoting fair and affordable housing in the city.
AN ACT TO TRACK THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BRANGAN RULING (H.1866)
Currently, there is no data collection requirement for the Brangan rule, which requires judges to consider a defendant’s economic circumstances when setting bail and to either set affordable bail or to state clear reasons why unaffordable bail is necessary to assure the defendant’s return to court. This bill would require bail amounts, as well as charges, to be reported to the Committee for Public Counsel Services so that the data may be tracked to ensure proper implementation of the above ruling.
AN ACT REGARDING DECARCERATION AND COVID-19 (H.1868)
This bill would move immediately decarcerate within fourteen days individuals who are incarcerated pretrial who pose no immediate physical threat to the community in order to reduce the risk of the transmission of COVID-19. This includes those who are unable to afford cash bail under $10,000, fifty years of age or older, and who fall into the Center of Disease Control's classification of vulnerable populations.
AN ACT TO PROMOTE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PEOPLE IN THE SEX TRADE (H.1867)
AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE LOCATION OF SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS (H.694)
AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE DISCLOSURE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT DISCIPLINARY RECORDS (HD.3252)
AN ACT RELATIVE TO SECURE BALLOT ACCESS FOR ELIGIBLE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS (H.833)
RESOLVE PROVIDING FOR AN INVESTIGATION AND STUDY BY A SPECIAL COMMISSION RELATIVE TO THE EXISTENTIAL THREAT POSED BY NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS (H.3688)
This resolution would create a non-partisan Citizens Commission to advance the intention of the commonwealth of Massachusetts to be in alignment with the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
AN ACT REQUIRING THE USE OF HELMETS FOR EQUINE RIDERS AND DRIVERS (H.2518)
AN ACT RELATIVE TO A VOLUNTARY DO NOT SELL FIREARMS LIST (H.3846)
AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF LEGALIZED SPORTS WAGERING (H.3832)
AN ACT TO CREATE ALTERNATIVES FOR COMMUNITY EMERGENCY SERVICES (ACES) (H.2519)
As a parent, I know the importance of a public education that enables kids to grow, learn, and develop a life-long love of learning. Education is essential for a thriving democracy and is a prime contributor to better health, lower violence, and overall life satisfaction. We have excellent schools in the Commonwealth, but they need dedicated financial backing to survive. Adequate Education funding is a top priority, and I will reverse the trend of neglect by the State House.
But we don’t just need more money—we need to make sure it is distributed around the Commonwealth equitably. The Chapter 70 Funding Formula determines how much money each school district is allocated by the State. I want to revamp Chapter 70 to alleviate financial disparities between districts. School districts must be funded fairly and equally—not simply according to the wealth of their residents.
Charter school funding is a problem that needs to be addressed. Right now, if a child uses school choice to move to a different public school, the school they leave pays $5,000 to the new school. If that child goes to a charter school, the school they leave has to pay $12,000 to the new school. This means that our local districts are unfairly burdened with footing the bill for charter school buildings. I believe the State—not municipalities—needs to pick up the tab for charter schools, so our own local public schools can remain successful and fully funded. At the same time, the cap on Charter Schools should be maintained so funds are not diverted from public schools.
I firmly support the Act Relative to Healthy Youth (S. 2062, H. 3754 ) which ensures all health education is medically accurate, discusses birth control, and includes information about LGBTQIA+ identities. Education should also teach our students how treat each other with respect. I have worked with Planned Parenthood to build support for this bill among many local organizations, especially those that work with young people. We need to pass this bill as soon as possible. Our State legislators have allowed the Act Relative to Healthy Youth to languish in committee. I will work to move and pass this important bill that affects our most vulnerable citizens.
Safe, reliable, affordable, convenient and reliable transportation is essential to the well-being of our region. Our district’s residents depend on the PVTA for access medical care, education, and economic and social opportunities. A solid transportation infrastructure makes our region attractive to economic investment. With other Western Massachusetts legislators, I will work hard to protect PVTA funding from being slashed by the Governor, as he has repeatedly tried to do. In fact, I will fight to increase funding to expand service and to make the long-term investment to electrify the PVTA.
Investing in our infrastructure is essential. Our district lies between both Boston and Albany and Brattleboro, Hartford, New Haven, and New York. By expanding rail service to connect us to these hubs we will increase opportunities for commercial and cultural activity.
I firmly support building an east-west rail between Springfield and Boston, which is currently proposed for study by the MaDOT, after years of advocacy by Senator Eric Lesser. I think we should take the extra step of making this line electric-powered to further reduce our carbon footprint. This line will allow people to live in Western Massachusetts and work or study in Boston—and vice versa—preventing "brain drain" and promoting economic development in our area. It’s a greener and more human-friendly option than sitting on the Mass Pike for hours.
Improving north-south service to New York would complete our connection to the major cities in our region, benefiting economic development. The Pioneer Valley has so much to offer—people just need to be able to get here!
Locally owned and operated businesses contribute to the well-being of our community, and because they have a stake in the district’s success, they are generally better employers and community participants. Local businesses keep money in the local economy, especially when they serve local needs. I will do everything I can to help our friends and neighbors who are local entrepreneurs and business owners find success in our district.
While we promote local businesses, we must also ensure that land use policies preserve agricultural land. In addition, we need to create policies that encourage young people to become farmers. Currently, the biggest obstacle for young people who want to get into farming is the high cost of healthcare; adopting Medicare for All will eliminate that obstacle and result in a vibrant, younger generation of people dedicated to sharing our district’s agricultural bounty with the region. I will work with programs such as the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project to strengthen agriculture in our region and create smart land use policies.
We have an amazing opportunity to create economic growth in Massachusetts by bolstering our investment in green jobs. But we need to be smart about implementing green energy to ensure that we don’t leave those with less income behind. I am dedicated to protecting our citizens from big companies that take advantage of us and generating jobs for everyone.
Big companies now get millions of dollars in tax breaks that hurt local economies and often do not deliver the promised economic benefits. We should be investing in local, small businesses that are already on the cutting edge of technology. These local businesses can attract people to the area and create jobs that stay here. As an entrepreneur and an environmentalist, I understand the necessity of helping local business and developing clean technologies.
We should also be investing in companies that reflect our values, which means divesting from fossil fuel, prison, weapons, and big pharma.
Right now, if a house generates more electricity than it uses, it gets credits that it can exchange for electricity later. I will work to reform net metering so that electric companies actually pay for this electricity, and homeowners are able to fully redeem the benefits of their electricity generation, not just be given credits.
Massachusetts needs to aim to be fully powered by renewables by 2050. Our legislature has committed to 100% green energy and requiring utilities to continuously increase renewable energy targets by 3% each year until reaching a 100% renewable energy target by 2047. This shows that our State recognizes the critical importance of helping the environment by developing the green energy industry. But even though Massachusetts is second in the nation for solar, there was a 20% decrease in solar jobs in 2017, which translates into over 3,000 lost jobs. I will push for properly sited solar and off-shore wind, lifting the net metering cap, and creating microgrids to increase the number of jobs in clean energy. I will also work to establish Green Banks that will finance projects that create jobs while protecting both our environment and our children.
I support the recently passed Senate Bill S. 2545 (An Act to promote a clean energy future), which advances these goals, and also sets new 2030 and 2040 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, which are needed to ensure that Massachusetts reaches its existing goal of 80% reductions by 2050
I support Senate Bill S. 1963 (Children in need of services reform) introduced by Senator Karen E. Spilka and Representative Paul J. Donato. This bill provides alternatives to the juvenile justice system for dealing with youth with serious problems, including substance abuse, undiagnosed mental health conditions, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. Currently the only interventions available are through juvenile court, which most often results in parents losing custody of their children. I also support reforms of DCF practices that remove children from their homes as a measure of first resort, rather than of last resort.
We can be proud of the fact that a 2014 study by the Ann E. Casey Foundation found that Massachusetts ranked number one in overall well-being of children. Our State came out on top in education and second in healthcare. However, all is not well for our children. The same study also found that Massachusetts children ranked 13th on the measure of economic well-being. It found that 30%, or 414,000 children, were living in homes where their parents lacked secure employment in 2012, up from 26% of children in 2008. And at school, 45% of eighth graders in Massachusetts were not proficient in math, and 53% of fourth graders were not proficient in reading, compared to 66% of children for both measures nationwide. We must do better, and I will champion legislation that will help our youngest residents stay healthy, safe, and able to reach their full potential.
Hampshire County is better than most counties in the state when it comes to food security. However, 10% of individuals and between 12-15% of children do not have adequate access to food. We must continue to build on our strong network of food pantries and public health agencies until no one goes hungry.
Poor nutrition leads to many adverse effects, including chronic disease, depression, poor mental function, obesity, and general poor health. This impacts not only the lives of those who suffer directly, but the rest of society as we all live with the diminished capability of our community members and the expense of their care. Therefore, I support the recommendations of the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative, which includes, among other things:
Food insecurity is especially harmful to children. It can cause lifelong health consequences such as a compromised immune system, higher risk of frequent illness, higher hospitalization rates; iron deficiency anemia, higher numbers of chronic health conditions, mental health disorders, and poor health in general.
I will work to provide increased resources to the agencies that support people who are food insecure, including the Departments of Transitional Assistance, Public Health, and Education, with special attention to SNAP, WIC4 and school meal programs.
Breakfast After the Bell is a federally funded program. I support the legislation that has passed in the Senate and is pending a vote in the House that would require all public K-12 schools with 60% or more students eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the federal National School Lunch Program to offer breakfast after the instructional day begins. Benefits of the program include improved academic achievement, improved student health, increased attendance rate, and increased federal funding for high poverty schools.
One hundred Massachusetts schools have already implemented the Breakfast After the Bell model. In total, 600 schools and more than 260,000 children statewide could benefit from the program.
In this current political climate, the LGBTQIA+ community is particularly vulnerable. I support the rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals and will work to uphold them. Massachusetts has always been a leader for LGBTQIA+ rights and was the first to legalize gay marriage as a result of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health on May 17, 2004. We must work today to protect LGBTQIA+ people around issues of marriage and family-building, health care-—including mental health care, and youth homelessness.
The Transgender Accommodations Law (Bill S.24027), which was signed into law a little over two years ago and took effect on Oct 1, 2016, prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in public accommodations. It allows individuals to utilize gender-segregated restrooms or locker rooms based on their gender identity.
There is a referendum on this year’s ballot that seeks to overturn this law. This step backwards on transgender rights is not the right move for Massachusetts. A "yes" vote on this referendum ballot will keep this law in place.
This is taking place in an environment in which almost two-thirds (65 percent) of Massachusetts’ transgender people report experiencing discrimination in public spaces in the past year, and 17 percent of transgender people were living in poverty in 2015, compared to 11.5 percent of the general population.
I will lend my support to protecting this law during my campaign, and after I’m elected I will support the protection of transgender people.
I am proud that in our state adoption agencies are explicitly prohibited from discriminating against prospective adoptive parents based on sexual orientation. I will resist efforts from any sources or at any level of government to impinge on the rights of LGBTQIA+ couples to adopt children.
A new report from Boston Indicators and The Fenway Institute finds that young Massachusetts residents are much more likely to self-identify as LGBTQIA+ than in previous generations, but they still feel many of the social pressures and discrimination of the past. The report, Equity and Equality: Advancing the LGBT Community in Massachusetts, released in May of this year, found that despite the remarkable positive momentum for LGBTQIA+ communities in public and social spheres, LGBT youth in Massachusetts were more than twice as likely as their non-LGBT peers to say they have extended periods of sadness or helplessness. Nearly half of LGBT youth say they have considered attempting suicide, 35% had devised a plan, and 25% of LGBT youth say they had attempted suicide—5 times the rate of non-LGBT youth.
According to the 2013 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey, approximately 14.5% of LGBTQIA+ were homeless, compared to 3.3% of their peers. Further, 68% of homeless LGBTQIA+ were unaccompanied, meaning that they do not live with a parent or legal guardians. Findings point to LGBTQIA+ youth of color being particularly at risk, with national studies showing 65% of homeless individuals identifying as a racial minority.
To address these and the other serious concerns of LGBTQIA+ youth, I will work to implement the recommendations of the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQIA+ Youth. I support the greater investment in programs focused on providing needed supports for LGBTQIA+ youth of color, and continued training, policies, and advocacy efforts needed to protect and improve the lives of transgender people in the state.
Nationally, 20-25% trans/gender non-conforming people have been denied health care, report being subjected to harsh or abusive language from a health care professional, and report being blamed by health care professionals for their own health care conditions. Transgender people report the highest rates of discrimination and barriers to care among LGBTQIA+ people. Outside of Boston, transgender people in Massachusetts have difficulty finding sympathetic healthcare providers and experience being turned away from emergency rooms. They are often afraid to disclose their transgender identity to insurers for fear of facing exclusion in or loss of their health care coverage. Federal and Massachusetts law prohibits discrimination in health services on the basis of gender. I will fight to make sure these laws are enforced and that all people have equal access to health care.
In 2001, Dr. Daniel Faber, Director of the Northeastern University Environmental Justice Research Collaborative, and his colleagues released a report that found that communities of color in Massachusetts bear over twenty times the environmental burden of predominantly white communities. This report prompted then Governor Paul Cellucci to introduce the state's first Environmental Justice Policy, but a second report released in 2005 found that the disparities were actually getting worse. In 2014, responding to the failure of policy to precipitate action, Governor Patrick Duval issued an Executive Order on Environmental Justice, which requires state agencies to dedicate efforts toward protecting communities most endangered by environmental hazards.
Even so,, a report by Clean Water Action dated October 25, 2017, states, “Unfortunately, despite a solid Executive Order on the books, progress on environmental justice has been almost invisible in Massachusetts.” Bills S426 and H2913, which constitute the Massachusetts he Environmental Justice Act, continue to languish in committee.
I will work to get these bills out of committee and into law so that the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs is given a deadline for creating an actionable plan to carry out the state’s Environmental Justice Policy. I will closely monitor their execution of that plan as well as the actions of other relevant agencies such as the Departments of Environmental Protection, Public Health, Public Utilities, and others, to ensure that they are in compliance. I will work to make sure that the state takes long overdue action to protect our most vulnerable communities from environmental hazards..
Our current system of winner-take-all elections shortchanges voters. Often, less popular candidates win because more popular candidates split the plurality of votes between them. Being able to vote for candidates in order of our preference for them avoids the dispiriting circumstance of having to vote for the lesser of two evils.
Ranked Choice Voting (RSV) has worked well everywhere it has been put into practice. The Rutgers-Eagleton Poll conducted two rigorous independent opinion polls exploring voters' experiences in local campaigns and elections in 2013 and 2014. These polls show that voters were more satisfied with the conduct of candidate campaigns, with Ranked Choice Voting, and that an overwhelming majority of voters found their ballot instructions and the principles of how it works easy to understand
Massachusetts is one of the 14 states with the oldest voting machines in the country, and over 90% of our voting machines fail to meet even the 2005 federal certification guidelines. A collateral benefit of making the switch to RCV is that it would require us to update that equipment. The new machines required to support this system would be mostly paid for by the $51.7 million that is available to us from the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
I support “An Act Providing A Local Option For Ranked Choice Voting In City Or Town Elections,” Senate Bill S.380, and I will work toward making Ranked Choice Voting standard practice in all statewide elections and ultimately for federal elections as well.
For too many people, voting imposes prohibitive hardships and expenses. People who can ill afford to do so have to take time off from work or school and/or make arrangements for family care in order to make time to vote.
Early voting works. Common Cause cites an article from the Newburyport News that says: “The early voting period that preceded the November 2016 general election in Massachusetts was widely deemed a success, having engaged more than one in five registered voters in the state.”
This is an easy, common-sense way to engage more people in the process by making voting more accessible. I will make sure that we build on the success of this program and continue to expand its reach.
I applaud the recent passage and signing into law of the Automatic Voter Registration Bill and will work to enact same-day voter registration.
Money is not speech, and corporations are not people. We must limit the influence of money in our elections, which translates into a government that does the bidding of the rich. We must restore the powers of governance to the people.
I support the efforts of Senator Eldridge, who has put forth several bills to limit the influence of money. Specifically, I support S.378 (An Act Enhancing Transparency In Campaign Finance) and S.381 (An act relative to fair elections), which provide for public funding of campaigns.
I support this year’s Ballot Question #2, which charges the state legislature to draft a constitutional amendment that would state definitively that corporations do not have the same rights as citizens, thus overturning the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. However, I am opposed to convening a constitutional convention for this purpose. A constitutional convention would give a dangerous opening to powerful interests to propose and possibly pass amendments that would constrict rather than enhance our liberty.
A healthy democracy requires the participation of its citizens. Like the rest of the United States, voter turnout for Massachusetts elections is abysmally low. Part of this is due to the obstacles to voting. We have made, and will continue to make, progress on eliminating those obstacles with measures such as automatic voter registration, same day registration, and early voting.
The lack of participation also stems from a sense of disempowerment and alienation from the workings of government and also from the failure of our education systems to foster our tradition of civic engagement.
I will stay engaged with the communities I serve, and I will seek opportunities to get people involved in the governance of their communities. I will promote the teaching of civics in our schools and support groups and organizations that seek to get people involved.
In order to create a truly safe, confidential, and independent vehicle for survivors of sexual harassment and assault within the State House, this bill would create an independent commission to investigate and report on all complaints.
This bill would allow workers who are locked out during labor disputes to receive unemployment benefits.
This bill would end “at will” employment, requiring employers to provide just cause for termination.
The bill calls on our federal leaders to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and make nuclear disarmament the centerpiece of our national security policy. This bill also calls upon our federal leaders and our nation to spearhead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first, and calls on the clerk to relay this information to federal leaders.
This resolution would create a non-partisan Citizens Commission to advance the intention of the commonwealth of Massachusetts to be in alignment with the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.