People who are most in need are the ones Vira Douangmany Cage wants to advocate for on Beacon Hill if she becomes the state representative for the 3rd Hampshire District.
“Making sure we have food security, housing security, jobs and expanding social safety net are my goals,” Douangmany Cage said.
Douangmany Cage sees a model for what she wants to achieve in the Amherst Survival Center, which has had success at bringing people together from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
Douangmany Cage, 42, said she was influenced by her father, who was a member of Gov. Michael Dukakis’ refugee council and then-president of the Laotian-American Association of Massachusetts.
“Working families need people who represent our interests in government,” Douangmany Cage said.
She is married to Edward Cage and has two children, a fifth-grader at Crocker Farm and an eighth-grader at the middle school.
“Serving on the Amherst School Committee has helped me to serve the general interests,” Douangmany Cage said. “I’m a proponent of keeping small schools and preserving paraeductaors who were going to be cut.”
She has been endorsed by MassCare, the statewide organization that supports single-payer health care.
“We need to be able to save money, the state is spending so much on administering health care, the single-payer solution will free up a lot of money,” Douangmany Cage said.
Over 200 people, including Russell Vernon-Jones, retired principal of Fort River School, and Susan Theberge, a member of Climate Action Now, and Springfield state Rep. Ben Swan have endorsed her.
“Two major causes that I would champion are making the state a leader in directing climate change and education, which is a given for me,” Douangmany Cage said.
She also wants to pursue racial and climate justice and criminal justice reform, observing that people are frustrated about how much is being spent to incarcerate people while public schools struggle.
Addressing the opioid crisis is critical, she said. “We really need to have solutions now to address this problem. Kids deserve a safe place to call home, and parents to care for them.”
She hopes she has created a coalition that transcends race and socioeconomic levels. “I’m recognizing we have built something here to move our progressive agenda,” Douangmany Cage said.
“We have to work together really hard at the Statehouse, those of us who are progressive, and figure this out,” Douangmany Cage said. “Being on the School Committee, I’m already doing this work on the grassroots level for public education.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
