Candidates running for state representative in four local districts will have a chance to discuss their positions on protecting the environment and public health and maintaining a strong economy at several upcoming forums.
Three forums are sponsored by Climate Action Now and the League of Women Voters, while the fourth is sponsored by the Democratic Committees in South Hadley and Easthampton.
The first takes place Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Society, 121 North Pleasant St., Amherst, for candidates for the 3rd Hampshire District, which represents Amherst, Pelham and Precinct 1 in Granby.
On Wednesday, May 23, at 7 p.m., at Frontier Regional School, 113 North Main St., South Deerfield, candidates for the 1st Franklin District seat will participate.
Candidates for the 1st Hampshire District will be invited to the forum June 5 at 7 p.m. at JFK Middle School, 100 Bridge Road, Florence.
And on June 21 at 7 p.m. at the South Hadley Public Library, 2 Canal St., 2nd Hampshire District candidates will be invited.
Sabadosa lands
endorsement
Mass Alliance, a coalition of political organizations aiming to make Massachusetts more progressive, this week endorsed Lindsay Sabadosa of Northampton, a candidate for state representative in the 1st Hampshire District.
Jordan Berg Powers, executive director of Mass Alliance, said in a statement that the endorsement is the result of Sabadosa’s long history of statewide advocacy work and her campaign platform.
“For her, organizing and working to better the lives of everyone in our communities are not just talking points, they are a way of life,” Powers said.
Sabadosa, the director of the Pioneer Valley Women’s March, serves on the board of Emerge Massachusetts and the Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts, and sits on statewide organizing committees for progressive legislation like Medicare for All and the Safe Communities Act.
Sabadosa is competing against Diana Szynal of Hatfield for the Democratic nomination to the seat held by the later Peter Kocot.
Eric Nakajima of Amherst, who is running for the Democratic nomination for the 3rd Hampshire District that includes Amherst, Pelham and Precinct 1 in Granby, recently announced his senior campaign team.
Campaign manager is Leo Maley, a 20-year veteran of labor, community and political organizing campaigns. Maley has served as chairman of the Amherst Town Democratic Committee, was associate director of the Massachusetts Nurses Association Division of Legislation and Government Affairs and a former member and organizer of the UMass Amherst Graduate Employee Organization (UAW 2322).
Joanne Levenson, a recently retired administrator at the University of Massachusetts and longtime advocate for families, is outreach coordinator. She served as the director of the Office of Family Resources at UMass, oversaw the Amherst Family Center and was a member of the Amherst Human Services Network.
An experience grassroots canvasser, Jamal Cumberbatch is the field coordinator. An Amherst native, Cumberbatch most recently worked as canvas team leader for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s anti-hate group campaign in Western Massachusetts.
Nakajima is competing against Mindy Domb of Amherst for the Democratic nomination. The seat is currently held by Solomon Goldstein-Rose of Amherst, a former Democrat who is now not enrolled in a political party.