I’m running for state Senate to be a strong progressive voice for western Massachusetts’ working families, local businesses and underrepresented communities.
My work as a higher education leader and a progressive organizer and activist for more than 20 years, as well as my lived experience, make me an effective advocate for our district, and for the policies and programs that our communities need.
When I became a single mom at 19, my options were limited. I worked hard at multiple jobs: working in child care, painting houses and picking fresh produce on farms. I took on as many hours as I could to put food on the table for my daughter, but sometimes my hard work wasn’t enough. Even with multiple jobs, I needed public programs like food stamps and MassHealth to make ends meet. Like so many others, I felt trapped.
That changed when I enrolled at Greenfield Community College, which I was able to do thanks to state funding that made college affordable. Supported by my mentors and community, I transferred to Smith College, where I became a political organizer and ran a small local bakery that helped me pay for school.
While pursuing higher education, I found mentors who believed in me, who supported me and pointed me to opportunities I never could have imagined. I got married, had two more children, and went on to study social justice at Harvard, where I earned my master’s in theological studies.
It’s uncomfortable to tell my story so publicly, but it is by no means unique. Over the years, the stories I’ve heard from students, farmers, families and seniors have intersected with my own.
But for too many people in western Massachusetts, the challenges are getting worse, not better. Although those struggling in our community still face many of the same problems I did as a single mom, the scale of these problems and the resources available to those who face them have changed dramatically.
Tuition at Greenfield Community College has gone up 70 percent since I was a student there, and University of Massachusetts costs continue to rise year after year. Our public schools are drastically underfunded to the tune of $2 billion statewide.
This problem is made worse in western Massachusetts, where state reimbursements for regional school transportation and charter school tuition fall far short of actual costs. To empower our communities, we need to empower our teachers, end high-stakes testing, invest in our schools, establish universal pre-kindergarten and free public higher education, and care for all children of all backgrounds and abilities.
Health care costs have skyrocketed in a system that promotes profits over people, and too many families face financial ruin if someone gets sick. I strongly support a Medicare for All single-payer system that will guarantee that quality, affordable health care is a human right, that will help protect seniors from exorbitant drug costs and that will treat mental health and addiction with compassion.
While a $15 minimum wage is certainly a good start for Massachusetts’ low-income residents, we can’t stop there. We need to index that wage to inflation so that minimum-wage earners won’t see the value of their wages slip away again, as they have over the past 40 years.
We need to strengthen public programs like food stamps and unemployment insurance that give people a chance to succeed, even when the free market fails them.
We need to protect the right to organize and bargain collectively, particularly in the wake of the Janus decision and other efforts to weaken workers rights and strengthen corporate power. We need to make our priorities clear: people are more important than profits.
That means we need an economy that works for everyone, but Beacon Hill spends hundreds of millions of dollars every year on tax breaks for big corporations in Boston that don’t need them.
In western Massachusetts, our economy does well when we invest in public transportation, fix our roads and help our farmers and small businesses succeed.
We need to allow the solar industry to continue to grow, and repeal legislative obstacles to the green economy like net metering caps and solar demand charges. With a green economy, we can address economic inequality and climate change at the same time, and get Massachusetts on track to a 100 percent green energy future.
Finally, we need to repair our fraying social safety net so that everyone in our community can succeed. I am running to prove that when you invest in social programs, and when you invest in our communities, we all do better. The people we help today will help others tomorrow.
The stories of people pulling themselves up — not just with their bootstraps, but with a helping hand — will help erase the stigma of poverty, and push our government to do better.
I fundamentally believe state government has the power to lift up all marginalized communities, to provide every child with a great education, to establish free public higher education and to break down systems of oppression. But to achieve these monumental goals, we need to have authentic advocates whose lived experiences are impossible to ignore.
If you elect me, I will be that advocate for you and for all of us in the state Senate. I would be honored to have your vote on Sept. 4.
Chelsea Kline is a candidate for the state Senate seat from the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester district. Visit www.chelseakline.com to learn more.