[Danielle Balocca]: The following interview is with City Council candidate Abigail Dixon. Information for the intro was taken from Abigail's campaign website, which is linked in the show notes for further reading. Abigail grew up in West Medford and was homeschooled during elementary school and high school. They received a full chancellor scholarship to attend UMass Boston, graduating summa cum laude in 2020 with a bachelor's in women's, gender, and sexuality studies, as well as theater arts. Abigail has been organizing to make change at the community level since age 13. They have helped to organize the Boston area homeschooling Queer Straight Alliance, the Medford Farmers Market, and the Mystic LGBTQ Youth Support Group. Abigail also works as the artistic director of a local theater company. All right. Hi, Abigail. Thanks so much for joining me on the podcast. Before we start with the political questions, I'm kind of trying to dig deep on the podcast about food in Medford and folks' opinions about the best food. So I'm wondering if you have a favorite restaurant or cafe that you go to or a favorite item that you'd order.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sure. You know, I live right in West Medford Square, so I tend to frequent those establishments quite a lot. So you've got Magnificent Muffin and Bagel there, Medford Classic. But I recently, Deep Cut's Deli just moved in recently, so I've been eating their vegan sandwiches, which are very good.
[Danielle Balocca]: I was going to say, I recently had the vegan meatball sandwich there, and I was impressed. It was delicious.
[SPEAKER_00]: Very good. Very good.
[Danielle Balocca]: Cool. Good recommendation. Awesome. So as I've been reading about the candidates to prepare for these interviews, it's been striking how busy everybody is. You're involved in a lot in your personal life. And I've been going to some of these events around town, seeing all the candidates there. It sounds like it's taking a lot of time, and it's impressive. And it sounds like you've been doing some things at the community level since you were pretty young. So I'm just curious if you could talk a little bit about your path to running for city council and path to local politics.
[SPEAKER_00]: sure yeah um i you know i like that you mentioned my community work because that's i think that's really what ultimately led me to running for office um you know i i when i was 13 i always tell this story but it's like i feel that it's really where my campaign began because that's where I started thinking about issues in my community and how to solve those issues and where the gaps are and where the inequities are and how to fill those gaps. And so when I was 13, I wanted to play major roles in Shakespeare, basically. I wanted to play Hamlet, but I didn't really see the opportunity for someone that was my age. I was 13, and I was you know, a pretty queer kid, to be quite honest.
[Danielle Balocca]: I can relate to that.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I didn't really see the opportunity for myself, so I decided to start a theater company because I wanted to create that opportunity for people like me. And I think that's really carried out through the rest of my life in terms of organizing with queer organizations, reproductive rights organizations. up to this point of me running for city council because I think there's a lot that we're dealing with in Medford right now in terms of the affordability crisis and the housing. You know, climate justice is always a huge pressing issue, so that's really what spurred me to start thinking about running for office, was seeing all of that in the community and wanting to get involved.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, no, you bring up a great point. So sort of like, you know, living here for your whole life, it sounds like and these observations that you've made about kind of what what's going on in the city. Do you have any thoughts about like any priorities in terms of like what you would change if elected?
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, really, though, the issue that really got me thinking about running was housing affordability in the city. I grew up in West Medford. You know, I saw a lot a lot of people move out over the years. Houses get flipped and turned into fancy condos that no one in the neighborhood could really afford. And that was something that really affected me growing up. And now I'm a renter in the city. I'm seeing that side of the affordability. I really want to make sure that anyone who wants to live here can afford to live here and I think that there is a lot of policy action that we can take on a local level to help stabilize folks and encourage more affordable housing development in our city.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, my wife and I talk all the time about how when we bought our house, I think in 2014, and it's like, what, if you look on Zillow, the price is like skyrocketed. And in my mind, I'm like, well, like if we, if we ever sold this house, we couldn't afford to move anywhere else. And also you'd be kind of like out of your mind to pay that much for this house. You know, it's, it's really interesting. So, and it's, it's nice to hear that those are things that you're thinking about. Absolutely. You mentioned equity earlier and so I'm wondering if you have thoughts like I guess something I hear about in a lot of the some of the debates and when I listen to city council meetings I hear like talks about like zoning and different priorities and policing and I wonder if Like what your thoughts are on sort of how to make Medford more equitable.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. I mean a lot of it is on a very basic policy level. It is about zoning. It is about the services in the city. It is about, you know, having translation services for all of those. It is about all of those little kind of nitty gritty policy things that people don't necessarily think about as being about equity, but they are because you know, what the zoning allows for in terms of housing development is very tied to, you know, how much housing we have, how affordable it is. That's definitely a huge piece beyond that. A really important piece on the equity side is getting a charter review in our city. I don't know. For those who don't know, a charter review is We haven't reviewed our city charter in over 30 years, and it dictates how the government is set up. And right now, we have seven at-large seats for city council. So the biggest outcome or hope for a charter review would be to get ward representation, which would mean that there would be a city councilor for each neighborhood in the city, plus a couple of at-large seats. So we would have representation for all of the areas in the city.
[Danielle Balocca]: And I see how when I drive around and see everyone's campaign signs, like in Malden, I notice on the signs it'll say like Ward 3 or whatever. And so that would be a change that would potentially come from a charter review sort of voting to determine if that would be a change that Medford would make.
[SPEAKER_00]: Exactly, yeah. As a first-time candidate, the prospect of running is so daunting because it is running for the whole city, and campaigns are really expensive and really hard to organize. It would reduce some barriers to candidates who may not have the resources or the time to really build that scale of a campaign, and it would also allow for representation of all the different neighborhoods, so it's really a win.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah. On all fronts. Yeah, no, that's really helpful to know. It's like, yeah, I think we hear all these terms on people's websites, and it's helpful to have an explanation about what that could mean.
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely. Yeah, thank you so much.
[Danielle Balocca]: Anything you would add on the equity question?
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, having a more representative government is really important, and part of achieving that would be charter review. It's really important right now, as always, for the city government to stand up for equity and justice in our city. And right now, we don't have a full... I feel that we don't have a strong voice in that way.
[Danielle Balocca]: like our kind of community in the city and like lots of other queer families. And like, I think that it's not something that we expected, but it's been surprising and really nice. And, and I think you're speaking to sort of like having that representation on the, on the sort of city government level. And it sounds like really powerful to me.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's really important and it's something that I wish I had growing up in the city. I always was interested in local politics, but I didn't even think that running would be a possibility for me until last year. There was just not anyone like me on the council or who shared my values even on a policy standpoint, but also from purely a representational standpoint.
[Danielle Balocca]: Well, I appreciate you taking that risk there and putting yourself out there. Yeah, for sure. Is there anything that you're currently working on or have going that you want to amplify or make sure to mention for voters to know about?
[SPEAKER_00]: Let me see. Gosh. They're just all of the policy stuff I'm working, you know, that I'm thinking about is always really important. I mean, the thing I haven't talked about yet which is really important is climate action and resiliency. Again, there are actions that we can take on a municipal level to help mitigate the climate crisis and also make sure that we're prepared for flooding, for climate events that may come our way. from an infrastructure standpoint, we really need to be ready for those.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, you know, and I was listening to Michelle Wu in an interview with her and one of the points she was making was how local government can really set like a precedent for larger systems, right? And so it seems like Medford has an opportunity there in terms of climate change. in all of these policies that you're mentioning to sort of like set set an expectation for other communities right because climate change feels like Just like when we think about the pandemic right like one community affects another in these big ways, so that's really cool All right, so we're gonna move to sort of the more less political questions But um it could you talk about like what you appreciate about the city of Medford sure yeah, um I I love Medford I
[SPEAKER_00]: I think what I always enjoyed about the city particularly is that we have the fells, we have the river, we have all this beautiful nature and green space, but then I can also feel like I'm in a city and there are things to do and maybe we can continue that community building and making more things to do, particularly Medford Square. to go back to the policy standpoint. But that's one of my favorite things about the city is that we have both nature and we have community that's going on at the same time and in the same city. And I can kind of bounce back and forth. I can relax in nature and I can be a part of a bustling community. And obviously, you know, I love my neighbors and the people.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, totally. I think that's, like, we talk about that all the time, like, being able to go to the Fells, but also, you know, being able to get easily to, like, the Children's Museum, and getting to work is pretty easy when the traffic isn't terrible. So, you know, like, all those things, I think I would echo that, too. What is, like, something that, about you, that would, might surprise us?
[SPEAKER_00]: Surprise. I don't know. The first thing that popped into my head is that I play the violin because it's just like a human thing about me. I like to play. I've played for a long time.
[Danielle Balocca]: We wouldn't know about that. Nice.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[Danielle Balocca]: That's awesome. Yeah, something that we wouldn't know just from your campaign website. So that's cool.
[SPEAKER_00]: Awesome.
[Danielle Balocca]: And could you talk about important advice that you've received that you would pass on to someone else?
[SPEAKER_00]: Sure, my family dynamic growing up was always do the things you care about. Go after what you're passionate about. And I think that's what I've been doing for a long time in the theater world, in the queer activism world, and now in the local government, finding policies that match my values and my beliefs. That's great.
[Danielle Balocca]: And it's clear in the energy that you bring to it, right? That it's something that you care about. Awesome. Well, thank you for sharing that. Is there anything that I haven't asked you about that you wanted to make sure to share with listeners?
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that... I mean, another thing that I really care about is just getting as many people involved in this process as possible. And that includes younger folks, like youth engagement is a big part of my platform. you know, and board representation and charter views and other things that can help that, just bringing more people into this process is really important because municipal politics, the engagement level, the voter participation level is so low, and I think all of the things that we can do to really help that and create a more representative government are really important.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I've heard like people canvassing have been surprised that like some people don't even know there's a municipal election coming up, right? And so being able to spread that word and hopefully the podcast helps with that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Get out and vote. Early voting starts on Saturday. Or you can vote on November 2nd. And also, you know, get engaged. And with the politicians that you care about, with the candidates that you care about, there are so many opportunities to volunteer and knock doors and make calls for the candidates that you really care about. And it's important. It's an exciting election.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, it sure is. Yeah. And thank you so much for coming on today. And good luck. Thank you. Thank you for listening to this interview. A link to the campaign website is listed in the show notes. For any feedback or questions about the podcast, please email medfordpod at gmail.com. You can also subscribe and rate the podcast on Spotify, and follow the podcast on Instagram at medfordbitespodcast, that's M-E-D-F-O-R-D-B-Y-T-E-S-P-O-D-C-A-S-T, for updates about upcoming episodes and other announcements. Thank you to all who have supported this podcast, but especially to my wife, Brittany. Guys, what's the name of the podcast? Medford Bites. Medford Bites. Good job.