[Danielle Balocca]: Hey listeners, this is Danielle. And Shelley. Shelley is a radical Dravidian and racial equity activist.
[Chelli Keshavan]: And Danielle is a community mobilizer and changemaker. And this is the Medford Bites podcast. Every two weeks, we chew on the issues facing Medford and deliver bites of information about the city by lifting the expertise of our guests.
[Danielle Balocca]: Join us in discussion about what you hope for the future of Medford. And as always, tell us where you like to eat. All right, Christine Barber, thanks for joining me again. We are meeting to talk today just to kind of get some updates since the last time we talked, since the primary is approaching. So thanks again for being here, for making the time. I think there's a few things that maybe would be helpful to catch up on since the last time we talked. So I'm wondering if you want to give us any kind of updates to your campaign, how the end of the legislative session went, just to kind of get us up to date on how things are going for you.
[jsdIPdqDPt8_SPEAKER_12]: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. There's been a lot going on in the last couple months, I think, since I've been on, so it's great to come and share some updates. So yeah, I think we could start with the campaign. We've been knocking thousands of doors and trying to talk to as many voters as possible, of course, and everything from senior dinners and you know, hanging out at the senior center to meeting with younger voters and meeting with people all over Somerville, Medford, Winchester, and North Cambridge. So it has been really fun getting to especially meet people in areas of the district that I don't know as well. I've been, you know, there's a lot more hills in North Medford than I think I ever realized, that not being part of my current district. But it's been really great to get out and talk to folks about just what's going on, especially at really urgent times. Everyone, most people are scared and feel like it's, you know, a time of urgency and things are really challenging. And so there's nothing like going door to door and hearing that from people from different perspectives all over the district and really hearing some themes when you talk to that many people.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah it sounds like you know the last time we talked I think was a couple months ago and I and I think since then we've of course sort of heard more about some of the other candidates that in the race and so I wonder if like you're hearing anything different or uh there aren't sort of other themes that are emerging or if you have any other thoughts about how be how maybe you see yourself as um having like some distinction from anyone else on the road.
[jsdIPdqDPt8_SPEAKER_12]: I mean, I think I'm definitely hearing that there's high stakes right now, right? We have an incredibly hostile federal government. You know, the Trump administration is attacking immigrants, but also attacking our health care, attacking our rights in many ways. And then families are also being priced out. People are getting displaced. Seniors are talking about really being squeezed in their budgets and affordability. And so what I'm really hearing from people is they They're looking really more for action than talk and really delivering on the issues. And in my record of having passed dozens of laws and gotten millions of dollars for the district, I'm really hearing that people want someone who's actually delivering in these urgent times. rather than someone who is able to talk about the values and talk about some of these things, but not necessarily deliver on them.
[Danielle Balocca]: And I'm sure in the time since we talked, there have been some updates to what you've been working on and what sort of anything that's passed or anything that has happened in the legislative session since the last time we talked. We'd love to hear about that.
[jsdIPdqDPt8_SPEAKER_12]: Yeah, there has been a lot, which is good because it's really urgent times, as I said. So obviously one of the most pressing issues right now is ICE and ICE coming after people in our community in Medford, but really throughout the state and the country. And as Massachusetts, you know, trying to figure out how we can stand up to ICE and do as much as we can to protect people in the communities, So I filed the Dignity Not Deportations Bill right when Trump was elected, which stops ICE from working with our local and state law enforcements and stops ICE from deputizing our law enforcement. And so in the last couple weeks, working with the Black and Latino Caucus, who led on this larger bill called the PROTECT Act, I got my bill Dignity Not Deportations as part of the PROTECT Act. And we just got that signed into law, I think, about two weeks ago now. And the bill signing was in Chelsea and in a place that has really been ground zero for a lot of ICE detentions. And people came together and it was like a celebration and some hope from people who had worked on this bill And now, you know, so the bill stops ICE from working with law enforcement, also stops ICE from going into or around courthouses, schools, health care centers, and importantly also creates a prosecution for ICE. So if ICE, if someone who works for ICE is violating the rights of people in Massachusetts, they can actually be prosecuted. And that is a new thing that most states have not yet done. And so I was really proud of having part of that and making sure that we're standing up to ICE as a community and as a state and putting that into state law.
[Danielle Balocca]: Wow, so so ICE has like a federal agency can be prosecuted by. By the state, is that what you're saying?
[jsdIPdqDPt8_SPEAKER_12]: It would be individuals, is how I understand it, is if something, you know, happens, God forbid, like happened in Maine, or even if it's something where they are violating our rights, which we've seen all over the place, that the state would have, the attorney general could prosecute them as individuals because they are violating state law and violating rights of people here who are residents.
[Danielle Balocca]: Wow, that is really good to hear. That sounds like a big step for, I think, some of the stuff that we've been hearing. Some of the really awful stuff that we've been hearing is still happening. And I think people have maybe, it's maybe slipped the radar for some of us, but we know that's like still very, very active in Medford and the surrounding area.
[jsdIPdqDPt8_SPEAKER_12]: Absolutely. And yeah, I hear of ACE activity all the time, especially around the Somerville Courthouse. And we know it's all over our communities, but I've definitely heard of sightings and people have been detained in Medford recently. So it's happening. It's happening more quietly, but happening to people who are members of our community and, you know, trying to do the right thing. and ice is coming in and poking them. So there's another build that I worked on that I wanted to update on as well. With the many attacks, one is obviously against reproductive freedom since the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade now four years ago. So in Massachusetts, we passed a number of bills to protect patients here. including the Roe Act. A couple years ago, we passed a bill to protect patients and providers so other states can't prosecute us if people are getting abortion or reproductive care. And I filed a bill this year after talking with some patients who were seeking abortion care later in pregnancy. because something had gone terribly wrong in the pregnancy. So the patients I spoke with had had really terrible, devastating complications in their pregnancy. And when their doctor recommended that they get an abortion, they were not able to hear because we had a law about the number of weeks in a pregnancy where you could get abortion care. So it was meaning that The decision wasn't between a patient and a doctor. It was coming from politicians and lawyers. So I drafted a law, and the governor signed it about two weeks ago, that makes sure that if a doctor and a patient decide that an abortion is the best route of care for the patient, then they can get that medical care here. And the stories that I heard, and some folks have gone public with that, is they've had to go to other states to get that care. So they've had to go to doctors who are not their own doctors, away from their support systems, and pay out of pocket, which is incredibly expensive and traumatic. And so this is a law that many of us are fighting for and I'm really proud that we were able to again stand up as Massachusetts to make sure that reproductive rights are enshrined in law and that we're standing up when the federal government is going the other way on laws like these.
[Danielle Balocca]: Wow, yeah. So these are two great examples of how, I've been learning in these interviews about how the importance of like state government is in sort of this level of protection and level of advocacy for us, for the federal government. So these are two great examples of how you've been working on that since the last time we talked. Is there anything else that you want to make sure that you mention?
[jsdIPdqDPt8_SPEAKER_12]: Yeah, and I just underscore, at times like these when the federal government is both not being a good partner, of course, they've been cutting money for food stamps and for environmental protections and housing, and I support the state getting more revenue from corporations to fill those gaps and make sure we're supporting people here. But also making sure we have laws at the state level that we're passing laws to be a firewall. And I think it's true. People don't always understand state government. But one of the important things at a time like this is that we need to protect our residents and have strong state laws. And that's the work that I've been doing is for years and continue to do is making sure I'm at the table to get the law passed and negotiate and work with members of the legislature to actually get things passed into state law and really delivering on the issues that matter the most. So there's lots more to do. I've been working on housing and tenant opportunity to purchase, so this policy where if a building comes up for sale, the tenants would be able to band together and have a chance to buy it, either working with a non-profit or maybe the city. That's been useful in other states to prevent displacement and provide affordable home ownership. And I got that passed in the House. Senator Dalen actually got it passed in the Senate, and we're right now trying to negotiate it and get it over the finish line. There is so much more to do on housing, on climate, and to support immigrants. And I'm really excited to work together with coalitions on the ground and get that work done as a senator.
[Danielle Balocca]: Thank you. I think that's been some of the messaging that we've been hearing is like how to like, I think, you know, for me personally, it's like sort of mystery about city government or state government and how that's how I'm learning more about it. And I think with this race being more competitive than maybe it has been in the past, other people are learning about it and sort of like this idea of kind of disrupting the status quo and sort of making sure that There is like this sort of coalition building to get these things passed. I like that you mentioned the part about creating revenue within the state in terms of like collecting taxes from corporations and the ultra wealthy, things like that to maybe offset some of the cuts that the federal government is seeing. So yeah, I think those are really important things. that we've been hearing about sort of from other candidates as well, so I'm glad that you mentioned that. And we're getting really close to the primary, so any other like thoughts or things you want to make sure that we know about your campaign before we go to vote?
[jsdIPdqDPt8_SPEAKER_12]: Yeah, I mean, I think in times that are very high stakes, you know, I think we need a senator who is ready on day one and really is delivering on the issues and passing these laws. And it is not easy to do in Massachusetts. It really requires organizing, working with legislators, and pushing back against you know, leadership in the statehouse and making sure that you're staying there until the person gets the driver's license, the person gets the health care that they need, because only when the law passed is when you can actually deliver that. So it's really not about what you say, but what you're delivering. And with that, I'm asking for your vote September 1, or if you're early voting, you can do that through August 28th, and look forward to working and delivering for Medford and the surrounding communities.
[Danielle Balocca]: All right. Well, thanks, Christine. Thanks for coming on the podcast as much as you have, and good luck in the primaries. Thanks, Danielle. Really appreciate the time. Thank you.