[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: Very good. Very good.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: Absolutely. Yeah, thank you so much.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: Yeah.
[Abigail Dickson]: Awesome.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.
[Abigail Dickson]: 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.