Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 3/30/2022
AMHERST – As state Rep. Mindy Domb prepares for a re-election bid later this year, Reminder Publishing was able to interview her on her thoughts from this past term and what she hopes to accomplish if re-elected.
While the election does not take place on Nov. 8, Domb recently announced her intentions to run for another term.
When talking about what she has learned during her past term, one clouded by the pandemic, the representative said she gained a better understanding of concerns and needs across the state that helped her be better advocate for her neighbors.
“Learning about other legislator’s priorities, their districts, and their concerns helps me to find common ground to make our commonwealth better and build change, and offers new opportunities for partnership. That certainly happened during the pandemic,” Domb said.
She continued by noting the pandemic accentuated the need for constituent services and advocating for regional equity in the distribution of state resources.
Domb added that she is a big believer in intentionally creating channels for regular direct communication with constituents.
Because of this belief, Domb said she would continue advocating for the continuation of remote participation for residents in town meetings.
“It shouldn’t take a full day off of work, plus the gas expenses, and the cost of a parking space, to participate in a public hearing for less than three minutes,” Domb said.
Domb reflected more on her accomplishments achieved during the last term but was honest in explaining how unusual of a term it was. Starting completely remote and with very few in-person events made the position very unusual before COVID-19 regulations were loosened.
When things were more back on track, Domb said she was able to make progress with several of her bills advancing from committee on the legislative side of the job. She also added she has been able to effectively support other bills of importance to the district.
Domb said that she made the effort of continuing working with her communities, even over Zoom if needed, to have regular check-ins on different topics to keep her and her district connected and updated on what’s going on.
“For example, we had economic development check-ins with Amherst organizations, and a regular roundtable on food insecurity in Granby with their food distribution organizations,” Domb said. “I’m very grateful that the participants in these meetings felt that these meetings were as worthwhile as I did. Those meetings helped to identify the needs and priorities for advocacy which became my go-to list during the year.”
Domb also added that she was proud to be able to continue constituent services without interruption and provide assistance to hundreds of people.
“Working with other Western Massachusetts legislators, and in partnership with our state senators in collaboration with UMass, we were able to secure COVID specific services for Western Massachusetts residents and improve the delivery of many of these services,” Domb said.
One big change coming if re-elected is the demographic changes of the district, as Domb will no longer be serving Pelham. When asked how this would impact her work with the schools, as Amherst will be providing regional schooling for grades 6-12, Domb said she does not expect it to affect her advocacy or her work on the schools in her district. Pelham will now join Leverett and Shutesbury as communities in the Amherst Regional School District that have a representative other than Domb.
Domb added even while only representing the town of Amherst and Granby, she has always strongly advocated and supported programs for all students and staff in those buildings.
“I suspect and hope that one result from redistricting will be that it will bring another voice of support in the Legislature for the Amherst Regional School District in particular, and for regional districts and schools with declining enrollments, generally,” Domb said.
She noted that as an optimist, she’s viewing the redistricting as the addition of another legislator to the coalition of support for Pelham in particular, small schools and regional districts overall. She added that representing Pelham for her gave her good insight and a better understanding into the challenges of small schools in rural areas and says she is sure it will do the same for the future representative.
Domb continued by saying the change in the district is sad for her as she has come to know, respect and admire the many Pelham residents and been inspired by their commitment and activism on issues. The changes in her district reflect that Amherst, as well as the entire district overall, gained population in the 2020 census, while many other parts of Western Massachusetts lost population.
The 3.8 percent increase in reported population from the census made it so redistricting was needed to create districts of equal size and also a respect for equity and opportunity districts. As a result, most Western Massachusetts districts have done some reshuffling.
“That said, Pelham will continue to share many priorities with the 3rd Hampshire (education, environment, climate, etc.) as well as other community assets,” Domb said. “I don’t imagine my focus will change, although my engagement with the remaining towns will continue and deepen.”
When looking again a re-election, Domb has already started identifying new goals for a new term. One significant goal is accessibility to residents. The representative is looking to have more in-person events and opportunities, including town halls, as well as more face-to-face opportunities with residents and more times to meet with specific groups.
“I want to make sure that folks feel they can reach me and increase people’s understanding of how state government works and how they can influence it,” Domb said. “I want to facilitate opportunities for residents of the 3rd Hampshire to meet with Beacon Hill leaders on issues of concern.”
Domb said legislatively, she still needs time to assess how her bills did at the end of the session in order to prioritize for the next session. She added that she also hopes to continue to partner with state Sen. Jo Comerford to ensure that state resources come to the district to support the projects and goals of local communities.
“I’ll continue to prioritize working with the Western Massachusetts delegation to make sure that the region gets our fair share of state resources, including and maybe most especially as it concerns to public transportation,” Domb said.