BOSTON — After three months in the Legislature, state Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, continues to stand against what she considers to be the dangerous policies coming out of Washington, D.C.
Since taking office in January, Domb has co-sponsored a series of progressive bills on immigration, education reform, and issues of gender and sexuality. She also was a strong voice on the recent vote to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors.
“The message we should be sending to all LGBTQ and straight minors is we love you and accept you for who you are. And we are here to support you,” Domb said.
Domb ran as a progressive Democrat last year and won in a Sept. 4 primary over fellow party member Eric Nakajima with more than 62 percent of the vote. She faced no Republican or independent candidate in November’s general election and succeeded former state representative Solomon Goldstein-Rose, also of Amherst, who opted not to seek reelection for a second term and endorsed Domb.
Domb, 59, was inspired to run, she said, by her predecessor’s decision to unenroll from the Democratic Party. In a Legislature dominated by Democrats, Domb said she feels it is important for Amherst to have a foot in the party door. The 3rd Hampshire District includes all of Amherst and Pelham and Precinct 1 in Granby.
Prior to her victory, Domb was executive director of the Amherst Survival Center for five years. The center provides food, health care and community for area residents in need, said Amhest Town Council President Lynn Griesemer, who is also president of the center’s board of directors. Advocacy is an important part of the center’s mission. Griesemer said that under Domb’s leadership, the center was able to greatly expand its service to the community.
“There are certainly things that Mindy has been involved in with the center [and before] that have so qualified her for this position as state representative,” Griesemer said. “She has put her heart and soul into it.”
Continuing her advocacy work has informed her time on Beacon Hill, Domb said. She has long worked to build and head statewide programs outlining procedure for crisis center staff’s treatment of issues surrounding HIV/AIDS, addiction, and LGBTQ youth.
“I think part of what the district wants or needs is someone who’s going to work with other elected officials to move on the issues that they feel strongly about,” Domb said.
Domb now serves on the joint committees of Higher Education; Revenue; Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets; and Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure.
Regarding her position on the higher education committee, “There isn’t really a public process, but there’s a role for an elected official to be an advocate,” Domb said, speaking of Hampshire College’s current financial problems and uncertain future.
The private college has been a part of the community since 1965, and it is one of three colleges in Domb’s district. Earlier this month, Domb and fellow lawmaker, state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, released a letter addressed to Hampshire College president Miriam “Mim” Nelson requesting delays in layoffs and a different approach to the crisis.
Domb said issues that are of the most interest to the voters of Amherst, Granby and Pelham are her focus for the coming session.
It is important to her that she remains accountable to voters in her district, she said, pointing to Question 4 on the November ballot in which nearly 77 percent of voters supported single-payer health care. Domb plans to address this in the coming session, as well as climate change, and threats to underprivileged people. Her election, she said, is a signal of what the voters want to see. She considers her personal values to be in line with that of her constituents.
“I try to amplify voices in the building here, to do that in the district also,” Domb said. “I want to make sure that if there are issues that come up … that I’m able not only to represent constituents’ interests and needs but make sure that those needs are getting met.”
Lillian Ilsley-Greene writes for the Gazette from the Boston University State House Program.