Gouveia to speak at Sundays with the Candidates in Worthington

WORTHINGTON – Lieutenant governor candidate Rep. Tami Gouveia, D-Acton, who is approaching the job with the lens of a social worker, will be appearing at Sundays with the Candidates this Sunday.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Gouveia said.

The program, which is put on by the Town Democratic Committee, will take place over Zoom starting at 2 p.m. and is open to all western Massachusetts residents, regardless of community. Those interested in attending should email Worthingtondem@gmail.com with their name and town to receive the Zoom link.

A state representative and doctor of public health who represents the 14th Middlesex District, Gouveia is running for lieutenant governor on a platform that highlights her support for Medicare For All.

“I have been a supporter of a single-payer health care system since 1988,” Gouveia said.

She related how at that time a cousin of hers got into a bad car accident in Canada, and how because of that country’s single-payer health care system her aunt and uncle didn’t have to pay anything. Gouveia said that, had that accident occurred in the U.S., they would have been bankrupt.

Other issues of importance for Gouveia’s campaign are affordable housing, the mental health care crisis, childcare, and the climate crisis. And she said that her approach to policymaking is informed by her background as a social worker.

“My social work lens is how I approach policymaking,” she said.

Gouveia said that getting to the root cause of issues is important, and noted how she’s heard that investment properties and short term rentals are proving to be an issue for affordable housing in multiple places.

“I don’t believe we’re doing enough to address those,” she said.

Gouveia is an alumnae of Mount Holyoke College, and she said that she has visited Massachusetts’ four counties multiple times in her campaign for lieutenant governor.

“Being in the happy valley in western Mass is always wonderful for me,” she said.

She also noted how she’s heard from colleagues who represent western Massachusetts that people in the regi on don’t feel heard by Beacon Hill and Boston, and pointed to economic challenges for the region.

“Western Mass in general hasn’t really recovered from the 2008 recession,” she said.

Asked about rural and small town Massachusetts, she touted the benefit of investing in a strong social safety net for rural areas.

Gouveia is running to lead a recovery from COVID-19 for the commonwealth, and in terms of what a recovery from COVID-19 would involve, Gouveia advocates for more investment in the human services fields and supporting small businesses with more technical assistance and grants.

She has also highlighted her record in the legislature as a progressive on issues that include standing up for the LGBTQ community and advocating for protecting access to abortion, and has been endorsed by Our Revolution and Progressive Mass.

Other Democratic candidates running for lieutenant governor are Bret Bero, a business educator and the former owner of ECHO Industries in Orange; Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll; state Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield; and state Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow.