{"id":2739,"date":"2018-07-16T16:28:16","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T20:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/?p=2739"},"modified":"2018-07-27T10:14:52","modified_gmt":"2018-07-27T14:14:52","slug":"dear-neighbor-my-name-nika-elugardo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/staging03\/dear-neighbor-my-name-nika-elugardo\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Neighbor, My Name is Nika Elugardo."},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m a progressive Democrat running for State Representative against Jeffrey S\u00e1nchez in the upcoming Democratic primary.<\/strong> I\u2019ve met many of you at your homes and hope to meet all of you over the course of the summer. I\u2019m reaching out today to introduce myself, to let you know what I stand for and why, and to begin a conversation about what\u2019s at stake in this election and why I decided to run.<\/p>\n

When I was a child, I was taken on drug deals from Columbus, Ohio, to Miami, Florida. (I\u2019ll explain more about this.) Thinking about that time, it is hard to imagine that one day I\u2019d be\u00a0asking for your support to become our State Representative. But it\u2019s my personal background\u00a0that motivates me to be a champion for justice. I\u2019m running because I value the brilliance,\u00a0passion, and experience of our diverse communities. And I\u2019m challenging this incumbent\u00a0because I believe the \u201cleadership team\u201d he belongs to \u2013 that of House Speaker Bob DeLeo \u2013 is\u00a0the greatest obstacle to bold progressive change in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

In the Democratic primary on September 4th, we have a choice: someone who has stood with Speaker DeLeo and been personally rewarded for it, or someone who will champion our shared progressive values even when it means standing up to the House leadership. I will fight for fully funded public education, affordable housing justly defined, equitable healthcare for all, climate readiness, and the rights of all to thrive, especially people of color, immigrants, elders, and the LGBTQ+ community. I will listen to community residents \u2013 with special outreach to the most marginalized \u2013 to get their insights and inform my advocacy.<\/p>\n

During law school, I was a state tax and constitutional law intern in State Senator Sonia ChangD\u00edaz\u2019s office and then stayed on as the Senior Advisor for Policy and Planning and the Jamaica Plain liaison. Sonia hires high-integrity people who understand research-based policy and analysis. Her approach to justice is one of uncompromising commitment to execution and accountability to residents of all backgrounds. I represented her at meetings regarding the Casey Overpass project and spoke up about the need for infrastructure that is appropriate, safe, and accessible. The community was brought into a thoughtful process that considered the interests of bikers, pedestrians, and drivers of every socioeconomic background and ability status from the diverse parts of the district. To me, this project shows what accountable, progressive leadership can do when putting the district\u2019s interests first and why Senator Chang-D\u00edaz is the model of leadership we need more of in our State Legislature.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But to get to work with leaders such as Senator Chang-D\u00edaz, I had to endure hardships caused by structural racism and poverty, which shaped my worldview today.<\/p>\n

My Personal Story<\/h3>\n

I was born in Columbus, Ohio, the oldest of seven children in an African-American family living\u00a0on poverty wages. My dad, granddad, and uncle were all construction workers and masons, and\u00a0my dad learned welding in the Navy during the Vietnam War. I remember being four years old,\u00a0padding down the stairs rubbing my eyes at 4:30 AM after hearing my dad getting ready for work.\u00a0I used to sit on his lap while he put on his huge work boots, his alien-looking welder\u2019s\u00a0mask beside him. He had such a sense of satisfaction from the combination of creativity and\u00a0hard physical labor. I inherited that from him. As much as he loved welding, my father was\u00a0beside himself with joy and pride when he was admitted to a scholarship program for\u00a0engineers. It was funded by a machine shop that hired men of color from high-risk backgrounds\u00a0and communities. I remember my dad walking me through the shop area to his drafting office with pride. He and his bosses, both white men, said, \u201cYou should be an engineer one day!\u201d\u00a0Behind the huge cookie they\u2019d given me (the size of my grinning face), I thought that idea
\nsounded good.<\/p>\n

It was devastating to our family when Harper Industries could no longer provide fair wage work\u00a0because of changing policies and ultimately had to shut down. My dad struggled to return to his\u00a0previous profession due to increasing racism in the trades. He returned for some years to drug\u00a0dealing and conning, which kept our family eating but was devastating in so many other ways.\u00a0The next few years were full of love and support from my extended family, but they weren\u2019t\u00a0easy. My dad taught me young to fight. I have vivid memories of being dragged behind a\u00a0dumpster by bullies in elementary school. In that school we had a principal who physically and\u00a0verbally abused black children and even broke a young boy\u2019s ribs. It was at this young age that I\u00a0became a protester against the injustices heaped on girls and on black and brown children.\u00a0I stood up to the schoolyard bullies. I stood up to that principal. Later, in high school and college,\u00a0I stood up to unfair practices by businesses, corporations, and the government.<\/p>\n

Almost every year throughout my childhood, my family was evicted or moved for some other\u00a0reason, such as a failed con or other local danger. I was pushed out of multiple communities,\u00a0changing schools nine times until I was finally enrolled at the Columbus School for Girls on\u00a0scholarship. My grandmother and the middle school vice principal claimed that this was the\u00a0best way to escape the violence of the neighborhood high school. I remember the anger I felt\u00a0yet could not then express that they would take me out of the school rather than fix it for all\u00a0the kids.<\/p>\n

Studying at the Columbus School for Girls changed the trajectory of my life. It was not only the\u00a0instruction but also the unyielding support of so many loving teachers that set me on the path\u00a0to MIT, a school many in my community had never heard of. At the same time, not every adult\u00a0in my high school was supportive. While my trigonometry teacher pushed me to take high-level\u00a0math exams, my guidance counselor refused to give me the paper application she kept in her\u00a0office because she said I would never get accepted by any school that required a high-level\u00a0exam. I had to search her office right in front of her to find it myself. (She was so resentful\u00a0when I got into MIT and the three Ivy League schools I applied to that she threw a party for\u00a0\u201ceveryone who didn\u2019t get into one of their dream schools.\u201d That was everyone in our class of 46\u00a0girls except for me and my friend, who then received a personal invitation from the counselor.)\u00a0I remember sitting in an ivy-clad brick tower on our high school campus, staring out the window\u00a0at the beauty of my surroundings and marveling that I was having full conversations in French with\u00a0other girls. It was such a striking difference from all the other schools I\u2019d attended. I blurted out\u00a0in French, \u201cEvery kid in my neighborhood should have this level of education.\u201d The teacher responded\u00a0in French that the kids in my neighborhood would ruin this school. I replied,\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m the only kid from my neighborhood you\u2019ve ever met. Am I ruining this school?\u201d<\/p>\n

Thankfully, however, for every negative or racist word that was spoken, there were a hundred\u00a0people vouching for me and even pushing me further than I thought I could reach. For example,\u00a0Dr. Hall, my double-Princeton-PhD physics teacher who chose to teach high school girls because\u00a0\u201cthere was no more important profession than the education of young women in the sciences.\u201d\u00a0He\u2019s the one who strong-armed me into applying to MIT. Or Mrs. Lodge, who rescued me from\u00a0the 9th grade teacher who told me that I \u201cjust didn\u2019t have a good head for writing\u201d and\u00a0delivered me to my 11th grade teacher, an award-winning A+ writer.<\/p>\n

I share these stories with you not just so that you can understand the source of my own\u00a0passion for justice and the policies that make or break it. I share them because I know that in\u00a0our district we all strive for the indomitable resilience and optimism that mark the lives of\u00a0people who have lived surrounded by champions. People in our district believe that anyone\u00a0can overcome the many obstacles to their dreams with the support of family and community.\u00a0We understand that this applies not only to \u201cpoor\u201d kids growing up in the ghetto. It applies to\u00a0all of us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My own commitment to these principals has been borne out time and again in my 23 years of\u00a0experience in community and economic development. My first job out of MIT was with the\u00a0National Consumer Law Center\u2019s Foreclosure Prevention Project, where we developed and\u00a0trained leaders across the country on groundbreaking models to help low-income and elder\u00a0residents keep their utilities and mortgages current. We had an 88% success rate at keeping\u00a0people in their homes. I went on to work for the Emmanuel Gospel Center, developing\u00a0community leadership and collaboration in diverse areas including gender justice, community\u00a0health and wellness, and youth development. Over the years I worked with more than 300\u00a0organizations of every size and with businesses locally and abroad to teach and facilitate\u00a0results-driven and community-led research and action.<\/p>\n

Helping diverse voices develop and share effective and accountable leadership at the\u00a0decision-making table is the core that runs through all my work experiences. I\u2018ve been intentional\u00a0about periodically bolstering my capacity to bring people together through formal education.\u00a0At Harvard\u2019s Kennedy School, my masters-level studies in negotiation, leadership, and political\u00a0advocacy boosted my understanding of the complex dynamics of management and\u00a0organizational development. In law school at Boston University, where I understudied mentors\u00a0in both law and economics, I crafted special studies on the use of legislation to engage\u00a0communities and private corporations in anti-corruption and human rights work.<\/p>\n

After graduating law school and working for Senator Chang-D\u00edaz, I became the founding\u00a0director of MassSaves.org, a multi-sector collaborative. Once again, I worked with community\u00a0and public organizations and with bankers to promote asset development and economic justice in\u00a0low-income communities statewide. I next went back to Emmanuel Gospel, where I worked\u00a0until I decided to campaign full time.<\/p>\n

My values of freedom from oppression for people of color, elders, people with differing and\u00a0disabilities, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community all stem from my deep roots in faith. My\u00a0Christian faith is important to me and is rooted in love, acceptance, and respect. I\u2019m passionate\u00a0about ending structural oppression and injustice in all its forms, including in my own\u00a0congregation. When an anti-LGBTQ+ organization wanted to hold a meeting at my place of\u00a0worship, I was the first to speak out against it. I have ardently worked and continue to work\u00a0with faith leaders to help inform and transform our ability to fully accept, love, and embrace\u00a0our LGBTQ+ family. For years, I\u2019ve worked to build support among evangelical churches for the\u00a0Public Accommodations bill, now law, protecting transgender rights and safety. This work is\u00a0especially important in congregations like mine, mostly comprised of communities of color,\u00a0where ironically the experience of LGBTQ+ oppression can be widespread and accepted. We are\u00a0always stronger as a community when we affirm the dignity of all and unyieldingly promote\u00a0values rooted in love for all our neighbors.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s At Stake in This Election<\/h3>\n

I respect Chairman S\u00e1nchez, as he has done many things for the community. However, Speaker\u00a0DeLeo has been a roadblock to real justice and that has held Massachusetts back. Right now the\u00a0window is open for the culture to change on Beacon Hill, but if we want Massachusetts to lead\u00a0again we need to elect leaders who will stand up for our values no matter what. Chairman S\u00e1nchez is not that leader.<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m elected your State Representative, I will work to dismantle structural oppression and\u00a0bigotry in our laws and legislative frameworks. I want oppression in our state and our\u00a0communities to be a historic memory, not a contemporary reality. My daughter is getting\u00a0married next month. Naturally I think often of the future I want to leave to my grandchildren\u2019s\u00a0grandchildren. For this future, we need a champion to fight for us now, and, as I learned young,\u00a0we need to champion one another.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, September 4th in the Democratic primary, you get to choose your champion.<\/h3>\n

I humbly ask to earn your vote and, if you haven\u2019t yet, that you join this movement for\u00a0progressive transformation and policy at the Massachusetts State House and in legislatures\u00a0across the country.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be in touch again soon to elaborate my progressive platform for change, shared with\u00a0advocates and legislators across the district and state. Until then, as always, I\u2018m eager to listen\u00a0to your concerns and priorities. Please don\u2019t hesitate to reach out to me at info@electnika.com<\/a>\u00a0or 617-971-8743.<\/p>\n

Warmly,<\/strong>
\nNika Elugardo<\/strong><\/p>\n

PD: Si prefiere leer mi carta en espa\u00f1ol, me encantar\u00eda llev\u00e1rsela. Por favor cont\u00e1cteme al n\u00famero de\u00a0tel\u00e9fono que menciono arriba. \u00a1Gracias!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m a progressive Democrat running for State Representative against Jeffrey S\u00e1nchez in the upcoming Democratic primary. I\u2019m reaching out today to introduce myself, to let you know what I stand for and why, to begin a conversation about what\u2019s at stake in this election, and why I decided to run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2781,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"categories":[4,66],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/staging03\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2739"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/staging03\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/staging03\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/staging03\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/staging03\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2739"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/staging03\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2745,"href":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/staging03\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2739\/revisions\/2745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/staging03\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/staging03\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/staging03\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electnika.com\/staging03\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}