GREATER SPRINGFIELD – Three candidates for the 9th Hampden District seat took turns answering questions about disparities in the district on Aug. 20.

The forum, hosted by The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the Springfield Food Policy & Action Council, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) and the Springfield Urban League and was titled Food for Thought: Food Justice and Equity, Hampden County Candidates Forums. The forum, which was moderated by Reminder Publishing’s managing editor, G. Michael Dobbs, consisted of two parts. In the first part of the forum, each candidate had 90 seconds to respond to the same question, however, in the second part of the forum candidates took turns choosing a number to which a question had been randomly assigned.

The three candidates, Orlando Ramos, Denise Hurst and Sean Mullan are vying for votes to see which will take the place of current Rep. Jose Tosada, who announced earlier in the year he would not be seeking reelection after serving three consecutive terms.

Currently, Hurst serves as a member of the Springfield School Committee while Ramos is serving his second consecutive term as Springfield City Council president. The 9th Hampden District is made up of parts of Springfield and Chicopee. Mullan is a Democrat party activist.

The first question asked each candidate how they would address issues related to the relationships between food access, diet–related diseases and negative health outcomes for those who contract the coronavirus.

Hurst went first and said, “We have seen the devastating effects of COVID-19, especially in communities of color.”

She said she believed in educating people “as early as possible” so they knew what it meant to be healthy physically, mentally and emotionally “in order to help mitigate some of those health conditions we know can wreak havoc in our lives and be even more compromised when we are faced with a condition such as COVID-19.”

She referenced her experience as a school committee member and said it was important she think of “what my role can be ensuring that our kids know at an early age how important it is to eat vegetables, how important it is to be active, how important it is to have a well-balanced diet.”

Mullan acknowledged that COVID-19 has hit working class communities and communities of color particularly hard. “We have an access issue when it comes to food, there are a lot of areas and neighborhoods that don’t have direct access to grocery stores. People need to take public transit to reach them,” he said. Mullan added that he’d like to see the “developing of smaller grocery access points.” He referenced the time he’d spent living abroad and said when he returned to the U.S. he was “kinda shocked that you can’t walk to buy groceries.”

Mullan said he’d like to see the Healthy Incentives Program “turned into a permanent program” to ensure that people will have access to healthy foods, which have historically been more expensive than processed goods.

Ramos also referenced how the pandemic has “exposed the many vulnerabilities that we have in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and communities of color.” One of these vulnerabilities, he said, was the lack of access to fresh, healthy foods and grocery stores, also known as food deserts. He said he first became aware of food deserts in areas such as Indian Orchard and Mason Square, both in Springfield, when he began legislative work surrounding this issue.

Ramos said if elected to the 9th Hampden District seat, one thing he would do is “introduce legislation to incentive grocery stores to build, develop and expand in the communities of color and these food deserts to provide fresh, healthy foods.” He said it was “sad that we have to incentivize it after years of asking, begging, after years of conversations.” However, he said, hopefully, by providing incentives more grocers would be attracted to the communities in need.

The second question each candidate answered asked each of them to describe what they have done in their role to make a difference for those in the districts they represented. Additionally, they were asked to note something of difference they would do, should they be elected to the 9th Hamden District seat.

Mullan referenced his work with mutual aid to help provide access to food during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “I’ve driven people to grocery stores, I’ve anonymously dropped off Stop and Shop gift cards,” he said, something he previously did on his own. Additionally, he said he has volunteered at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts’ warehouse in Hatfield, and plans to continue to do so.

“I plan to take that drive for public service and helping people into Boston. I really am running to serve the residents of the district and to serve the common good. What I really want to do is help as many people as possible through public policy in Boston.”

Ramos said while he was proud of many accomplishments he’d had while serving the public, he had initiated legislation to equip city police officers with body cameras. “It’s an issue that is very important to many people who have had negative experiences with police officers, but it’s also an issue that protects the taxpayers. So it’s an issue that is important to all taxpayers in the city of Springfield,” he said.

Ramos also referenced several other ordinances which he was involved in, including his writing of a senior tax work-off program, which allows elderly residents to pay back their taxes through work. He said should he be elected to the seat, he would “continue to do the work to protect the people, to protect the taxpayers, but more importantly be a good listener.”

Hurst said she had donated both time and money to the various food banks and open pantries, “both personally and professionally.” However, she said “as a policy maker” she chose to support programs such as Gardening in the Community and policies that supported breakfasts in classrooms. She said she had also used her relationships with partners such as Stop and Shop to try to ensure that students in higher education institutes have access to food “because there is a food desert in the Mason Square area and different parts of the city as well.” She said, “We also know a lot of our students come to us as well with a lot of hunger needs and a lot of food insecurities.”

She said, “when elected to the state legislature,” she would work to ensure that programs such as the Healthy Incentive Program stayed in place and make sure "we allocate funding to ensure that people have access to food assistance programs.”

The candidates were then asked what their number one policy priority and some action steps they would take to further the policy.

Ramos was first to answer the question and said at the time the one thing on everyone’s mind was the pandemic. He said many people, himself included, had lost their jobs and loved ones. “People are hurting. They’re wondering how they’re going to be able to make ends meet, they’re wondering where their next paycheck is going to come from, they’re wondering whether or not they’re going to be able to pay their mortgage, whether they can safely send their children to school,” he said. Ramos said he shared all of their concerns as he, too, had been impacted by the virus.

He said his “number one priority” was to “have a responsible and smart response, recovery and resiliency plan.” Ramos said he already had a three-point plan and pointed people to his website voteorlandoramos.com for more specifics on the plan as he said he didn’t have time to discuss it all. Resiliency, he said, was important as “we have to protect ourselves from future pandemics.”

Hurst said it was hard to “think about what other things could be more important in this day and age” considering local, statewide and national landscape with respect to the pandemic. However, she said, it would be “naive” to not recognize the racial injustice at the foundation of the pandemic. These injustices, she said, “helped to feed the health disparities and the food insecurities that we’re talking about today.”

Hurst said her first priority would be “to really take a good look at what policies and pieces of legislation currently exist that are helping to support those racist policies and practices that are in place.” She said while it would be “fantastic to only be focused on COVID-19,” they needed to remember “on the other side of this there are still systemic and institutional barriers that we have to think about, that have truly laid the foundation of the impact, the devastating impact that this virus has had on us.”

Mullan said it was hard to just pick one policy to focus on, but chose tenant protections. This, he said, was one of the motivating issues that led him to run for the 9th Hampden District seat. He referenced the time he had spent in Boston over the course of the last year lobbying for a tenant protection bill that he hoped to bring to local communities. He said this issue, which had only been exacerbated but pandemic, had left people wondering how they were going to afford to pay for their home.

“I think it’s really important that we pass legislation that protects tenants and homeowners from eviction and foreclosure and that also helps address problems with housing affordability,” he said.

The final question of the round asked candidates to address some of the most serious disparities in the western part of the state and what they would do to overcome them.

Hurst was the first to answer the question, and first acknowledged food insecurity within Hampden County. She said oftentimes funding didn’t always “make its way out of the 495,” referencing the economic disparities between the eastern and western parts of the state. She said it had been “a tireless fight” to ensure Springfield, which is the second largest school district in the state, “get its fair share of funding.”

“We’re asked to do so much more with less,” she said. Hurst said she felt it was important as the next state legislature “to really bang the drum and make noise around how important it is to fund and to take into consideration Western Mass.” She added that the “jewels” in Western Massachusetts needed to be highlighted because if that was not done “the folks in Boston aren’t necessarily see the benefits of investing in us.”

Ramos drew on his experience representing Indian Orchard, which he said had referred to itself over the years as “the forgotten neighborhood of Springfield.” He said when the disparities between the eastern and western part of the state were thoroughly examined, he “would argue that Springfield is the Indian Orchard of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” This, he said, was “because we are the forgotten city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

The disparities, he said, included local aid, school funding, transportation and even in the wages workers were paid. Ramos said this is why it was important to have an experienced legislator in Boston to fight for Springfield. “I’m tired of being forgotten, I’m tired of Boston forgetting about Springfield,” he said. He referenced an instance in which he had, within the last week, sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker to ask him to reconsider the detail of a grant which would help local restaurants. This, he said, was just a small example of how Springfield was forgotten.

Mullan said healthcare and the lack of healthcare services could be seen with the recent closure of a pediatric psychiatry unit at Providence Hospital. “We do not have services that we need here for our residents in Western Massachusetts when it comes, particularly to mental health and substance abuse services,” he said.

He said when those who need recovery ask for it “they’re told there’s no beds here in Springfield.” He continued, “they’re often told there are no beds at all in Western or Central Massachusetts, that in order to get help they either need to wait, which means they may immediately relapse, or they have to leave their families and their support network to cross the state.” This, he said, was “absolutely ridiculous,” and he believed that “when people want help to get better, they should be able to get those services here locally.”

He added that Springfield needed to be connected to the economy on the eastern part of the state via the proposed East–West Rail.

In the second half of the forum, candidates took turns selecting numbers on a board to answer randomly assigned questions. Mullan was the first candidate to choose a number, and was asked his position on MassHealth, if the program met the needs of those who were not privately insured, how to increase access and make it more affordable.

Mullan said he has had a difficult time “navigating and signing up for it.” He cited some of the struggles and differing communications he had received regarding the program as of recent, and said “it’s very confusing for people.” He said the administrative burden needed to be reduced, which would make it “easier and clearer for people to use.”

Ramos’ question asked him to explain how he would address social isolation and food insecurity in older adults during COVID-19 given that the demographic was often safer staying at home. He said the district had a high senior population and had taken advantage of the Brown Bag Program and visited senior centers around the city. These people, he said, “enjoyed each other’s company.” This, he said, would lead him to support funding for programs such as Meals on Wheels and Greater Springfield Senior Services, which would “ensure they’re able to create programs to help these seniors stay involved and bring the services to them at their home.”

Following his response, Hurst chose a question that had her talk about ideas she may have to get locally grown food to district residents who may not have enough food. She said her idea wasn’t “necessarily a new idea,” but she hoped to support some of the initiates that were already in place. “Instead of farmers having to take their crops and food that they have produced and throwing them away, I think that we need to support the programs that are in place where they’re able to distribute them to their neighbors, they’re able to share them with places such as the Food Bank of Western Mass., so they can distribute them to those who are in need,” she said.

Mullan was then asked how he would support local urban gardening initiatives. He said he would like to “see more open space” used as community gardens. He said he knew the city currently had a significant amount of unused property they were “sitting on” that could be used for this initiative. He added that the state should be providing incentives for residents and cities to purchase the land to be used for this purpose.

Ramos’ next question asked him how he would continue fighting for the funding and growth of the Healthy Incentives Program. He said the first step would be to make the program a permanent fixture rather than how it is currently, renewed on a yearly basis. After that, he said, a conversation needed to be had about how to make the program more accessible to families who may be in need of assistance.

When asked why she believed the district had low voter turnout and what could be done to address the problem, Hurst said she believed the low turnout was for several reasons. The first reason, she said, was that many people didn’t realize how important their vote was and “might not necessarily understand the process of voting.” The solution, she said, was making voting more accessible with options such as mail-in voting, early voting and in-person voting. She said more marketing and advertising would ensure voters know what their options are, who the candidates are and why they are voting for certain items or candidates.

For Mullan’s next question he was asked about his communication and work with organizations that serve low-income and food insecure organizations. Mullan said he had not been communicating with organizations about policy, “because I’m not presently in office.” However, he referenced his volunteer work with food banks.

Ramos was then asked how he would encourage more urban gardening within the district. He said he had been involved in the process which brought one of the organizations, Wellspring Harvest, to Springfield. He said the organization resides in the district he represents currently, Ward 8 in Springfield. Ramos said he “fell in love with the idea” early on when approached by members of the organization, and said it was a “brilliant idea.” Since then, Ramos said he’s written letters of support, attended community meetings and advocated for the organization.

“I would love to see that duplicated, I would love to see that expanded,” he said. Ramos added that he’d recently secured an office space for the organization to use on Main Street and they will be opening a cafe space. He said,“I love those programs and would continue to advocate for them at the state level.”

For Hurst’s next question she was asked how she would ensure essential workers, such as farmers and grocery store employees, would have access to free and proper personal protective equipment, childcare and COVID-19 testing. She said she believed in advocating and fighting to ensure the access of all those measures, and fair wages, so those essential workers could continue to support their families. This, she said, “needs to start locally,” and statewide to ensure the appropriation and allocation of funds. Hurst added that it was important that those who really needed the help have access to it.

For Mullan’s last question he was asked about his position on the passing of a policy that would allow for undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses. He said would fully support such a policy and was “kind of surprised at how many people were not aware of the fact that we weren’t one of those states.”

He referenced the time he had spent at city council meetings when the city had been in the process of passing the welcoming community ordinance. He said during that time many residents who spoke in favor of the ordinance “talked specifically about lack of licenses and how difficult that makes their lives, how concerned they are about driving but they need to drive to work, they need to drive their children to school.”

Mullan said, “Ultimately for public safety purposes, it’s much better for the community to have these people licensed and insured as all people should be in the state of Massachusetts by law.” He added that it was, in his belief “a human rights issue.”

“These people are just trying to get about their daily life and provide for their families. And they should be able to do so without fear when it comes to having to drive,” he said.

Ramos’ last question asked him to address how he planned to provide healthy foods through additional supermarkets within the district, should he be elected. Ramos said the district he represented, Indian Orchard, is defined as a food desert and one of his first priorities would be to introduce legislation to “incentives organizations and companies who come in and build supermarkets and/or retrofit existing structures to provide fresh food and healthy food to the communities.”

Additionally, he said there needed to be more support for farmers markets and would see if there were ways to provide additional funding for such services.

Hurst’s final question asked her which House committees she saw as having the greatest priority and which ones she would request to serve on. Hurst said her priority would be the education committee, as she believed it was “right in my wheelhouse” with regard to the work she had already been doing locally and statewide.

“I think that, at the end of the day education is truly what we’re all talking about, is really making sure that people understand and have access to knowledge, and that knowledge is going to help make the best decisions for themselves and for their families,” she said.