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MASSACHUSETTS
Vivian Birchall’s experience of community-building across the globe—from Uganda to Hawaii and now in Acton—has inspired her to run for public office. Born and raised in Western Uganda, Vivian has worked for different planning and development government agencies both in the United States and her country of birth. She has served as Executive Director to Africans in Boston and is currently a producer at Acton Community Television as well as a board member at Acton-Boxborough United Way. Through her day-to-day contact with Acton residents and community leaders, she has developed a deep understanding of the challenges faced by her electorate and the different needs of the towns that form district 14. Birchall highlights the importance of crafting legislation that benefits working people and creates the community infrastructure for a more resilient society that leaves no one behind. As one of the candidates that Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz included in her Courage Democrats slate, Vivian is part of a cohort of progressive candidates that are committed to raising the voices of minorities in Massachusetts.
POLICY
Birchall’s experience working with planning and development in different regions gives her a wide understanding of policy and how different policy issues are intertwined and need interrelated solutions.
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Healthcare Equity: Vivian has experience working in healthcare policy, specifically ensuring women’s access to reproductive health. She has helped bridge the cultural gap between immigrant African mothers and their physicians to ensure access to quality and culturally responsive healthcare for all. Birchall understands the importance of ensuring that each person is treated with the same care and expertise in the health system and is committed to be a vocal advocate for making healthcare a right.
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Education Equity: Birchall has a commitment to working with teachers, local education authorities and families to increase state aid to all public schools. Vivian sees the Fair Share Amendment as an opportunity to boost state aid for public education and she wants to make sure that the communities in HD-14 receive their share of this increased revenue to invest in their children.
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Environmental Policy: Vivian sees environmental issues as a multi-pronged problem in need of a holistic solution, therefore, she highlights the importance of ensuring affordable housing and expanding the access to public transportation to combat climate change. If elected, Vivian would support the HERO Coalition bill and will fight to build upon the environmental justice law that passed as part of the Next Generation Roadmap law.
DEEP DEMOCRACY DYNAMICS
Vivian understands that political work is a collective effort and is part of a network of progressive candidates in Massachusetts who share policy goals and values. The Birchall campaign highlights the support they have received from other campaigns like that of State Rep candidate Roberto Jiménez Rivera whose staff has offered their campaign expertise to Vivian when needed.
CAMPAIGN TEAM AND THE FIELD
The Birchall campaign relies on volunteer work in the roles of a campaign manager, a campaign intern and volunteer organizers. The Birchall campaign highlights the importance of having individual endorsers who are leaders in each one of the towns that are part of HD-14. Vivian has a close relationship with these endorsers who are on the Select and School boards and have supported her campaign.
Vivian has been endorsed by elected representatives like Senator Jamie Eldridge and State Representative Danillo Sena with whom she expects to collaborate on progressive legislation if elected. Additionally, Birchall has been endorsed by several Massachusetts-based organizations including Mass Alliance, Incorruptible Mass, Act On Mass, the National Association of Social Workers, among others.
FUNDRAISING & OPPORTUNITES FOR GIVING
The Birchall campaign has relied on grassroots fundraising and has raised $62,000 of a $60,000 goal which the campaign team highlights as a success. Nevertheless, to compete with the fundraising performance of other candidates, Vivian is looking to expand her fundraising efforts as much as possible. In case they received additional funds, the Birchall campaign would invest in mailings and media ads. Donate