Welcome to Activist #MMT candidate interview number five, hosted by Ramona Massachi (Twitter/@RamonaMassachi) and co-hosted by me. Today, we talk with Muad Hrezi (Twitter/@muadhrezi), who’s running to represent Connecticut’s first Congressional district.

(Here's a list of all MMT candidate interviews.)

Muad graduated UNC Chapel Hill in North Carolina with a bachelor's degree in public health and health policy. He spent three years as a staffer for Senator Chris Murphy, and is now running himself. A major catalyst for his deciding to run was a personal experience of what should have been a minor health problem, turning into a major health crisis. This is because the minor problem was neglected, exclusively for a lack of money. Muad also mentions, while a Senate staffer, when a doctor told him of a tooth infection that was left untreated and spread to the person’s heart, ultimately requiring heroic intervention. This enriched all those who saved this person's life (or at least, the owners of the hospital), at the expense of the suffering and lingering health consequences for that individual – and his family and entire community.

Muad's campaign is off to a roaring start, having raised more than $200,000 with more than eight months to go before his primary in August of next year. You can support Muad's candidacy by visiting hrezi.com and @muadhrezi on Facebook and Twitter. You'll also find a link to donate to his campaign in the show notes.

(A big thanks to Beyond the Spectrum for the "MMT Candidate" logo.)

There are three goals of this MMT candidate interview series: the first is to support and give a platform to candidates who care about all people, and because of this, are ignored by the so-called news outlets that are, in reality, news of, by, and for the rich. The second goal is to determine what these candidates need to beat corrupt opponents supported by a corrupt party in a corrupt campaign finance system, and especially, once in office, to avoid becoming corrupted themselves. Finally, the third goal is to create a community of like minded, MMT-aware candidates who can support each other through their campaigns, and especially once in office. The latter is in order to remain focused on what really matters, which is all their constituents, in an environment where there is overwhelming pressure to focus only on the needs, favors, promises, and especially money of big donors – both in and out of their district.

If you're a candidate and would like to be interviewed by Ramona, please contact her directly on Twitter at @RamonaMassachi, or me at [email protected]. If there's a candidate you would like to see interviewed by Ramona, please let us know, and please recommend us to them!

This candidate interview series is above and beyond Activist #MMT's regular episodes. If you like what you hear and would like to support this interview series and this podcast, please consider becoming a monthly patron at patreon.com/activistmmt.

And now, onto our conversation with candidate for Connecticut's first Congressional district, Muad Hrezi. Enjoy.