Welcome to Activist #MMT candidate interview number eight, hosted by Ramona Massachi (Twitter/@RamonaMassachi) and co-hosted by me. Today, Ramona talks with Melanie D'Arrigo, who's running in New York's third Congressional district. Melanie was the first major candidate to run in the district with an unabashedly progressive platform. On election night in 2020, she told her supporters, "No matter what happens tonight, we have changed the face of politics in this district forever." Now it's 2022, and Melanie is the frontrunner, and the army of volunteers and supporters she cultivated two years ago, is ready and waiting to hit the ground running.

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

As evidence of her success, and of being a threat to the existing power structure, there are now two democratic opponents running on progressive platforms. The question is, do these candidates believe in that platform, or is it merely a tool to deceive low-information voters into voting for a corporate candidate? Whatever the case, as Melanie says, hers may be one of the most watched races in the country.

You can support Melanie's candidacy by visiting darrigo2022.com, @DarrigoForCongress on Facebook, and @darrigomelanie on Twitter. You'll also find a link to donate to her 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 the frontrunner for New York's third Congressional district, Melanie D'Arrigo. Enjoy.