I'm here to build community power and work toward collective liberation.

When I moved to Amherst, I found a town full of passionate people, strong ideas, beautiful open spaces, and real challenges.

As I listened and learned, I began to understand the complexity of the issues we face—and I also met neighbors, educators, organizers, and advocates working to make Amherst a leader in the areas I value:

FULLY-FUNDED, MULTILINGUAL PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR ALL

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

LAND CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

STRONG UNIONS TO PROTECT THE WORKING CLASS

INVESTMENT IN ALTERNATIVES TO POLICING AND COMMUNITY CARE

DIVESTING FROM WAR, GENOCIDE, AND FOSSIL FUELS

ACCESSIBLE STREETS AND PAVED ROADS

I got involved in high-impact efforts like Support Our Schools (SOS) Amherst, which advocates for securing critical funding for our public schools, and co-founded Valley Families for Palestine. VFP creates family-friendly actions in solidarity with our local Arab and Muslim communities and the global movement for Palestinian liberation. We also focus on the areas where marginalized communities intersect, supporting other local groups (like the LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities) fighting against fascism and oppression.

This work makes me feel at home, and it reminds me that our struggles are all connected. Right now, I know that many people are frustrated, exhausted, and deeply concerned about where we’re headed. I hear you. I feel it too.

Local government should meet those concerns with transparent communication, integrity, and real action. Amherst needs leaders who are committed to participatory democracy and who understand that local decisions are intrinsically connected to broader systemic issues.

That’s why I’m running for Town Council in District 1—to help rebuild trust, restore power to the people, and ensure that our policies reflect our values and result in concrete outcomes.

I know the value of fighting for each other and the things we care about.

I grew up in a town that used to be a lot like Amherst. When my family moved there in the early ’90s, it was a place that working-class families like mine could afford and enjoy a high quality of life. But over time, forests and farms were replaced by luxury developments, longtime residents were priced out, and the mayor was indicted for corruption.

I saw how quickly a town can lose its way, and how the loss of trust in our representatives opens the door to division and anti-democratic forces on a larger scale.

In the years since, I’ve been fortunate to spend time in many communities—urban, suburban, and rural—where people have come together to push for policies that will achieve the best outcomes for all. That type of energy is abundant here in Amherst.

I'm qualified and ready to get to work.

I have more than 15 years of experience as a nonprofit leader and community organizer. I’ve consistently brought people together to solve tough problems, and I have a strong understanding of strategic planning, creating budgets with limited resources, and coalition-building. These skills are needed on the council now more than ever.

I live in North Amherst with my husband and our two children, who attend Fort River Elementary in the Caminantes program. I work as a nonprofit consultant, run a small business, and hold a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University.

I have time to commit to this work, to have coffee with constituents, to do my homework. I’m running because I believe I can offer bold, inclusive leadership grounded in lived experience, shaped by community input, and focused on building a positive, sustainable future for this town.

Keep reading to learn more about my action-oriented platform.

Leyla Moushabeck, Co-Chair

Louai Abu-Osba, Co-Chair

Stephen Brevik, Treasurer

Farah Assi

Mireille Bejjani

John Bonifaz

Meg Dewar

Ya-ping Douglass

Jenifer McKenna

Hannah Moushabeck

Elizabeth Murphy

Hoang Phan

Lissa Pierce Bonifaz

Marisol Pierce Bonifaz

Sarah Prager

Julian Ramirez

Ashwin Ravikumar

Lindsey Schreiner

Gerry Weiss

Betsy Wheeler

TRANSPARENT GOVERNANCE

• Ensure fiscal responsibility and transparency, with a focus on creating a more positive and participatory town budgeting process

• Promote broader inclusion and increase representation, leadership, and participation on town boards and committees; identify and address barriers that discourage residents from running for elected office

• Respond promptly, communicate transparently, and share facts openly to keep constituents informed and united during key decisions

• Implement changes to mechanisms for feedback, looking beyond the limitations of Public Comment to engage more meaningfully with residents

• Ensure that reports prepared by costly consultants are offered to the public in readable, accessible formats in multiple languages, including clear information and implications for residents

FULLY-FUNDED SCHOOLS

• Collaborate to build a budget that fully funds our schools with a focus on special education, student needs and safety, livable wages, and a greater investment in teachers and school staff, in line with SOS Amherst recommendations

• Immediately address emergency repair needs to keep kids safe and healthy while they are in school buildings

• Support the success of bilingual and world language education and promote the continuation of the Caminantes program into middle and high school

• Serve as a strong voice alongside our state reps to advocate for state-level support

• Collaborate to find creative ways for our colleges and universities to increase their contributions and adequately fund programs and servies from which they benefit

• Ensure that programs and support services for students with disabilities are increased, not cut

• Work with PGOs and other citizen groups to foster anti-racist schools and protect our teachers, school staff, students, and parents from all forms of harassment, with a focus on trainings and resources rooted in a collective liberation framework

COMMUNITY-DRIVEN HOUSING POLICIES

• Overall, ensure that new development is in the best interest of District 1 residents, and support zoning and planning policies that reflect long-term community needs

• Preserve single- and two-family homes and discourage sales to LLC real estate investors

• Encourage innovative projects like Amherst Community Homes

• Maintain Amherst’s affordability, livability, character, and economic diversity by pursuing a temporary pause on large residential developments (including North Amherst overlay district) to allow time for adopting strong design standards and an agreement with UMass to house more students on campus

• Support inclusionary zoning to require or incentivize developers to include affordable housing in new developments

LAND CONSERVATION & CLIMATE RESILIENCY

• Prioritize the town’s climate action and environmental justice goals in line with Smart Solar Amherst recommendations

• Utilize land conservation as a vital tool for protecting our water supply, managing stormwater, and building resilience to climate change, and as part of a broader sustainability strategy that includes responsible development, carbon reduction, and climate adaptation.

• Support the implementation of waste hauler for universal composting bylaw

THRIVING BUSINESSES & CULTURE

• Attract and retain locally-owned businesses, with specific support and funding for the Black Business Association of Amherst’s priorities and initiatives; work to repair harm done in ARPA allocation process

• Encourage culturally enriching and community-building events

• Create a Poet Laureate program

REPARATIVE JUSTICE & HUMAN RIGHTS

• Fund and advocate for the successful continuation and scaling of alternative emergency response services (CRESS)

• Support the establishment or refinement of mechanisms for residents to raise concerns regarding the Amherst Police Department, with the goal of accountability, transparency, and consultation, to ensure public safety services are provided in a way that contributes to eliminating systematic racism in Amherst

• Support the successful implementation of reparations for Black residents of Amherst

• Sponsor any resident-led resolutions that are centered on upholding our town's deep commitment to human rights locally, nationally, and internationally

• Lead an effort to research, disclose information to the public, and ultimately help the town divest from companies that do not align with its values, including fossil fuel companies and weapons manufacturers

• Increase availability of programs and services, infrastructure, and housing for seniors in line with the 2024 Age and Dementia Friendly Amherst Community Assessment & Action Plan

• Work with local immigrant rights groups to protect undocumented community members

• Eliminate unnecessary fines and fees that disproportionately harm marginalized residents and students

SAFE & ACCESSIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE

• Immediately investigate, share information, and collaborate to address urgent repair and road maintenance needs

• Champion implementation of "Complete Streets" approach by supporting initiatives to create accessible sidewalks and bike lanes to improve safety and mobility, and advocate for improved public transportation, including expanded PVTA bus service

• Prioritize sidewalk construction on East Pleasant Street and determine a long-term solution to the dangerous intersection by the North Amherst Library

• Ensure that development is community-centered and benefits all residents, implementing simple and affordable safety measures like speed bumps and stop signs in densely populated neighborhoods and recreational areas, and mandating Accessible Pedestrian Signals at all intersections and roundabout crossings