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MOIRA RADER FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
STRONG FOUNDATIONS - PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE - CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
ABOUT MOIRA
COMMUNITY ADVOCATE & ALLY
For over a decade, I have dedicated myself to this amazing community, volunteering my creative problem-solving skills, professional perspective and focused advocacy to numerous local organizations and charities. My strong foundation in the district, my structural understanding of the issues, and my vision for our state solidifies my resolve to be an outstanding, responsive advocate for the people of this district as your next State Representative.
COMMUNITY COMMITMENT
Vice Chair - Guilford BOE, serving second term
Former Policy Committee Chair - Guilford BOE
Former Secretary - Guilford BOE
Committee member - Operations - Guilford BOE
Committee attendant - Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment - Guilford BOE
Portrait of a Graduate (town-wide committee)
Religious education instructor (5 years) - St. George, Guilford
A.W. Cox Advisory Board - Asst. Treasurer & Treasurer
Support to numerous local non-profits serving our shoreline communities
Standing member - Guilford Democratic Town Committee (5 years)
Volunteer to several local political campaigns
Parent volunteer - New Haven Ballet
Parent volunteer - Soundview YMCA Stingrays swim program
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Bachelor of Arts - Villanova University
Master of Science - Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation
Fitch Graduate Fellowship - Columbia University - Puerto Rico, London
Post-Graduate Fellowship - World Monuments Fund - Czech Republic
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Project Architect - Superstructures Engineers + Architects - NY, NY
Project Coordinator - Hoffman Architects - North Haven, CT
Interiors Group Manager - Amenta Emma Architects
Consulting Architect - Crosskey Architects
CT Licensed Realtor - 2016
Former Realtor - William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty
Independent Interior Design practice
Adjunct Faculty member - Paier College of Art & Design
PERSONAL
Married to Peter Rader - 20 years!
Four awesome kids - Paedar (19), Maeve (17), Mairead (15), Muiriel (13)
One adorable puppy - Fionnuala
Guilford resident - Mulberry Point
THE ISSUES AT HAND
ADVOCATING FOR REAL PROGRESS - INNOVATING FOR SUCCESS
As your next State Representative, I look forward to working with the legislature to make great progress on the many important issues paramount to our communities. Being a State Representative means that I work to advocate for the interests and needs of my constituents. While I may have personal policy agendas I hope to advocate for, I will never do so without the support and desire of my community. Representation means just that; being a representative voice of the many who have entrusted you to bring their voices to bear on the issues that matter most to them. YOU, the residents of the 98th District, are the reason I am running to be your next State Representative.
We are in this together & will succeed together!
THE ENVIRONMENT
COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE & SUPPORTING COASTAL RESILIENCY
As a coastal community, the 98th district knows firsthand the need for real and measurable efforts to combat climate change and provide real-time interventions to secure and make more resilient our treasured coastline. I cannot imagine a more pressing need than to create and support effective legislation that will combat the effects of climate change and advance our collective efforts to sustain our natural shoreline. I am excited by the strides being made in Connecticut around legislation to set a zero carbon target of 2040 for all electricity supplied to Connecticut customers, making solar energy more attractive for small businesses and low- to moderate-income communities. making investments in charging infrastructure, tax rebates for e-bikes and electric motor vehicles, and creating tighter deadlines for electrifying transit and school bus fleets. Our work needs to continue around waterway pollutants, coastal storm preparedness, erosion mitigation and other resiliency issues. I am also a strong advocate for environmental justice and will work to ensure that all people are treated equitably under our environmental laws.
EDUCATION
ADVOCATING FOR THRIVING PUBLIC SCHOOLS THAT SUPPORT DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
My extensive experience on the Guilford Board of Education, serving as past Policy chair and now (in my second term) as Vice Chair, position me extremely well to be a state-wide advocate for advancing our public schools to be places of learning innovation, supportive exploration and unlimited growth. We must continue to expand legislative efforts around creating learning communities that are equitable, diverse and inclusive so that every child can recognize their absolute value and embrace their limitless potential. Schools only succeed when the community is invested in their success. On a state level, I am excited to see how we can identify more equitable ways to balance funding while expanding community outreach, to bring more parents / guardians into the equation as key stakeholders in their child's success. As I have witnessed firsthand as a BOE member, our educators are the heroes of our schools and they need the resources to balance the remaining impact of the pandemic with the unfortunate attack by some on their professional expertise. At a time when public education and educators are being stretched beyond measure, we need to ensure legislation that codifies our commitment as a state to the sustaining excellence of our learning communities and the support of our heroic educators .
HEALTH CARE
ENSURING QUALITY & AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE FOR ALL
Healthcare equity, access and affordability are personal passions of mine. I understand firsthand what it is like to be faced with a life-altering diagnosis and have to make decisions for both your well-being and that of your family. Noone should ever have to make healthcare decisions based on the possible financial impact. As a breast cancer survivor, I understand the need for healthcare that is affordable, personalized and readily accessible. I know what it means to manage extraordinary healthcare costs against providing for your family. I know what it means to fight, when you have no other choice. I will take my fighting passion to bear on the urgent need to create a viable system that gives the people of Connecticut quality options for affordable healthcare coverage and services. We should have a healthcare system that encourages all of us to make our healthcare a priority, with personal care decisions kept free of financial stress.
WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE
PROTECTING & CODIFYING WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
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There should be absolutely no debate that women's reproductive rights are fundamental human rights. As a woman and mother to one son and three daughters, I am horrified that, due to SCOTUS' reversal of Roe v. Wade, they are now living in a country where the rights of my daughters no longer match those of my son. I am thankful that Connecticut stands among the few states with strong legislation to protect the right to an abortion, to support and expand providers, and to provide sanctuary to those from other states seeking this care. As a legislator, I will constantly work to defend and secure these rights via expanded legislation that will aim to see Connecticut codify these rights into our state constitution. Beyond abortion care, I will advocate for protections around contraception, expansion around maternal care and critical needs around women's mental health. Autonomy over one's body must be held sacred by law and supported by all of us.
GUN SAFETY
STRENGTHENING GUN SAFETY LEGISLATION & EDUCATION
Gun safety is an issue that hits close to home for this community. Beyond the absolute devastation of Sandy Hook in 2012, we in the Guilford community witnessed the family of Ethan Song suffer the unimaginable. The loss of Ethan to an unsecured gun led his courageous parents to fight for safe gun storage legislation: Ethan's Law. Their courage amidst unrelenting grief is a testament to their son and the need for smart, effective gun legislation. I have come to know the Songs, consider them friends and feel blessed for the opportunity to represent them and the 98th District in the ever-critical fight to find true, lasting measures to keep our children and communities safe from gun violence. Ideas could include: a requirement that new gun models be childproofed, ability for officials to deny a firearm purchase if the buyer is believed to pose a danger, a mandatory wait time before someone can legally obtain a gun. As a legislator, I will advocate for increased funding to community violence intervention programs and work tirelessly to increase education around gun safety and responsible ownership.
MENTAL HEALTH
EXPANDING MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS & RESOURCES
It is likely that every one of us can speak to their own experience or that of a loved one around mental health. The pandemic rendered every one of us vulnerable to mental health challenges amidst a very frightening and uncertain time. As a legislator, I am focused on being both an advocate and ally for the mental health needs of my constituents. This past Spring, the mental health crisis of our youth in Connecticut was dramatically addressed with extensive legislation to expand our pool of providers, increase supports to our schools and find ways to increase health care supports in identifying and supporting children in crisis. As a mother, I know firsthand the pain of witnessing a child in crisis. I have navigated the heartbreaking challenge of finding the right supports, services and ultimate care for my child. I know the tenacity it takes to navigate mental health supports and resources. I will bring that tenacity to my advocacy around expansion of our mental health resources in Connecticut, working to create legislation that makes effective mental health supports readily available for families and continues to grow a qualified, empathetic provider network to meet the needs of our citizens. Our mental health should always hold as much importance as our physical health.
VOTING RIGHTS
EXPANDING VOTER ACCESS & GROWING VOTER PARTICIPATION
Voting should always be easily accessible, equitable and understandable. In Connecticut, I am encouraged by the pending November ballot Early Voting referendum. This measure will greatly improve voter participation and expand voter turnout. Beyond that measure, we need to find ways to expand absentee ballot access, by providing a no-excuse option. As we learned via the pandemic, more voters participate when absentee voting is not restricted to particular voter qualifications. Never has it been more critical to strengthen legislation that will protect voter rights. On a national level, we are seeing the abuse of power within certain states matriculate into biased voter districting via gerrymandering. As a legislator, I will work to protect and ensure our voting rights are balanced, transparent and equitable. We must also ensure our most vulnerable populations have their rights as voters supported and protected. Our differently abled voters, our newly immigrated neighbors and our marginalized poor deserve to have their voices and votes heard as much as any of us. Our democracy only works when our diverse voices as citizens are protected and celebrated.
ENDORSEMENTS
A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT FOR MOIRA RADER
Moira Rader is exactly who we need to represent us in Hartford. She is smart, experienced and dedicated to our community. I look forward to working with her on issues we care about and I'm confident she will be a significant asset to our state, as well.
MATT HOEY - FIRST SELECTMAN OF GUILFORD
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