FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
314 Action Fund Endorses 87 STEM Candidates for State Legislative and Municipal Offices
PHILADELPHIA — Today, 314 Action Fund announced its endorsement of forty-seven STEM candidates and incumbents running for state legislative and municipal offices across the United States. These scientists and STEM professionals are running for offices from state senate to school board and are campaigning on a commitment to follow the science and facts central to policymaking in their communities. With the announcement of this slate, 314 Action Fund has endorsed 328 state legislative and municipal STEM candidates this cycle.
Among the newly endorsed legislators are Debra Heffernan (Delaware House District 6) an environmental toxicologist with over 30 years of experience who served on the state’s Hazardous Substances Cleanup Act Advisory Committee to protect Delawareans from pollutants while making the state greener, and Carl Heastie (New York House District 83) the Speaker of the New York Assembly with a background in applied mathematics.
Today’s new slate of endorsements for state legislative and municipal races is as follows:
Alabama
Billy Beasley, Senate District 28, (Pharmacist)
Laura Hall, House District 19, (Biology Degree)
Mary Moore, House District 59, (Biology Degree)
Arkansas
Denise Garner, House District 20, (Nurse)
Arizona
Priya Sundareshan, Senate District 18, (Chemical Engineering Degree)
Kathryn Mikronis, Marana Unified School Board, (Chemistry Degree)
California
Joaquin Arambula, Assembly District 31, (Emergency Physician)
Liz Ames, BART Board, (Civil Engineer)
Susan Santangelo, Camarillo City Council, (Registered Nurse)
Ann Marie Johnson, Dublin San Ramon Services Board, (Chemist)
Marisa Hanson, Evergreen School Board, (Mathematics Degree)
Ahmad Zahra, Fullerton City Council, (Medical Doctor)
William Moorhead, Moulton Niguel Water Board, (Civil & Environmental Engineer)
Connecticut
Saud Anwar, Senate District 3, (Physician)
Patricia Miller, Senate District 27, (Mathematics Degree)
Norm Needleman, Senate District 33, (Mathematics Degree)
Brandon Chafee, House District 33, (Civil Engineer)
Gregory Haddad, House District 54, (Physics Degree)
Jaime Foster, House District 57, (Research Scientist)
Patricia Dillon, House District 92, (Public Health Professional)
Joe Gresko, House District 121, (Environmental Science Degree)
Kevin Ryan, House District 139, (Optometrist)
Delaware
Deborah Heffernan, House District 6, (Environmental Scientist)
Florida
Shevrin Jones, Senate District 34, (Science Teacher)
Sienna Osta, House District 87, (Microbiology Degree)
Felicia Robinson, House District 104, (Mathematics Degree)
Iowa
John Forbes, House District 44, (Pharmacist)
Idaho
Crystal Ivie, House District 14A, (Research Scientist)
Illinois
Nicholas Smith, House District 34, (Chemistry Degree)
Indiana
Ronald Itnyre, Senate District 27, (Geneticist)
Tonya Pfaff, House District 43, (Math Teacher)
Rita Fleming, House District 71, (OB/GYN)
Kentucky
Kate Turner, House District 33, (Civil & Environmental Engineer)
Massachusetts
Jon Santiago, House District 9th Suffolk, (Physician)
Kay Khan, House District 11th Middlesex, (Psychiatric Nurse)
Denise Garlick, House District 13th Norfolk, (Nurse)
Mike Connolly, House District 26th Middlesex, (Computer Science Degree)
Maryland
Terri Hill, House District 12A, (Surgeon)
Pamela Queen, House District 14, (Computer Science Degree)
Edith Patterson, House District 28, (Biology & Chemistry Degrees)
Arthur Ellis, Senate District 28, (Chemistry Degree)
Michigan
Tullio Liberati, House District 2, (Biology Degree)
Shadia Martini, House District 54, (Architectural Engineer)
Andrew Spencer, Ann Arbor School Board, (Biochemist)
Jeremy Lapham, Ann Arbor School Board, (Advanced Nurse Practitioner)
Edward Aboufadel, Forest Hills School Board, (Mathematician)
North Carolina
Christine Kelly, House District 37, (Mathematics Degree)
Michelle Price, McDowell County Board of Education, (Environmental Scientist)
Mary Black-Branch, Raleigh City Council, District A, (Environmental Science Degree)
Corey Branch, Raleigh City Council, District C, (Electrical Engineering Degree)
Dan Blue, Senate District 14, (Mathematics Degree)
New Hampshire
Jerry Knirk, House District Carroll 8, (Orthopedic Surgeon)
Michael Abbott, House District Cheshire 6, (Physician)
John Bordenet, House District Cheshire 7, (Software Engineer)
Eamon Kelley, House District Coos 7, (Physics Degree)
James Murphy, House District Grafton 12, (Retired Physician)
Michael Pedersen, House District Hillsborough 9, (Electrical Engineering Degree)
Martin Jack, House District Hillsborough 10, (Software Engineer)
Karen Ebel, House District Merrimack 7, (Biology Degree)
Joan Hamblet, House District Rockingham 26, (Biology Degree)
Mike Edgar, House District Rockingham 29, (Civil Engineer)
Gary Merchant, House District Sullivan 6, (Pharmacist)
New York
Steve Englebright, Assembly District 4, (Natural Scientist)
Carl Heastie, Assembly District 83, (Applied Mathematics Degree)
Karines Reyes, Assembly District 87, (Oncology Nurse)
John McDonald, Assembly District 108, (Pharmaceutical Chemist)
Anna Kelles, Assembly District 125, (Nutritional Epidemiologist)
Karen Beebe, Broome County Legislature, District 12, (Healthcare Professional)
Ohio
Rachel Baker, House District 27, (Nurse Researcher)
Nabila Babar, Warren County Commissioner, (Physician)
Oklahoma
Melissa Provenzano, House District 79, (Organismic Biology Degree)
Oregon
Janelle Bynum, House District 39, (Electrical Engineering Degree)
Rhode Island
Walter Felag, Senate District 10, (Software Engineer)
Louis DiPalma, Senate District 12, (Computer Engineer)
Alex Kithes, House District 49, (Electrical Engineering Degree)
William O’Brien, House District 54, (Math Teacher)
Tennessee
Sam McKenzie, House District 15, (Physicist)
Texas
Josh Tutt, Senate District 18, (Information Technologist)
Vermont
Christopher Bray, Senate District Addison, (Zoology Degree)
Robin Scheu, House District Addison 1, (Biology Degree)
Trevor Squirrell, House District Chittenden 3, (Conservation Biology Degree)
John Bartholomew, House District Windsor 1, (Veterinarian)
Washington
Bill Ramos, House District 5 Position 1, (Forestry Degree)
Eileen Cody, House District 34 Position 1, (Nurse)
Lelach Rave, House District 46 Position 2, (Pediatrician)
Vandana Slatter, House District 48 Position 1, (Pharmacist)
Chipalo Street, House District 37 Position 2, (Computer Scientist)
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314 Action Fund is powered by a grassroots community of over six million people working to elect scientists, doctors, and STEM professionals who will use science and facts to address our most pressing issues like climate change and health care. In 2018 and 2020, we played a pivotal role in flipping the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, electing eleven Democratic scientists to federal office, as well as in helping over 100 statewide, state legislative, and municipal candidates win their races. In 2022, 314 Action Fund will continue working to elect science leaders and defeat climate deniers in Congress and legislatures across the country.