Happy Sustainer Saturday! We want to lift up Justin Paglino, a Monthly Sustainer who is running as a Green candidate for US House of Representatives.

Justin was interviewed for this piece by Green Party National Co-Chair Rei Stone-Grover.

Justin, can you tell us a bit about yourself, your background and why you came to support the Green Party?

I'm a 48 year-old retired, former medical professional and current Green Party Candidate for US House of Representatives District 3, Connecticut (the seat currently held by Rosa DeLauro).

Joining the Green Party has been wonderful — to be fighting directly for a politics and policies I believe in. I was tired of propping up people that are only 50% on my side.

I realized that, when I voted for Democrats, I wasn't voting for Medicare For All and that meant I wasn't going to get it. We're not going to get the things that we want if we don't vote for them directly.

Why did you choose to run for office?

I put myself on the ballot so I could vote for someone with Green Values and so other people could, too.

Many people want to vote for Green Values and now they can.

What changes do you want to see in our government and society?

I would like to see changes to how our economy works, and more progressive taxation. I'd like a more egalitarian society.

We have divided ourselves and racism has divided the country — we have a long way to go to end racism. We need to push that forward.

There was a special meeting in our town about Critical Race Theory (CRT), and five people ran in our town so they could purge CRT from our schools.

What are some ways that we can help and support you?

I appreciate everything that's already been done. I look forward to talking to more Greens and making more connections.

And we appreciate you, Justin! Thank you for your contributions as a candidate and as a Monthly Sustainer so we can continue to support inspiring campaigns like yours.

You can sign up for Justin's newsletter at Justin4all.org and follow him on social media at Justin4all2 on Twitter and Fb.com/Justin4all.

Michael O'Neil
Communications Manager
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org/