Shortly after polls closed, Sam Montaño declared victory in the race for State Representative of the 15th Suffolk district, which includes most of Jamaica Plain and all of Mission Hill.
Celebrating the win at the Brendan Behan pub in JP, Montaño, who identifies as LGBTQ as well as Latina/Latinx and Chicano, characterized her win as a victory for people who have been historically excluded from Massachusetts politics.
“I’m a queer Brown kid from Los Angeles who moved here 12 years ago,” Montaño declared, to cheers from her supporters.
Montaño, 32, a former community organizer with GreenRoots Inc., in Chelsea, and housing advocate with the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, won the seat previously occupied by Rep. Nika C. Elugardo, who launched her own campaign for state senate.
Speaking with the Banner shortly before declaring victory, Montaño said she intends to focus on housing and environmental justice issues, including transit, especially along the city’s Southwest Corridor.
Montaño also cited mental health and substance abuse care as a priority and an issue close to her own experiences: “My father was a veteran in Desert Storm” and suffered from PTSD, Montaño noted, saying she wants to improve access to mental health care services across the Commonwealth.
Montaño won with 59% of the 6,379 votes cast, according to unofficial results from the city. Roxanne Longoria garnered 26% of the vote, Richard Fierro 9.5% and Mary Ann Nelson 6.3%. There were 1,113 blank votes.
