Compiled by The Bedford Citizen
On Saturday Bedford resident Bopha T. Malone formally announced her candidacy for Massachusetts’ 3rd District seat currently held by Congresswoman Niki Tsongas. Bedford is part of the 6th District, not the 3rd, but the US Constitution only requires that candidates live within the state they would represent not within a specific district.
As a 3-year-old, Malone walked out of Cambodia with her mother, spending her childhood in refugee camps in Thailand and the Philippines, eventually coming to Lynn with her family six years later. The American Dream has become very real for Malone who is inspired to ‘give back’ so that others would have a chance at similar opportunities.
Malone has strong ties both to Lowell’s Cambodian community through her cultural heritage and to its business communities through Enterprise Bank where she came to work in 2006 after spending a post-graduate year in Cambodia after receiving her degrees in Business Management from Lesley University. She is currently on a leave of absence from Enterprise Bank so that she can devote her full attention to her campaign.
“For too long, the American dream has been out of reach for many in the district, with limited access to good-paying jobs and affordable housing, education, and healthcare,” states her campaign announcement. Appreciating the role of mentors in her life, Malone says, “I want the opportunity to give back.”
Among the issues for which Malone intends to fight in Congress: affordable, quality education and healthcare; equitable immigration policies; combating drug and alcohol addiction and gun violence; fair tax laws; protecting women’s rights; fighting climate change; and standing up for human rights.
According to her campaign website, Malone has served a trustee of Middlesex Community College, Lesley University, and the Women Working Wonders Fund, a component fund of the Greater Lowell Community Foundation. She is a board member of Lowell General Hospital, Lowell’s Community Teamwork Inc. (CTI), Girls Inc. of Lowell, and Lowell’s Working Cities Challenge, through which she has helped secure grants for low-income families. She served as Chair of the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA), during which time she was named the Lowell Sun Woman of the Year. She is also an active member of the Rotary Club of Bedford.
A resident of Bedford since 2016, Malone and her husband Tom have chosen to keep their children in their familiar schools until the outcome of the election is decided.
To learn more, visit Bopha Malone’s Facebook page or her campaign website
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So exciting to read this! Thanks Bopha for your passion, commitment and vision.