Dara Stransky wants more regular people in Congress. “Regular” is how the newest congressional candidate running for the 25th District described herself in an interview with The Signal.
“I want to see more regular people representing us,” said Stransky, a mother of four young children, one who has autism, “not business people who swear they’re not regular politicians and then they get into office — and, guess what, they’re regular politicians.”
Officeholders today have responded to “dark money” more than their communities, said Stransky, a Democrat who filed to run early last month
“My kids need a future. Your kids need a future,” she said, noting the division in Washington, D.C. “I’m a mom whose kind of fed up watching this, and I want to try to make changes.”
Stransky, a Lancaster resident, said she’s been registering voters through the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization HeadCount since 2014.
“It’s your right to vote, and you should exercise it,” she said. “I want to make sure people are registered.”
Stransky said one of her campaign’s top priorities is wealth inequality.
“With our taxes, big corporations are really not paying their fair share,” she said.
Climate change is another focus of Stranksy’s campaign.
“All it takes is one solid gust of wind to spread embers everywhere and the whole valley could go up in flames,” she said of the early fire season in California. “It’s scary.”
Stranksy, who said she’s maintaining a 3.84 GPA in pursuit of her college degree, also listed education as a top campaign priority.
“(Higher education) is not as attainable for everyone,” she said. “Having a proper education system and better access to higher education for everyone, I think that will help solve or mitigate damages for a lot of other issues in this country.”
Stransky moved to Lancaster from Valencia in late 2019. Her home is three blocks outside of the 25th District.
“Coming from Santa Clarita and having our ties there with the kids and friends and their school, most of where I live is that district,” she said, noting she hopes that this year’s redistricting will place her in the congressional district that includes Santa Clarita.
The U.S. Constitution does not require a member of the U.S. House of Representatives live in the district that they represent. The 25th District is currently represented by Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita. Democrats Christy Smith, Ruth Luevanos, Rhoda Nazanin and Quaye Quartey have also announced their candidacy for the seat.
