NewsChannel 5 submitted questions on some of this election's biggest issues to all major party candidates for Tennessee's U.S. Senate race and U.S. Congressional Districts 5, 6, and 7. These are their answers. The questions appear here as they were presented to the candidates and their answers are unedited. It is hoped that being able to read the candidates' stances on issues in their own words will produce a more informed electorate.
Maryam Abolfazli is running for US Congressional District 5 as the Democratic nominee against incumbent Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN).
● What are three priorities you would want to take with you into office?
1. Economic thriving for all in the District including ending double taxation, which is using sales, commercial, and property taxes to fund our economic growth instead of our federal taxes. I would fight to bring federal funds down for our communities that are facing immense growth, as well as for funding for home ownership, more housing for rent, opportunities for small businesses, schools, wastewater management, infrastructure, and natural resource management.
2. Women’s access to healthcare.
3. Gun safety- namely, safe storage and background checks.
● How would you grade the federal response to flooding in East Tennessee and what measures would you support as a member of Congress to help Americans hit by natural disasters?
Community spirit has been so high during the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The way I have seen religious communities, neighbors, and strangers pull together to support East Tn has been remarkable. That community spirit will always be essential and complements the $3.1 M in aid that our federal government has provided to Tennessee only of the total $274M given to five states. Even the folks in District 5 have gone out of their way to support their fellow Tennesseans.
We, as a state, delayed our request to FEMA. And that was unfortunate. The federal government really stepped in when asked and the response has been excellent. I applaud the administration for the initial and immediate $750 deposit to those impacted to help them secure housing and other necessities and implore anyone impacted and able to apply for the additional funds that are available. As a member of Congress, I would fund the federal government including FEMA to ensure, especially in the peaks of hurricane season, that our taxpayer money is available for us to use in this extreme weather.
I will say, as a leader, I have been faced with many challenging and high-stakes moments and I believe urgency and confidence is key in handling crises. All lies about this response are deeply troubling and a gigantic distraction from the work that desperately must be done in the face of absolute destruction and crisis.
We know District 5 is at risk for all kinds of extreme weather including tornadoes, floods, droughts, heat waves, and we need to take our needs for both resiliency and mitigation seriously. For resiliency we need as many surfaces and areas that can absorb extreme flooding including green spaces and trees. For mitigation & prevention, I would work with companies on their sustainability measures, and with local cities on their climate risk assessments and plans including lowering our carbon footprint. I would continue to pursue clean energy manufacturing and building jobs through this. There is no denying these events are horrific and require serious attention, mitigation, and prevention.
● What should America's role be in the Israel/Gaza conflict and how would you support that role as a member of Congress?
As someone who has worked in a post-conflict reconstruction in the region and traveled throughout the Middle East, I have seen firsthand the impacts of war and the immense damage it causes both to human lives and infrastructure, impacting the education and healthcare of children. It also greatly degrades our peace overall and our standing in the region. You will always find in me a person that pushes for peace. Military interventions rarely achieve their aims and harm innocent people.
● In the two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned, many have suggested a new federal guaranteeing a legal right to an abortion in all 50 states. How would you vote on such a law? What role do you see the federal government playing in abortion policy?
As a mother of a 6-year-old boy, who is my greatest joy, I know what an emotional and physical experience carrying and birthing a child is, and how many moments there are where things can become very dangerous. It has become clear that having taken the healthcare of women and put it in the hands of the government has resulted in the harm of patients. We cannot trust states to take the healthcare of our people seriously, as in the case of Tennessee where we see so many poor health outcomes. I would vote yes for the right to abortion simply because it puts healthcare decisions back with patients and healthcare providers. We, as a country, must
protect and prevent harm to pregnant patients who can encounter incredible risk during every phase of pregnancy.
● What should Congress do to address immigration policy?
As a child of parents who legally immigrated in the 60s, I have a unique perspective. First of all, I will say I will not play into the fabrication of crises for political points and gain. I will look at the facts and address them with meaningful solutions.
Congress should actually attempt to address immigration instead of balking, stonewalling, and shirking responsibility. That is my demand, that we actually look at the challenges and solve them one by one, instead of blaming every problem we have, from housing to jobs, on immigrants. The District’s growth is on the backs of immigrants working hard in so many fields including construction, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, hospitality, and much more.
I would like for us to look at the resources we are allocating to the border, the resources to address the backlog of cases, and the partners we have to support in this work and make sure we have enough. I would like to look at how we are working with foreign governments at the local level to stop the inflow and address the issue where it starts.
As part of this puzzle, and as I look at the immense animosity towards our immigrant population, I am reminded of our crisis with educating and employing our American men and boys who have been falling behind decade over decade. This has an awful impact on our communities. To address this, I would like to increase our vocational programs in highschools and innovate our education system so that our young people have opportunities for meaningful work and wages.
● American families have seen large price increases on essential household items. What can Washington do to curb inflation on necessary goods like food and fuel?
As a single mom, I know the prices at the grocery store and in my bill statements have greatly impacted how I can provide for my son. I have heard from small business owners in the rural, suburban, and urban parts of District 5 and they are all struggling under the high prices of inputs. Inflation is down thanks to aggressive measures by the Federal Reserve. However, grocery prices and retail prices are still high. In Congress, I would continue to investigate whether suppliers and purchasers are charging higher prices simply to meet higher profit desires. We know that profit margins before the Covid pandemic contributed 10-20% to prices and now they can make up 50% of prices, and it’s up to us, the people of District 5, to decide
whether these inflated profits are something we are able to pay for. As a single mom at the grocery store, I know this is hard to swallow.
● What would you say has been the most important achievement in your career?
I would say I’m most proud of my ability to create a path, where there isn’t one.
At 24, I said yes to an opportunity to go to Afghanistan and work to create lasting peace and rebuild their irrigation infrastructure there. I am so proud of the reconstruction we did there, the jobs we created, and the overall stability we created, and all the lessons I learned about courage and leadership.
Years later, I leveraged technology to meet the needs of women, teachers, and students in closed societies in the Middle East to give them training and communities to catapult them onto their paths of leadership.
Over a decade later, I started Rise and Shine TN - an organization in Tennessee - that brought so many children, youth, and adults into the civic engagement process and revealed the daily workings of our state leaders to regular Tennesseans and to the world.
Overall, I am proud of creating meaningful employment and volunteering opportunities for so many along the way.
