She Runs Illinois 2020! — Martha Paschke, candidate for IL House of Representatives, District 65
She Votes Illinois is pleased to feature Martha Paschke, running for IL House of Representatives, District 65. Follow our series, She Runs Illinois 2020!, leading up to election day as we showcase and uplift the voices of Illinois women running for public office in the upcoming election.
Tell us about yourself
I am a working mom and actively engaged community member. I’m a certified middle school teacher and worked for over 14 years as a childbirth educator and labor doula. I currently work in mental healthcare. My extensive volunteer work includes serving on the Geneva Library Foundation, being a founding member and co-leader of Kane and Kendall County Moms Demand Action, and serving for 18 years in my church, Fox Valley Presbyterian.
I believe that it is important to have representation that reflects the values of the community, which is why I am running for the opportunity to represent the people of the 65th House District. I consider myself to be an ethical and compassionate leader who will work hard, listen to the concerns of the citizens of the 65th, and collaborate with members of the State Legislature to create solutions that work.
Tell us about the women in your life
The most influential woman in my life is someone I never got to meet. My paternal grandmother, Inez Marcella Judith Felde (née Benson — my middle name) who left college to serve as a social worker in Appalachia. Though I’ve never been told many specific stories about her, her spirit has shone through my own father (the middle of her seven children) and his service as a missionary from before I was born. She died of leukemia when my dad was only 12 years old, but I’ve always felt a connection to her.
Which is not at all to diminish my own mother. If the strength of a woman could be measured, she’d break the records. An educator by training, she served alongside my father in the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea — even living in a real grass hut for the first year they were there. She gave birth to my older sister and I while there, with little assistance. When my younger sister was born with multiple holes in her heart (back in the US, thankfully!), my mom spent the better part of a year with her in the hospital, while also ensuring that her three other kids were being cared for. My mom is stubborn, strong, and loyal to those she loves and raised me to be much like her.
Next would be my baby sister, six years younger and one of the most amazing humans I have ever known. She survived her first year, through many surgeries, a pacemaker, and became the first person to transmit an EKG across the Pacific Ocean. She recently completed her Ph.D. in nursing with a focus on the disparity of treatment in health care of Black children in urban areas. I should add that she was also teaching pediatric nurse practitioners and raising three young kids while working on her Ph.D.. I was lucky to be her doula for the births of two of those kids and supported her through natural deliveries with both.
And then there’s Lauren Underwood, my Congresswoman. My friends and I worked hard to help get her elected and I cried ugly tears of joy when her victory was announced. She represented to me everything that had been missing in our leadership at the national level and in the seat that she flipped — she is intelligent, compassionate, she listens, and she shows up when it matters. She is my shero.
Having worked as a childbirth educator and labor doula for many years, I am passionate about advocating for women’s health care rights — both in birth (we need to license CPMs in IL) and in the decision to not give birth. I believe that we need to trust women more and fight for our rights as women to have full decision-making power when it comes to our bodies.
What led you into politics? Why are you running for THIS office?
I’ve participated in politics since the early 2000s, through phone banking early on, to canvassing, and then to hosting campaign staff and doing anything and everything I could to help get quality candidates elected. That involvement and my community organizing after the 2016 election led me to running for this seat when I discovered that the incumbent was not going to be challenged. He has not represented my values or those of the people I know in this community and I could not stand by and allow him to continue uncontested.
How will you help ensure equitable access to healthcare for people in Black and Brown communities that are hardest hit by the coronavirus?
Incentivizing the training of Black and Brown providers should be a high priority. Looking for ways to boost the comprehensive model of physical and mental health care centers would also improve and streamline care in all communities. I believe that we need to look at how Medicaid handles credentialing and work to make it a more streamlined process to bring in more providers. We need to look at how Medicaid pays providers and make that work better for patients and providers as well.
Have you participated in any BLM protests? What influenced your decision?
Yes. I participated in several BLM protests because it is a movement long overdue and not doing everything I can with my privilege would be total complicity in the behavior that leaves Black mothers terrified for their children’s lives and safety. I participated because it is the right thing to do, without hesitation. I have also attended training through Chicago Regional Organizing Against Racism with a group from my church that is focused on addressing social injustice. I am working with several organizations locally to keep the work of anti-racism going.
What is the most important policy you could implement that would help women in your district?
As an educator and a women’s health worker, I can think of nothing more important to positively impact women in my district than the passage of legislation that requires schools to teach a medically accurate, age appropriate, and culturally inclusive sex ed program that affirms LGBTQ students and is inclusive of their health and wellness needs. While many other items might have the possibility of helping specific groups of women, this is something that would prepare all women to feel secure in their ownership of their bodies beginning at a young age. This has the potential to positively impact mental health, physical health, and emotional/relational health in the long term.
What do you wish you had known before you decided to run for office?
I wish I’d known that as much as it felt like I was stepping out into some big arena on my own, I never really was alone. When I made the decision to run, I envisioned being out there on the campaign trail navigating everything as an individual and I’m so glad to have learned that this is not the case. Even though it is my name on the signs, that is only a representation of the amazing support that keeps me going every day — from my team of staff and volunteers (almost all women!), to my candidate friends who are always there for each other, to the many incredible elected officials whom I know I can rely on for a sound word of advice and encouragement.
Closing comments
I’m running for the opportunity to make myself available and accessible to the people of this 65th House District so that I can continue to strive for my life’s goal of helping more people, in any way I can, little or big. I have taught middle school social studies and marveled with my 7th graders at how cool this experiment in democracy is. And now I get to be a part of it and show not only my own kids and my former students, but every kid I meet that politics is not just for the lawyers and businessmen; that to truly represent people means to be one of them — just a regular mom working to help people thrive.
If you would like to learn more about Martha Paschke and her platform or volunteer for her campaign, please check out her website at martha4il65.com. Don’t forget to follow her on social media @Martha4IL65. Reach out today and help make a difference in the upcoming 2020 election.
(The information contained in this post is provided only as general information and does not imply an endorsement by She Votes Illinois.)
