Staten Island Women Who March and the Young Democrats of Richmond County joined forces to get you ready for Election Day this Primary Season.

SIWWM chatted with the candidates about why they're running to be the voice representing their district on County Committee, how they plan to continue their work of making sure the people are connected to inner workings of the party and how they want to make sure the diversity of the 61st District is represented, included and engaged.

We got to chat with Amoy about moving here as a young girl, seeing her mom raise her on minimum wage jobs and knowing that it isn't a possibility here on Staten Island anymore. We learned about her time in the Peace Corps, various roles in government and how that all gave her the experience to see that government needs to work for their constituents. She also shared her plans for making City Council more transparent and accountable to all Staten Islanders.

We chatted with Selina about the challenges of navigating the Public School System to find the right support for her Grandson, the importance of mental health services and workforce training being included in any pandemic recovery plans and the impact meeting people where they are can have on civic engagement.

Throughout the conversation, we learned about her passion for giving young people the opportunity to see the possibilities and the tools to thrive with Youth Build, as well as her work with the Minority Women in Business Associates, and much more.

Family full-time, church full-time, work full-time, community full-time; this is how John McBeth described himself when we chatted with him. he discusses his life a a man of service through his work: the founding of Occupy the Block, his work with interfaith community events, the various voter registration efforts he's participated in and how he shows up if his presence will add value.

We learned about his work has a teacher and how that has trained him to listen to others' needs and his coaching experience that taught him how to lead others towards a common goal. He shared with us his ideas for helping get women back into the workforce through equitable hiring practices and incentives. His campaign is about having an impact, helping communities come together, and making people's quality of life better.

During the chat, we heard about Ranti's lifelong work with young people here on Staten Island, the importance of saying and living "you're valued here, you're welcomed here", getting our city-run businesses, schools and systems up to 100% ADA compliant, the need to hold each other accountable and calls for us all to be courageous.

We learned about the different moments in his life that compelled him to teach for a time at Curtis HS, become a Public Defender with the Legal Aid Society and now run for City Council. With his seat, he hopes to broaden the impact he can have in the community he calls home.

SIWWM members chatted with us about his experience in the non-profit world with the Parks Department. He shared with us what he says are his strengths and qualifications while being candid about areas where he will need to rely on community organizations for guidance.

With the recent uptick in hate crimes, SIWWM and community partners came together to learn about resources provided by the Mayor's Office of Prevention of Hate Crimes, our local DA's office and community organizations. Follow up Resources: http://bit.ly/CombatingHateResources

Covid-19 is leaving a trail of inhumanely lost lives throughout jails, prisons, and detention centers—which many experts believe could and should have been prevented. Learn how to help meet immediate needs right now of incarcerated and recently released people, and the policies we can advocate for to create true safety for all in the age of Covid-19 and beyond.