Congressman Richard Neal usually runs without facing any major challenges. This year, however, things could be different.
Nadia Milleron, an independent candidate, is running to challenge powerful incumbent Richard Neal for Massachusetts’ first congressional district, which includes Springfield and most of the Berkshires.
Milleron, a resident of Sheffield, Mass., comes from a storied political family—she is the niece of famous consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who ran for president as a third-party candidate four times.
In the footsteps of her uncle, she is running on a platform of protecting constituents from corporate power. While Milleron has been fighting corporations as an attorney, this struggle is also personal: Milleron lost her 24-year-old daughter in a Boeing plane crash just five years ago.
Following her daughter’s death in 2019, Milleron channeled her grief to advocate for change, trying to draft legislation that would require stricter aviation safety standards. She traveled to Washington, D.C. to push Congress to pass the legislation, but found herself lost amidst the pain she was feeling.
“I did go to D.C. to start the advocacy, but I did it in a hopeless way,” Milleron told The Willistonian. “I was wandering around Congress. I was crying. I didn’t want to be there—I wanted to be home.”
But then, in 2020, the legislation Milleron and the parents of other crash victims were promoting, the Aviation Safety Act, was passed. After months of feeling hopeless, Milleron started to feel optimistic about the change she was affecting.
“The bill passed Congress unanimously, and it had a number of provisions that we helped write,” Milleron said. “It wasn’t a perfect bill, but I was encouraged that it passed. We were making a difference.”
Milleron believes the experience gained during her efforts to promote safety legislation will prepare her for the job of serving in Congress.
“After five years on Capitol Hill, I have a good amount of experience, and I understand Capitol Hill well,” Milleron explained. “I have relationships, and there are people [on Capitol Hill] I’ve worked with. With all that, I now have the confidence to say ‘ok, I can do this.”
While her daughter’s death motivated Milleron to seek office, she was also motivated by her concerns about Richard Neal, who she believes is controlled by corporate interests.
In the 34 years Neal has been in Congress, he has consistently been the one of the biggest recipients of corporate donations in the House of Representatives. In 2019 alone, Neal received more than $1.4 million from corporate PACs, according to FEC filings.
Milleron believes Neal’s ability to serve his constituents has become compromised by his relationship with large corporate donors, which she calls a “pay-for-play situation.”
Milleron highlighted a few instances of Neal changing his stance to please his corporate donors. One of these, involving General Electric, was the source of public outcry.
“Four years ago, Richard Neal said the PCBs in the Housatonic River should be processed and they should be carefully stored,” Milleron said. PCBs are harmful compounds that were discharged into the Housatonic River from a GE factory, according to WAMC.
“And then GE gave [Neal] $50,000 in donations, and Neal said he changed his mind, saying ‘I think PCBs should be placed in a residential neighborhood right next to the river they came out of, right next to a state park,’” Milleron told The Willistonian. “So, what does that do for GE? It allows them to not have to pay all those transport fees.”
Milleron sees this shift as a reflection of the strong influence corporations have on Neal’s political stances.
“This is something you can see directly,” Milleron said. “You can see the opinion, then you can see the corporate contribution, and then you can see the change of his opinion.”
Milleron also raised concerns about Neal’s record on pharmaceutical regulation.
“Another example comes from December of 2023, when Richard Neal was the only member of the MA delegation to vote against transparency in pharmaceutical pricing,” Milleron said. “And where does he get a lot of money? From the pharmaceutical industry—he is voting directly against the interests of his constituents.”
Of the issues driving her campaign, Milleron told The Willistonian that the opioid epidemic, healthcare access, and transparency are at the forefront.
While the opioid crisis has received widespread attention in Appalachia, people are less aware of the toll it takes right here in Western Massachusetts, she believes.
“In the last two years we’ve lost 475 people to opioid abuse in Berkshire county alone, which is a county of only 127,000 people,” Milleron said. “It’s a huge, huge problem. We should be up in arms about it, but there is a lot of shame associated with the issue.”
To make progress in fighting the epidemic of opioid-related deaths, Milleron believes people must start by recognizing the issue and the immense suffering it has caused.
“You have to care enough to hear what people are saying, to talk to the people who lost their children, and participate in the foundations they’ve set up to prevent these deaths,” she said. “You have to be engaged.”
Milleron is also concerned about access to quality healthcare, which she says is scarce in parts of Western Mass.
“We don’t have enough doctors in our district. If you need a doctor’s appointment, you might need to wait six months or a year,” she said. “This is a big problem.”
Milleron accused Richard Neal of blocking a bill in Congress that would deal with this problem by increasing the number of doctors in the nation.
“That is something our district really needs. We need more doctors, nurses, and mental health professionals,” said Milleron. And Neal hasn’t even signed on to the bill. He doesn’t agree with it.”
As a lesser-known challenger to a powerful incumbent like Neal, Milleron knows she faces an uphill battle in getting elected. A recent New York Times story on Milleron referred to her candidacy as a “long shot,” considering she is “trying to unseat one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress.”
This is a battle she is happy to take on, though, and it’s one she believes she can win.
“There are 400,000 independents in my district, and I’m independent. So if I won a majority of those votes, I could win the election,” Milleron told The Willistonian. “I could get some disaffected Democrats, and I could also get some Republicans who want to regain offshore jobs.”
Right now, the challenge Milleron is dealing with is “how to reach 515,000 voters” while operating on a smaller budget. Neal has significantly outspent Milleron since the start of the race. Her campaign has raised $74,858 to Neal’s $2,439,562, according to Open Secrets.
“How do you tell them that you’re on the ballot?” Milleron posed. “I have done all these mass media things, but I’ve still only reached half of the electorate—it’s a big challenge.”
Another challenge Milleron has faced is that she does not particularly like the process of campaigning. Instead, she is excited to “be a legislator.”
“I know can do the job, but I don’t know about the campaign,” she explained. “Because this is the first time I’ve campaigned. It requires different skills and different proclivities, and I’m not really interested in promoting myself.”
When considering their options, Milleron hopes that voters contrast her and Neal and consider who would represent them better.
“Richie Neal has been in for 34 years, and he is not responsive to the people trying to ask for help,” Milleron said. “I [will] be responsive, I have high energy, and care about the people in the district. That is in direct contrast to Richie Neal.”
Milleron added that Neal is “not caring about the wellbeing of human beings here, and that’s something I care deeply about.”
Milleron admits that Neal has succeeded in bringing a lot of federal money to his district but believes the role of serving in Congress extends beyond allocating money.
“He’s all about bringing in money for the district, Which is important, but that’s not the end of the job of the representative,” she said. “You have to pass legislation, and you have to use your position to advocate for the needs of your district. And I can do the job.”