Real estate agent on the ballot for House

By Owen Boss

GARDNER — Local businesswoman Carolyn Kamuda recently announced that she is running for the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the 2nd Worcester District as an unenrolled candidate against state Rep. Robert Rice, D- Gardner. Ms. Kamuda owns Kamuda Real Estate and said she is ready to represent her district because she has 20 years of service to property owners in Gardner and the surrounding towns and has been active in various community programs. She has been active in the Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce where she serves as an ambassador and is also the founder of the Greater Gardner Artist’s Association. She has been a member of the Gardner Arts Lottery Council, the Gardner Community Land Trust, the Gardner Housing Partnership and the Gardner School Building Needs Committee. She also served on the Habitat for Humanity family selection committee. Ms. Kamuda said her experience as a real estate agent will be a huge benefit toward her success as a representative. “I think I can really identify with the population right now because there are so many people out there dealing with foreclosures,” said Ms. Kamuda. “I was involved with real estate in the 1990s and my niche was always lower-priced properties. I was always dealing with blue-collar, working-class people, and I always focused not on the sales but on the service I provided.” A top priority of her campaign is making a difference in the area she will represent, she said, and making sure that the funding that is usually funneled east is spread evenly across the state. “I want to make a difference. North central Massachusetts had been under-represented on Beacon Hill,” said Ms. Kamuda. “I know I can be a voice for the people whom I serve.” According to Ms. Kamuda, the district she will represent, which includes the city of Gardner and the towns of Ashburnham, Ashby, Royalston and Winchendon, is often overlooked by the state Legislature and needs additional funding to develop. “I want to make sure Beacon Hill realizes there are taxpaying citizens in north central Massachusetts,” said Ms. Kamuda. “We have so much to offer in this area. We need to take what we have here, expand on it and make it better.” Her priorities will focus on achieving fiscal responsibility in government, quality education for all children in the state, repair of rapidly deteriorating infrastructure and public safety. “I’ve been told by my peers that I hit the ground running, and if there is a problem I will be able to find a solution for it,” said Ms. Kamuda. When faced with a challenge I always meet it head on and find a way to solve it.” As a business owner, Ms. Kamuda feels she understands the challenges of the small business person. “We’re in for a rough road economically in the next few years,” said Ms. Kamuda. “With the housing market suffering, the inability of buyers to get loans that they need and with companies leaving the area and laying off hundreds of employees, there needs to be a voice in Boston that speaks for the working class.” oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 10/18/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 247)