Samantha Montaño (born 1989/1990) is an American community organizer and politician who has served as a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

from the 15th Suffolk district since 2023. They are a member of the Democratic Party.

Biography

Montaño is from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. They are a member of the

LGBTQ+ community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ individuals united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individua ...

, using she/they pronouns, and identify as

Latinx ''Latinx'' is an English neologism used to refer to people with Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the United States. The term aims to be a gender-neutral alternative to ''Latino'' and ''Latina'' by replacing the masculine and fem ...

and Chicanx. In 2022, Montaño ran for election to the

in the 15th Suffolk district. They won the Democratic Party primary with 57.5% of the vote, and the general election with 98.8% of the vote. Montaño represents regions of the Boston neighborhoods of Roxbury, Mission Hill, and

Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of Roxbury, Massachusetts, Roxbury. The community seceded from Roxbur ...

Community Organizing

Prior to running for the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2022, Montaño was involved in community organizing and advocacy in

and describes "deep roots" in the neighborhood. After moving to Jamaica Plain in 2015, Montaño ran for th
Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council
and won a seat representing Area B, the Easternmost region of the neighborhood. They eventually served as chair of the Council. Significant work in Jamaica Plain prior to election also includes working as a resident organizer at th
Mildred C. Hailey
housing project to establish a youth center. Montaño also served in the Impact Advisory Group a
Pine Street Inn
a homeless services provider. Other work in the Boston area prior to their candidacy included working as Director of Organizing at GreenRoots, Inc, an environmental justice organization in

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in ...

. They also served as a housing advocate with the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, a program officer with the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and a guest advocate with the

Crittenton Women's Union Crittenton Women's Union (CWU) is a Boston, Massachusetts–based non-profit organization whose mission is to help low-income women and their families reach economic self-sufficiency. Overview Crittenton Women's Union provides direct services to ...

. In 2024, Montaño became the executive director of th
Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts
an organization that provides life-sustaining resources, including drop-in services and transitional housing support, to

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

people.

Campaign for House of Representatives

In November 2021, Massachusetts Governor

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician serving as the sixth president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massa ...

signed into law a redistricting bill that would take effect in the 2022 election. While Jamaica Plain belonged to the 10th and 15th Suffolk districts from 2011-2021, the redistricting incorporated the entire neighborhood into the 15th Suffolk district. Montaño ran for election to the

in the 15th Suffolk district. They won the Democratic Party primary with 57.5% of the vote, defeating Roxanne Longoria, Richard Anthony Fierro, and May Ann Nelson. They won the general election as the sole candidate with 98.8% of the vote. Montaño identified

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

, tenant protections,

racial justice Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

, and

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...

as priorities during their 2022 campaign.

Personal life

Sam Montaño grew up in Los Angeles, California. They are a member of the

, using she/they pronouns, and identify as

and Chicanx. Montaño was inspired by their personal history to work in housing justice, sharing in an op-ed that as a child, their family experienced housing instability due to their father's substance use disorder. They have stated that this experience directly influences their support for expanding substance use treatment services across Boston, including the propose
Shattuck Hospital
redevelopment project in Jamaica Plain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montaño, Sam Year of birth missing (living people) Year of birth uncertain Living people 21st-century American women politicians Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives University of California, Los Angeles alumni Politicians from Los Angeles LGBTQ state legislators in Massachusetts Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Massachusetts American politicians of Mexican descent Women state legislators in Massachusetts 21st-century members of the Massachusetts General Court