Welcome to our series on Congressional Contenders for the Democratic primary nomination in NY Congressional District 11! Currently held by Rep. Dan Donovan (R) there is a wide field of challengers – and we’re here to bring you discussions with each and every one of them.
Our first guest is Major Boyd Melson, US Army Reserves, who recently withdrew from the race to volunteer for deployment to the Middle East – but met with us to discuss spinal cord injuries, stem cell research, the opioid epidemic, his non-profit work, and some of the problems in today’s politics. It’s the perfect starter to our series on the candidates vying for your primary vote in June 2018.
Breaking News: Listen to the very end of the show for our first Radio Free Bay Ridge exclusive…Boyd Melson tells us who he’s endorsing now that he’s out of the race!
Get Involved
Get in touch with Boyd:
Twitter: @BoydMelson
Instagram: @BoydMelson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boyd.melson.9
Donate to some of Boyd’s charities:
Spinal Cord Injuries: Team Fight To Walk
Opioid and drug use recovery: BigVision.nyc
Non-profit status for KOA-Knock Out Addiciton is currently pending.
Show Notes
- Boyd’s mother’s jewelry business (she’s retiring soon!)
- KOA – Knock Out Addiction – An article from the Staten Island Advance describing Boyd’s non-profit
- Boyd’s (impressive) boxing credentials can be viewed on his Wikipedia page.
- Watch the video Boyd recommended on stem cell research here.
- A 2012 ESPN article about Boyd and his work to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.
- The NSCSC’s 2016 fact sheet on Spinal Cord Injuries.
- Boyd talks about the idea of “holding space” – here is a short HuffPo piece about this concept.
- Camelot – Staten Island – Addiction treatment program on Staten Island
- Got an authentic Italian recipe you’d like to share with your neighbors? Leave a link (or the whole thing!) in the comments, below…maybe one day we’ll do a podcast about Italian feasts!
Further Reading and Listening
- Listen to the Gravesend “Coffee with your Congressman” event to hear Rep. Donovan discuss Net Neutrality with a medical activist
- Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams. Boyd mentions the movie as a source of his belief that you must treat people, not diseases.
- If you haven’t already, listen to our last studio episode about Nativism!