Molly Kivi describes herself as an outsider, but with knowledge of how the inside works. 

A first-time candidate, Kivi was born in Taunton and grew up in Carver, playing travel softball across the South Coast. Now a resident of New Bedford, Kivi said she is finally picking up the call that has been seemingly ringing her whole life.

Kivi is running for the Second Bristol and Plymouth senate seat, which includes the city of New Bedford and the towns of Acushnet, Dartmouth, Mattapoisett and Fairhaven.

She said a “sense of service” has been ingrained in her since she was a little girl, watching her mother volunteer at church and school.

Studying at UMass Dartmouth, Kivi said she has experience in nonprofit, government and private accounting.

She said as an outsider, she saw a lot of “pitfalls” after the 2020 unemployment system and tax reform was put into place and has spent a lot of time helping those who were struggling with it. 

Now, she wants to be on the inside, sharing her experience, collaborating with groups and “humanizing the other side,” with a desire to focus on issues related to the budget, mental health and human rights.

“People are busy trying to survive, afford groceries, wake up on time, get enough sleep, clean the house, take care of the kids, take care of themselves, and try to have some fun,” she said. “And there's not enough time for civic engagement right now, so I don't fault the people for not having time to read every piece of legislation.”

She said if elected, the needs, wants, values and morals of her constituents would be taken into consideration with every move she makes.

Kivi said from her observation, sometimes bills that are meant to be “progressive,” don't actually make much of a difference because legislators restrain themselves out of fear it would never get passed.

“That’s not true progress,” she added.

There’s corruption and problems she sees that she says she’d like the opportunity to be a part of mending, adding how important it is for constituents to be able to trust their leaders without watching their every move.

“I’m not bribable,” Kivi said, highlighting her “strong sense of self” and her social network of “regular people,” who help keep her in check and understand how legislation is affecting people on the ground level.

In her first 100 days of office, Kivi said she would like to tour the area to start building relationships with schools and businesses as well as hire the right people.

Additionally, she said she’d like to establish a “public facing database” where concerns could be submitted and categorized in a way that would make clear what issues constituents are facing and what is affecting people the most.

She said it’s all about building trust and being transparent, adding, “I’m ready.”