V.A. Lopes is running for Tiverton Town Council as an Independent, grounded in one core belief: meaningful change starts locally.

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Lopes is committed to governing with residents, not over them, combining hard data with community input to drive decisions that serve Tiverton's long-term interests. The goal is a stronger, more resilient town that works for current and future generations.

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Affordable Housing/Building

Rhode Island's statewide approach to affordable housing ignores Tiverton's infrastructure limits and ongoing population decline. Any housing strategy must be grounded in local population trends and infrastructure capacity. Lopes will advocate for data-driven housing decisions that align development with what our roads and water systems can realistically support. This will prioritize green, energy-efficient construction to keep residents' long-term costs down and retain the rural environment. This includes adapting existing buildings to meet the needs of smaller, modern families. Current state legislation pushes towns like Tiverton toward a 10% affordable housing threshold that is neither achievable nor compatible with preserving the town's rural character.

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Education Reform

Declining enrollment and rising costs are squeezing Tiverton's schools. Lopes will advocate for cross collaboration within the town, at the state level, and surrounding towns facing the same challenges to ensure our children have the best educational opportunities available. 

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Inter-Governmental & Governance Collaboration

Too often, town, state, and federal efforts work in silos, leaving Tiverton to navigate poor coordination and missed opportunities. Through years of activism, Lopes has built strong working relationships across all levels of government, positioning her to keep Tiverton ahead of key decisions and ensure our community's needs are represented where it matters most.

Locally, the Town Council and town boards frequently operate without meaningful coordination, resulting in confusion and poor outcomes. Lopes will introduce an annual planning session that incorporates resident input, the town's master plan, annual projections, and measurable KPIs, ensuring we are consistently moving in the right direction.

Lopes also knows how to mobilize at the local level to drive meaningful change at the state level, ensuring Tiverton's voice is heard in the decisions that shape our future.

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Food Security & Farmland Preservation

Global supply chain disruptions have made local food production a necessity. Tiverton's farmland is a resource we cannot afford to lose. Lopes will prioritize farmland preservation and support sustainable, local agriculture to reduce dependence on fragile supply chains and strengthen community resilience.

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Empowering Residents

America's middle class has been shrinking for decades, and V.A. Lopes believes that is not an accident, it is the result of a political system where money drives decisions instead of people. Lopes is committed to getting money out of politics and ensuring that tax dollars are spent where they belong: on American families and working-class communities. Her background as a global healthcare strategist has given her a firsthand look at how other countries achieve higher quality of life, broader access to education, and longer life expectancy, and she is determined to bring those lessons home to Tiverton and beyond.

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Why Endorse V.A. Lopes

V.A. Lopes is a community-first candidate who pairs progressive values with practical, data-driven governance. On housing, education, food security, and local government reform, Lopes offers clear positions backed by a genuine commitment to resident input.