Amy Arata
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Amy Arata
| birth_name = Amy Bradstreet
| spouse = Michael Arata
| children = 3
| party = Republican
| birth_place = Winslow, Maine, U.S.
| residence = New Gloucester, Maine, U.S.
| state_house2 = Maine
| term_start2 = December 5, 2018
|term_end2 =December 7, 2022
|predecessor2 =Eleanor Espling
| district2 = 65th
| state_house1 = Maine
| term_start1 =December 7, 2022
|term_end1 =
|successor1 =
| district1 = 104th
| education = Gordon College (BA)
University of California,
Davis (MS)
| predecessor = Eleanor Espling
| relations = Richard Bradstreet (father)
}}
Amy B. Arata is an American politician serving as a member of the Maine House of Representatives from the 104th district. She assumed office on December 5, 2018.
Early life and education
Arata was born in Winslow, Maine and attended Lawrence High School. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Gordon College and a Master of Science in genetics from the University of California, Davis.{{Cite web |title=Amy Arata's Biography |url=https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/176845/amy-arata |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=Vote Smart}}
Career
After graduating from Gordon College, Arata worked at the Naval Blood Research Laboratory at Boston University. Arata later worked in the Dept. of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis. While there, Arata designed and published a method to distinguish between Taylorella asinigenitalis and Taylorella equigenitalis based on variations of their 16S rRNA sequences.{{cite journal | url=https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/docserver/fulltext/ijsem/51/3/0510971a.pdf?expires=1708653288&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=44CD293B25504FDC25F1DC2A326C71A6 | doi=10.1099/00207713-51-3-971 | title=Taylorella asinigenitalis sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from the genital tract of male donkeys (Equus asinus) | date=2001 | last1=Jang | first1=S. S. | last2=Donahue | first2=J. M. | last3=Arata | first3=A. B. | last4=Goris | first4=J. | last5=Hansen | first5=L. M. | last6=Earley | first6=D. L. | last7=Vandamme | first7=P. A. | last8=Timoney | first8=P. J. | last9=Hirsh | first9=D. C. | journal=International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology | volume=51 | issue=3 | pages=971–976 | pmid=11411723 }} Arata was elected to the MSAD 15 school board and was also appointed by the Maine Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate as a member of the Maine State Board of Education. Arata was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in November 2018 and assumed office in December 2018.{{Cite web |title=Amy Arata |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Amy_Arata |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}
In January 2019, Arata sponsored a bill that would revise a state law governing the dissemination of obscene materials to minors. Arata later stated that she was inspired to sponsor the bill after her teenage son was assigned to read Kafka on the Shore, which perpetuated the myth that rape is mutually pleasurable.{{Cite web |date=2019-01-16 |title=Maine lawmaker seeking to ban "obscene" books from schools |url=https://apnews.com/article/14c29b3504464a5cac792a7962b6b399 |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}
Personal life
Arata and her husband, Michael, have three children and live in New Gloucester, Maine. Arata's father, Richard Bradstreet, is also a member of the Maine House of Representatives.{{Cite web |date=2019-01-18 |title=Dad, daughter serving together in Maine House, 1st on record |url=https://apnews.com/article/1f81f645731748e19335843d529a8e8d |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Maine House of Representatives}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arata, Amy}}
Category:Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives
Category:Women state legislators in Maine
Category:People from Winslow, Maine
Category:People from New Gloucester, Maine
Category:Gordon College (Massachusetts) alumni
Category:University of California, Davis alumni
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)