Education
Our primary education system in Pennsylvania has been gutted and underfunded by Harrisburg for too long and it is jeopardizing our children’s future. We need to invest in our state’s future and that starts by investing in our children and their education. As state representative, I will be a champion for increased state funding and resources for our schools and ensure that a fair funding formula is implemented to relieve our immense property tax burden.
Higher Education
While Republicans continue to cut higher education funding, our students are faced with economic uncertainty for years following their graduation. Pennsylvania students are leaving post-secondary education with some of the highest loan burdens in the country, hampering their financial future and damaging our state’s overall economic outlook. Harrisburg must prioritize education at all levels and that includes ensuring our state colleges and universities are funded appropriately so our students are not faced with crushing debt for years.
Charter School Reform
Despite using our tax dollars, charter schools do not face the oversight and transparency requirements necessary to ensure our children actually receive a quality education. I will support legislation that holds these schools accountable, including performance standards for schools and transparency standards for management companies.
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Health Care
Affordable Healthcare for All
As the wealthiest country in the world, there is absolutely no reason why any person should go bankrupt for obtaining health care. We have a duty to make health care affordable for all Pennsylvanians, and we must stand up to special interests that push dangerous legislation to take health care away from our neighbors.
Choice
It is not my place or anyone’s place to tell a woman what they can or can not do with their own body. As your state representative, I will always stand up for a woman’s right of choice and defend reproductive rights.
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Opioid Crisis
There is not a singular culprit in the cause of the opioid crisis. It is a system-wide failure and it will take a multi-pronged approach to defeat this epidemic. We need to go after big pharma and drug distributors that push high amounts of dangerous and highly addictive legal pills into our communities. We need better guidance for our doctors to ensure that they are not overprescribing highly addictive pain medication. And we need to finally treat addiction like a disease and not a criminal justice issue. Addiction can not be solved by a jail sentence and we need to get those facing addiction the treatment and resources they need to overcome their disease.
Redistricting Reform
Voters should choose their elected officials, not the other way around. But Pennsylvania’s General Assembly is one of the most gerrymandered legislatures in the country with life-long politicians drawing districts to ensure they never have to face a tough re-election battle. This is unacceptable. We need an independent commission to draw legislative districts that are fair, impartial, and truly representative.
Environment
Every Pennsylvanian has the right to clean air and clean water. Harrisburg has a duty to protect those rights. As your state representative, I will stand up to polluters and put Pennsylvania on a track towards a clean energy future. At the same time, we will prioritize making investments in communities whose economies were dependent on fossil fuels and less efficient energy sources to make sure they are able to financially thrive in a clean energy future.
Environmental Justice
The climate crisis is disproportionately affecting lower-income Pennsylvanians and people of color. People of color are more likely to experience respiratory diseases such as asthma and be exposed to more toxins within their water supply. We must reverse the course of environmental racism. We must prioritize communities most affected by the climate crisis in our response and ensure leaders within these communities are leading the charge for change.
West Chester Technology Hub
With the university in the borough and it’s proximity to many prominent local businesses, we can make West Chester, Pennsylvania the technology capital of Pennsylvania. My goal as state representative is to help facilitate the creation of a West Chester Technology Hub, to spark innovation and economic development right here in the center of Chester County. With public and private partnerships between our local schools and businesses, we can help bring desperately needed investment and growth to our region for our post COVID economy.
Mariner East 2 Pipeline
When Sunoco, Energy Transfer Partners, and subcontractors skirt and disregard regulations it jeopardizes the health, safety, and well-being of our community. Sunoco has been cited numerous times and been assessed millions of dollars in fines but still continues to violate regulations. We clearly need stronger penalties and stronger comprehensive safety measures to protect our communities.
Gun Safety
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, over 100 people are shot and killed in America each day by guns and 200 more are shot and wounded. We can not accept this statistic as the status quo, and we need to elect candidates at all levels of government that will prioritize our community’s safety. We must close the private-sale background check loophole, create a mandatory 48 hour waiting period for gun purchases, and pass red-flag laws to protect our children and our families.
Universal Background Checks
90% of Americans support universal background checks for all gun sales. In a time of intense polarization where we can barely get 90% of Americans to agree on anything, this is a policy we can all get behind. Yet we still don’t have universal background checks for all gun purchases, why is that? It’s because special interest groups like the NRA funnels millions of dollars into candidates at all levels of government. As your representative, I will listen to the people of our district and push for universal background checks and always stand up to special interests that threaten our safety.
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Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for PA
Great public infrastructure is crucial to keeping our economy running efficiently and effectively. But our state’s infrastructure is out of date and crumbling before our eyes. Our roads are filled with potholes and we have nearly 3700 bridges in our state being deemed “structurally deficient.” But our infrastructure needs do not just stop at transportation. Our state government’s digital infrastructure needs a significant upgrade to prevent cyber attacks, increase its accessibility for users, and to help save paper by digitizing records. Investments in our state’s infrastructure will move our economy forward and keep Pennsylvanians safe.
Traffic
It’s no surprise that many new residents are calling Chester County home. Who wouldn’t want to live in our great county? But with new residents comes more cars and more traffic on our streets. Whether it be on 926, 202, or Paoli Pike our roads simply can not handle the amount of volume they see during rush hour. We need a broad list of solutions including widened roads, increased public transportation options, and park and ride options. There is no one solution to solve the amount of volume on our roadways, but I will be sure to advocate for a range of solutions in Harrisburg to keep our roads safe and clear.
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Remove Harrisburg’s Stranglehold on Local Municipalities
Republicans like to claim they are for local government, but they only like local government when it is convenient for them. Raising the minimum wage, passing common-sense gun reform measures - these are just some of the issues that Harrisburg has blocked our local municipalities from passing ordinances. It’s time to give back some control to local governments. As your representative, I will reverse these dangerous laws, allowing local municipalities to make decisions themselves on these important issues if they see fit.