A Focused Platform
I’m a practical American who understands that right sized Government has a role in our lives. I want to represent you and enact practical solutions to keep America working and set us up for future success. You work hard, pay your taxes, and deserve quality representation and positive results.
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I’m one of the majority of Americans who identify as somewhere in the middle of the political spectrum. I am socially liberal and fiscally practical. Gerrymandering doesn’t give those of us in the middle much of a voice – unless we turn out and vote!
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I'm a Democratic running in a Republican leaning district because we can all see that partisan gridlock is getting us nowhere. We have learned, we cannot change the way the politicians act, we can only change our behavior. Specifically, how we vote. We cannot keep sending the same people to Washington and expect better results – we will merely get more of the same finger pointing excuses for not getting things done.
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We need new representation to shift from the failed 19th Century “trickle-down” dogma – the belief that if we take care of big business, business will take care of us. We need 21st Century solutions that invest in people, human rights, small businesses, and innovation while being fiscally responsible.
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BORDER SECURITY & IMMIGRATION
Why is it so hard for workers to legally come to the United States? Congress hasn’t enacted any meaningful immigration reform since Ronald Regan was President over 40 years ago. The world sure has changed since then. But old school Republican politicians don’t really want to fix immigration. They just want to fear monger around the issue, and recently proved this with votes against even considering a historic bipartisan immigration bill.
IT'S COMMON SENSE: A workable solution for illegal immigration would be to require a fee for work visas and expand the visa program. This would dramatically reduce illegal immigration and reduce taxpayer expense.
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PERSONAL SAFTEY
More and more Americans feel unsafe as they go about their daily lives. Statistically, America is safe, but there are places where life shattering violence is too common. We must refocus policing to a “guardian” mentality, moving away from an “enforcement” mentality.
OUR FIRST RESPONDERS RISK THEIR LIVES EVERY DAY: In many cases, they respond to calls that are more dangerous because Congress has failed to adequately address gun violence, mental health, and society’s well being. We do not need to limit gun ownership to enhance gun safety. We can treat addiction like an illness not a crime. We can reduce crime by providing a positive vision and a path for people to become upwardly mobile again.
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RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER
The overturning of Roe v. Wade was an attack on Women’s rights, and not something that will prevent abortions. In fact we have seen that it threatens IVF, and endangers the lives of abused girls and mothers in medical distress. The idea that the Government should dictate what a woman does with her body is the antithesis of Liberty. Most Americans feel abortions should be safe, legal, and very rare. Now we have learned they need to be safe, legal, rare and free of Government overreach. Republican politicians perpetuate a ruse that this is a States rights issue. IT'S NOT. it is a private issue not a government issue. We don't want politicians and lawyers in the business of family planning.
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LIBERTY IS PARAMOUNT: To my friends and neighbors who have a deeply held belief that abortion is wrong; I am not asking for you to compromise your beliefs. I am asking that you not allow government to infringe on the liberty and privacy or our fellow Americans.
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BACK TO A BALANCED BUDGET
To get back to sane governance, you need a representative in Congress who will do the hard work to stop the politics of continuing resolutions and threats to shutdown Government. Those tactics need to be replaced with rigorous debate through the bi-annual budget process.
JUST 24 YEARS AGO, THE BUDGET WAS BALANCED: We didn’t have to cut social security or compromise our National Security to do it. But it did call for compromise and tough decisions. As an engineer, I will take a practical approach and examine the budget and our spending. First, we need to understand what has changed in the last 24 years that have prevented Congress from balancing the budget. The threats to our National Security have evolved. Russia, China, Iran, and Terrorism remain real threats to Americans and our National Interests. The Global market has also evolved with new threats to intellectual property and cyber security. We have seen huge growth in the federal bureaucracy. The Department of Homeland Security was created, and border spending is at record highs. Congress passed two major tax cuts intended to pay for themselves with economic growth that have only that have added to the National debt.
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Congress needs to stop the politics of continuing resolutions and threats to shutdown government. Those political tactics need to be replaced with rigorous policy debate throughout the bi-annual budget process.
