Stand for change
social issues
Opioid crisis
Pennsylvania is particularly plagued by the rampant use and proliferation of opioids. Many addicts are first introduced to these addicting medications in completely legal ways through the medical system where they develop a dependency that persists well beyond their initial need.
As a state with so much to lose from failing to address the issue, we have to lead the country in how to move forward. My office will fight for resources in our communities to tackle addiction; however, it starts by being open with each other. The first change we must make is one of public perception. Addiction is a disease; one that kills our loved ones both literally and by extinguishing the person they once were. We have to come together and continue to support in spite of the hardship. Abandoning an addict is the first step to losing them forever.
Education
Pennsylvania is among the best public school systems in the country. In rural areas of the state, we have mastered the balance between public schooling and online private schooling. It is the position of my campaign that if it isn’t broken don’t fix it.
However, we will fight for grants to improve the student experience, improve pay for teachers and support staff, and fight to make school lunches included at no additional charge for all students. No child should be distracted in the classroom by the pains of hunger in their stomach. If we are to fill their minds with knowledge, we must take the time first to fill their stomachs with nutrition.
immigration
The most efficient immigration policy is one that rewards those who participate in it correctly. I believe in a streamlined citizenship process, one where people can come to a land of opportunity and find a welcome place to grow and prosper just as so many have done before. However, no nation is secure without a secure border.
That is why we will work to help immigrants do it the right way, while also supporting measures to humanely secure the border.
diversity
Our country has a complicated history with race. Our country was founded at a time when black slaves were not afforded the rights of white men, nor the basic human decency. Our country expanded and pushed native people from their lands. Our country exploited Asian immigrants for cheap and dangerous labor. Only recently has our nation started to move in the right direction, but much work is left to be done.
Now that we are moving closer and closer to equality it is time to talk about equitability. I will support no policy that moves our country backwards; no policy that exploits , disenfranchises, or prejudices any people group. I will support policies that create equitability, and move society forward.
Most recently I believe the abandonment of Diversity Equity and Inclusion across the government and corporate America sends the wrong message. While I agree that DEI policies when weaponized can be just as divisive as any racially profiled endeavor. However, the values that DEI stands for at it’s core should not be abandoned. We are made better when we stand together, the melting pot of America has a unique flavor, because of the diversity of the people who have added to the pot.
reproductive rights
Reproductive health must remain a personal decision between a person and their family, physician, and faith. Government has no place in matters of the family.
I will work to improve funding for education programs that teach our young adults the consequences of sexual activity, make available contraceptive options, and encourage celibacy before responsible sexual activity.
I will work to establish a non-partisan board to review medical research and maintain a standard for abortive procedures that respects the health of the mother, the welfare of the child, and the nature of the pregnancy.
These decisions women make are often following some of the most mentally taxing, and sometimes violent, experiences a woman has ever known. We should not be making those decision more difficult by debating on her morality in public.
lgbtq rights
Members of the LGBTQ community are among some of the most productive members of our society. They provide valuable patronage of our local businesses, organize within our community a wide range of events, and ask only for the right to live a free and fulfilled life like all of us.
That is why I support ensuring that members of the LGTBQ community have access to all of the same rights and resources of anyone else. That they are afforded the same opportunity to love, marry, and prosper.
That being said, I also respect the desire for parents to educate their children on sexuality at home. It is not the right of the education system to expose children to concepts of sexuality before they are reasonably expected to be sexually active. There is a balance between protecting children from sexual concepts and ideations, and respecting the rights of adults.