By working together,
we can do better.
Education
We need increased funding to give more children access to Pre-Kindergarten programs and support a multi-faceted K-12 education system, including career and technical education. A child’s zip code should not determine the success they will have in school. We need a fair and equitable system of public education that truly prepares the next generation of great thinkers and problem solvers.
Families
Income inequality has continued to grow over the last four decades and the number of middle-income families is shrinking. Support for working families begins with investing in high-quality, affordable child care enabling parents to work. We also need to strengthen existing unions and promote policies making it easier for workers to organize and speak with a stronger, unified voice. Finally, we need to commit to paying every Pennsylvanian a family-sustaining wage. I’ll never support policies that pit workers against one another and promote a race to the bottom.
Infrastructure
Pennsylvania’s roads and bridges are in dire need of repair and we need to think of innovative ways to fund our infrastructure needs. But infrastructure is much more than roads and bridges. We need to build out broadband and water systems to areas of the state that lack those resources. Let’s make investments to upgrade our airports and public transit systems to support residents and bolster our tourism industry.
Healthcare
One of the biggest barriers to a strong economy is the lack of health insurance for many Pennsylvanians. How many entrepreneurs do we have out there who don’t pursue their dreams because they lack health insurance? This issue is extremely personal for me since my daughter has Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), a life-long autoimmune disease. Because of this, she will need health insurance for the rest of her life to afford insulin which she MUST have in order to survive. Many people of all ages have struggled to afford health insurance and prescription medications. In me, you will always have a champion to make healthcare more accessible and affordable.
Environment
Climate change is a long-term threat that people may not fully understand. What should be understood is that the earth is literally getting warmer every year leading to extreme temperature changes and severe weather. In the last few years we’ve witnessed stronger hurricanes, storms and even earthquakes in Pennsylvania with 100-year floods happening more frequently leading to massive loss of life and property. Those costs are real and devastating and we need to work to reverse that trend.
Racial & Social Justice
I have had the extraordinary privilege of growing up in a diverse community and being exposed to people of other races, religions, identities, sexual orientations and creeds from a young age. This experience has taught me that the main antidote to hate and division is love and understanding. However, data and research underscores racial disparities in many areas including education, health outcomes, home ownership, wealth acquisition, the child welfare system and much more. It is going to take all of us working together to build the more just and equitable Pennsylvania we want to see.
First Responders
First Responders keep communities safe and try to help when residents are experiencing their worst moments. They help us, but the number of working volunteer firefighters has been in decline for decades and EMS companies are experiencing massive personnel shortages. We need to provide additional resources to our public safety professionals and do more to help those who help us in times of emergency.
Municipal Reform
Municipalities across the Commonwealth are getting squeezed and forced to choose between cutting crucial services or raising local taxes. Action at the state level is needed to help preserve services without further exacerbating an unfair tax system dependent on zip code. First, municipal governments need additional tools from the state to ease the burden of rising pension costs due to outdated legislation. Second, the state government has left municipalities holding the bag with the costs of stormwater management and environmental protection. Many municipal leaders (including those in Lower Paxton and Susquehanna Townships) have taken the courageous step of implementing stormwater fees because the state and federal governments have left them no choice. Our rivers, creeks, and streams are a shared resource, and the responsibility to keep them clean should not solely be borne by individual municipalities alone.
