Candidate for Ohio House of Representatives - District 73 in 2020 Ohio General Election.
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Get StartedThough I am personally against abortion for myself, I recognize what a difficult decision it is for women. I also recognize that this medical procedure is at times absolutely necessary for the life and well-being of the woman, and that the outright banning of abortion and restrictions to contraception invariably results in the *killing* of women. History demonstrates this to be the case, so resorting to these policies is *not* an option. Decades of statistical evidence globally confirms that such legislative bans do *not* reduce it. Learn more
We should also be directing more of our law enforcement efforts towards stopping the white collar crimes that continue to take place in the political and financial sector, crimes which result in corrupt programs like Ohio’s ECOT scandal (which stole over $1 BILLION dollars in taxpayer money from our schools), or the HB6 FirstEnergy scam, which used legislation to attempt to rip off Ohio utility customers of well over a billion dollars in order to pad the pockets of a handful of corrupt legislators and their corporate patrons. Lack of enforcement of many of these crimes, or even the outright legalization of practices that unjustly cause serious financial harm to Ohioans (such as the payday lending scams that left some of our most financially vulnerable citizens preyed upon by unscrupulous operators), is the result of the corruption which is currently embedded in our state pay-to-play politics. Learn more
We also need to begin to re-think and re-direct how we do policing in our society. This includes de-militarizing our police, and shifting some of the public resources we currently spend on policing, which for many municipalities entails upwards towards literally half their annual budgets. We should re-invest some of these resources towards enabling the health and well-being of our communities, so we don’t have to spend that money countering the negative effects of the poverty and civic corrosion that often results from the lack of those needs being met. Learn more
Another issue is the expansion of state dollars going to private schools by either vouchers or online subsidies, a policy which has served to enrich a handful of private entities, but has made no overall improvement in educational quality in the state. I support putting charter schools under the control of local boards of public education since, thanks to the Ohio Legislature, for-profit charter operators currently acquire public funds from the local school district without a vote of the people. This lack of accountability has made Ohio’s charter schools “a joke – literally.” According to auditors, these schools are responsible for misspending public (i.e. your) money almost *four times* more often than other publicly funded agencies (including a billion dollars being siphoned off from just one charter school scam, the GOP-promoted and politically enabled ECOT debacle, the largest financial scandal in Ohio history). It for such reasons as these that I am against any type of charter school that is run for profit. I am also against vouchers that use public dollars to fund religious schools, as such an action is a direct violation of the Ohio Constitution. Learn more
I support a strong and well-funded public education system. But our one party rule Republican-controlled legislature does not seem to feel the same way. Funding for our schools has remained flat since 2005, which has shifted the burden for keeping our schools operating directly onto our local communities via property taxes and local income taxes. It’s unfortunately no surprise that this shift also coincided with massive tax cuts to corporations and to the wealthiest Ohioans, which removed $9.8 billion from our state revenue, depriving our schools of needed resources. Our senior citizens and other middle class residents have been unable to keep up with these rapid changes, and are being increasingly burdened with these dramatically increasing costs, and are more and more feeling forced to vote against any additional support for our schools via local levies. Learn more
I value and respect the environment that we live in here in Greene County, and believe in a society that takes the protection of our habitat seriously. The despoiling and destruction of our natural resources for the profit of a few at the expense of the rest of us, including our future generations, is irresponsible. New development projects should be accurately examined for the impact that they would have on the community around them. This is also why I oppose fracking as unsustainable and destructive, and support a complete ban on the practice. I also vehemently oppose such retrograde policies as the Ohio legislature’s HB6, a shameless bailing out of economically and environmentally failing nuclear power corporations, and doing so at the expense of our investing in the green energy technologies we need today. A comprehensive plan for switching to renewable energies is essential to the future of our county, our state, our nation, and our world, and many states are already on board with making this necessary transformation. Learn more
I support sustainable energy and restitution for communities impacted disproportionately by fossil fuel industry losses. Renewable energy is an ideal way to create jobs and a strong economy as evidenced in western European nations. Ohio cannot afford to be left behind – we need a renewable energy program that will work towards both addressing climate change and help build a new economy with strong jobs for us. With the skilled and innovative workforce that supports Wright-Patterson AFB, we could and should be leading the rest of the country in developing solutions towards solving the environmental problems the Department of Defense has long asserted are the source of the most serious national security threats we face today. Learn more
I also believe in the power of the states to show the federal government where our values lie. That is why I support HB292 and Single-Payer Action Network (SPAN) Ohio, so that Ohio can help lead the way in changing our country for the better. The cost benefits of such a universal coverage program, to say nothing of the human and social rewards as a result of its implementation, have been detailed in length in this exhaustively researched study on the Ohio Economic Impact of Single-Payer Care. Learn more
I support ensuring that quality healthcare is provided to all citizens, and the most efficient and cost-effective way to do this is through some form of a single payer-style program. This is not some ‘pie in the sky’ ideal, but is a common sense, fiscally and morally responsible solution to the increasingly unsustainable rise in health care costs that the people of Ohio cannot continue to endure. Learn more
This ‘Medicare For All’ town hall, held back in 2018 in our nation’s Capitol building and viewed live online by well over 1 million people, also goes into great detail about how such a program would serve not only the human needs and well-being of our citizens, but the financial needs of our state’s businesses. Learn more
I support a livable minimum wage for all workers. The evidence is in showing that higher wages for workers does not depress local economies, but actually invigorates them. The more money workers have to spend, the more economic activity takes place, which is the *real* driver of economic health. We need wages that help to lift us up out of poverty, not ones that keep us there. This means supporting small businesses that support their employees, and not using public resources to subsidize those that leave their employees inadequately compensated. Some of our largest employers rely on the state to provide food stamps and medical coverage for their employees, and nearly 1/3 of all full time workers work additional jobs in order to stay financially afloat. This is an unsustainable and unacceptable system of employment that Ohio should not be supporting. It is also why I support the rights of workers to organize as a means of helping to redress these kinds of imbalances. Learn more
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