PLATFORM

If elected to represent the people of Senate District 36 in the General Assembly, I will support and introduce legislation that addresses the most pressing issues facing Rhode Islanders.

Healthcare
Access to healthcare is a fundamental right, and I will seek to support legislation that moves us toward the ideal of healthcare for all. No one should go broke because they, or a family member, get sick. No one should have the stress of dealing with insurance coverage issues in the face of a health crisis, or have to make care decisions based on financial ability. With health insurance providers and for-profit healthcare providers putting millions of dollars in the pockets of their CEOs each year, we should not be constantly paying more in premiums to get less coverage.

Rights and Equality
The ideal that our country was founded on was fundamental equality, and I will work to codify protections that promote equality into law. This includes passing the Reproductive Health Care Act to ensure that a woman’s right to have control over her own medical decisions is no different than a man’s, and that her rights to privacy and bodily autonomy are protected without interference or exception. I will also work to pass legislation that addresses the wage gap for women and particularly women of color for comparable work. I will promote and defend policies that protect and uplift our LGBT friends and neighbors, because no one should be made to feel that they are inferior because of who they are and who they love. I will also support studies and legislative action that examine and address racial and other bias in our institutions – law enforcement, education, child welfare – to help us keep moving toward that founding ideal of equality. We can’t be afraid of confronting our blind spots in our quest to make Rhode Island a place that is working for all of its people.

Income Inequality
Rising income inequality is one of the biggest issues Rhode Islanders face. We must continue to move toward creating a minimum wage that is a livable wage, to put pressure on other industries to follow suit and end the sustained wage stagnation. The emphasis on “business friendly” policies for large corporations hasn’t meant much for workers in our state, and that has to change. We must continue to work toward expansion of vocational and professional training programs that meet the needs of growing industries, and toward debt free college solutions. People who work hard should be able to thrive in our state, and that includes local business owners. When people have more money in their pockets to spend, communities flourish.

The Environment
Protecting our natural resources is a top priority. I will support legislation like the EnergizeRI bill that incentivizes renewable energy use and helps us break our reliance on imported fossil fuels. Preserving our air and water quality is a public health issue, and we must take whatever steps we can here in Rhode Island to combat the factors that are leading to climate change. Our beaches, parks, and public lands are a big part of what draws tourists to the Ocean State, and they are an asset that must be protected.

Supporting Our Vulnerable Citizens
We can’t succeed as a state if we fail to serve the most vulnerable among us. Our child welfare system cannot be run like a business. We have seen the deadly results of that approach, and we must prioritize using evidence-based models to rework our foster care system to protect children and support their foster parents fully while providing needed services to their biological parents. We also must create a child welfare system that is able to train and retain dedicated professionals to do this essential work. At the other end of life, we need to make sure that our senior population is able to have their needs met in accessing essential services including transportation, healthcare, and housing. Our veterans should be supported with adequate services and programs that assist with housing, healthcare, and job training.

Safe Communities
Children deserve to be safe in their schools, and we all deserve to be safe in our communities. I support the initiative to research the causes of gun violence in Rhode Island in order to inform policy. I also support the Red Flag bill and the Bump Stock Ban bill that were passed during this legislative session, and I would support continued efforts to improve commonsense gun safety laws such as expanding and improving the background check system and creating laws that regulate safe storage and handling practices with associated penalties. We know that most Americans, including most Rhode Islanders and members of law enforcement, support these gun safety laws, and we need to free our General Assembly members from the corrupting influence of NRA money that seeks to undermine the will of the people of Rhode Island.

In addition, I would support initiatives to expand the mental health support services in our schools, including looking at adopting a mental health curriculum component as New York and Virginia have done. Proactively helping our children understand how their feelings influence their behavior and the control they can exercise over their actions is an essential part of their development and will contribute to the goal of safer schools and communities.

Investing in our infrastructure and making sure our schools, roads, bridges, and public lands are in good shape is an essential part of creating a safe community, and I support legislation designed to promote the repair and construction of these vital elements of our state.

Finally, safe communities are formed when everyone feels like they have a stake in them. We must recognize and reaffirm the valuable role that immigrants play in our communities, from their work in vital industries to the ways their cultures enrich all of our lives. We need to protect people who want to work hard to make Rhode Island their home, and to create paths and opportunities for them to do so.

Evidence Based Policy
From environmental and educational policies to plans to confront the opioid crisis, we must pass laws that are based in evidence and research and guided by experts in related fields.

This includes continuing toward the goal of fully legalizing marijuana in Rhode Island, looking to states like Colorado and now Massachusetts as a model. We must also expunge the records of those who have been previously convicted of marijuana possession. Lets free up our law enforcement officers and our court resources to focus on more pressing community needs, and also recapture the revenue that will be lost to Massachusetts if we fail to take action.

Expansion of Voting Access and Civic Engagement
In order for our state to work for all of us, we need to use our voices. This means voting in local, state, and federal elections, and understanding how each level of government impacts each of us. I would support continued efforts to expand voter access including investigating inequalities in the number of constituents served by polling places that create barriers to voting, adopting expanded vote by mail options, and investing resources in supporting voter registration and engagement programs. In addition, I would seek to improve transparency and reach of communications regarding the work of the General Assembly. I would also investigate ways to make the legislative process including public comment and testimony more accessible to more Rhode Islanders, being respectful of time, cost, and childcare barriers that keep many people from having their voices heard at the State House.