Alana's Platform

Healthcare

No one should go broke because of an illness, experience the stress of insurance coverage issues in the face of a health crisis, or have to make care decisions based on financial ability. With health insurance organizations and for-profit healthcare providers putting millions of dollars in their CEOs’ pockets each year, we should not constantly pay more in premiums to get less coverage. Access to healthcare is a fundamental right, and I will support legislation that moves us toward healthcare for all. This pandemic has shown us what happens when jobs disappear and people lose their health insurance, and we must take action to address this.

Rights and Equality

Our country was founded on the ideal of fundamental equality, and I will work to codify protections that promote equality into law so everyone has the freedom to live their lives. This includes:

• Supporting studies and legislative action that examine and address racial, disability, and other biases in our institutions – such as law enforcement, education, and child welfare – to help us move toward that founding ideal of equality

• Passing legislation that addresses the wage gap for women, and particularly women of color, for comparable work

• Promoting and defending policies that protect and uplift our LGBTQ friends and neighbors, because no one should be made to feel inferior based on who they are and whom they love

• Our senior population must be able to access essential services including transportation, healthcare, and housing, and our veterans should have adequate programs and services that assist with housing, healthcare, and job training

We can’t be afraid to confront our blind spots in our quest to make Rhode Island a place that works for everyone.

Jobs & Income Inequality

The COVID19 crisis has exacerbated our issues with unemployment and income inequality. We must be willing to invest in initiatives to head off the growing housing crisis, get Rhode Islanders back to work, and create a minimum wage that is a livable wage. We must expand vocational and professional training programs that meet the needs of growing industries, and offer 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 to spend, communities flourish.

Environment

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

education and child welfare

We can’t succeed as a state if we fail to educate, protect, and serve the most vulnerable among us. Our schools are going to need our full support implementing new policies and procedures as we continue to deal with COVID 19, and we need to take this opportunity to look at the educational inequities highlighted by this crisis and find ways to address them in a sustainable way. Our child welfare system cannot be run like a business. We have seen the deadly results of that approach, so we must prioritize evidence-based models to rework our foster care system to protect children and fully support their foster parents while providing needed services to their biological parents. We also must create a child welfare system that trains and retains dedicated professionals to do this essential work.

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 passed during this legislative session, and would support continued efforts to improve common sense 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 it’s time to take action.

In addition, I would support initiatives to expand the mental health support services in our schools, including adopting a mental health curriculum component that 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 essential for creating a safe community, and I support legislation 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 immigrants’ valuable role in our communities, from their work in vital industries to the ways their cultures enrich all of our lives. We must protect people who want to work hard to make Rhode Island their home, and 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 evidence- and research-based laws, ones guided by experts in related fields.

Expansion of Voting Access and Civic Engagement

Our state works for all of us when we use our voices. This means voting in local, state, and federal elections, and understanding how each level of government impacts us. I would support expanding 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

• 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.