Abortion

I’m unequivocally pro-choice and believe that abortions should be safe, legal, and rare. I also believe this decision should be between a woman and her doctor and the government has no business being involved whatsoever.

Budget Deficit

Those of us who have had to live on a budget have a hard time grasping the concept of a budget deficit, especially one that’s almost $2 trillion dollars. Simply put: if we don’t have the money, we don’t spend the money. This deficit is also greatly affected by reckless fiscal policy such as tax cuts for billionaires, corporate welfare to oligarchs, and massive unemployment created by the very same aforementioned billionaires and oligarchs. If you increase the government’s revenue by making the rich pay their fair share and reduce frivolous and self-enriching spending, the deficit can shrink without having some loose cannon come in and slash tens of thousands of government jobs with an email. What a concept.

Climate Change

For a bit of a different perspective, I’m going to take the politics out of this completely and speak only as a Tucson native. I have personally witnessed our local climate shift over my lifetime here and in my years working outdoors. The summers are hotter, the winters are shorter, the monsoons are inconsistent, and the nature around us is drying up. I’m an electrician, not a scientist, but it’s clear this isn’t right and if there’s still time to do something to fix it, why wouldn’t we?

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Who would have ever thought making the world a more inclusive place would be such a polarizing issue in the 21st century? When you boil this issue down and take all the hateful rhetoric from both sides out of the equation, you’re left with three simple words - each of which is a positive thing. Take the opposite of each of them; do you feel good about any of those things? No, you don’t. It’s as simple as that. We can be different and we can celebrate our differences without excluding others or subscribing to identity politics.

Economy

I’m not an economist. As such, my views on this are simple. Inflation is a serious problem and members of the working class feel its effects in everyday items much more than the rich but our government is so out of touch with average Americans that inflation is nothing more than a talking point. Those of us involved in industries involving the purchase or sale of goods also know that a large portion of inflation is artificial and driven by nothing more than corporate greed. Strong enforcement measures are needed to protect consumers from price fixing and gouging. On another hand, we need to invest in our future workforce to remain competitive in the global economy. There is an impending catastrophic shortage of new workers entering the manufacturing and skilled trades fields, yet we continue to develop the most advanced manufacturing facilities in the world without the people to keep them functional.

Education

As a product of the Amphitheater Public School system right here in Tucson, I am horrified by the actions being taken by the current regime to dismantle public education in the United States to replace it with a whitewashed, dictactor-esque propaganda arm. Our future is in the hands of our youth and they are being taught an alternate version of reality that hides from the harsh truths about the history of our country and their access to facts and information about the world around them is being censored.

Healthcare

We are the richest country in the world and the only developed nation without universal healthcare. Why? Because massive healthcare giants spend millions of dollars lobbying to make sure it stays that way. Your health is nothing more than a dollar sign to those companies and the unending corporate greed claims countless lives every year. We’re long overdue to bring an end to it.

Immigration

As a border district, any candidate running for this office should acknowledge the nuance of the immigration crisis as it relates to our district specifically. Once again, the folks in Washington try to armchair quarterback this issue by throwing endless amounts of money at border security without addressing the real issue: the system to immigrate lawfully is severely broken and inefficient. Many people migrate to the United States every year in pursuit of the American Dream. Whether they’re trying to create a better life for their families, escape violence in their home country, or pursue freedom from oppression, we leave many people with no choice but to immigrate illegally then we wonder why immigration is rampant.

Opioid Crisis

Politicians love to parade around with this issue with photo ops, legislation to beef up border spending, and a heavy emphasis on incarceration. Once again, it just shows how out of touch they are. Anyone who has had a loved one suffer from opioid addiction has witnessed the unbelievable power of these drugs to cause devastating damage. In many cases, becoming addicted to opioids was unintentional and the result of reliance on prescription medication to treat pain. We don’t pay nearly enough attention to the role big pharma plays in the opioid crisis and instead focus on incarcerating victims of addiction rather than rehabilitating them. The focus needs to be on developing a robust and effective rehabilitation system while simultaneously cracking down on shady pharmaceutical sales practices.

Second Amendment

I am a gun owner and a firm believer in the right to bear arms. I also believe far too many people have taken extreme liberties with the part about a “well-regulated militia” which has led to countless unspeakable acts of gun violence. Any law-abiding responsible gun owner should take no issue with common sense measures to protect from abuse of the law.

Social Security

Perhaps this is only a topic of conversation among Generation Y and Z, but there is an understandable concern about the historical misuse of Social Security funds leading to future generations not being able to collect on the funds they’ve paid in their entire lives. While I don’t believe in privatization for obvious reasons of mistrust of the financial sector, I think the Social Security system needs serious reform to secure the futures of all workers.

Taxes

I don’t think it’s fair that my fellow blue collar workers pay more in income tax than the top 1% of earners in this country. I also don’t think paid tax preparation services should be allowed to spend millions of dollars on lobbying every year to ensure the tax code stays as convoluted as possible to force average Americans to pay a fortune to file their income taxes. A simplified tax code that levels the playing field for lower-income workers and guarantees the ultra-wealthy and corporations pay their fair share will boost the economy and reduce poverty, plain and simple.

And Some More

While not talked about as much in the press, here are some other issues I’m passionate about.

Term and Age Limits

The average age in the House is 58 years old and 64 in the Senate. Keep in mind: those are averages, meaning there are plenty tipping the scales upward. Many of these octogenarian members are career politicians who have held their positions for decades thanks to gerrymandering and careful manipulation by their parties. If we are electing representatives, shouldn’t we be electing people who are more in tune with the changing world?

Insider Trading in Congress

If I shared nonpublic information about a public company with you and you base your trading off that information, that’s a crime and both of us will probably spend some time in prison. Yet, if a member of Congress earmarks funding for a specific company or has a closed door hearing about a company and bases their trading off that information, it's somehow acceptable even though a law was passed to prohibit these trades in 2012. How do we continue to let this happen? More than half of the members of Congress are millionaires despite an annual salary of $174,000 and some others are on their way up with trades that blatantly correspond with planned market fluctuations.

Creating a Fair Real Estate Market

Homeownership is becoming a rarity, especially among Millenials and beyond. It’s not for a lack of trying, either. Extreme interest rates compounded with soaring home prices make it impossible for average families to be able to afford to buy a home. In many cases, prices are being driven up by large asset management or investment companies who have endless funds to spend and drive normal buyers out of the market. These companies will overpay for houses because they know they can overcharge to rent them out to the next family that couldn’t afford to buy and it’s not fair to the average person looking to own a piece of the American Dream.

“So what are you going to do about it?”

I’m glad you asked. Unlike other candidates, I’m more than just talk. Check out the Policy page to see what’s cooking.