I want to represent your voice in the State Assembly. As a Philadelphia native, a resident of the 182nd district for a decade, and a life-long Democrat, I have a deep and personal commitment to serving my neighbors. My community involvement in issues around public safety and public education, my education in government, and my professional experience as a successful Project Manger prepare me to be an effective public servant for all of us.
Government Transparency and Reform
We have the 3rd most expensive legislature in the country and scandal-ridden leadership. The incumbents have not brought the accountability or leadership we need to Harrisburg. Our elected leaders should spend our money to safeguard the present and future health of the people and the Commonwealth, not on strategies to hold onto their publicly-funded jobs and pensions.
As Your State Representative, I will:
- Hold regular Town Hall Meetings in convenient places in the District to encourage listening, communication, and participation.
- Support the work of the Speaker's Reform Commission such as changes adopted to promote legislative process openness and fairness, shift power and responsibility from a few members to all Representatives, and to encourage financial and process transparency.
- Move to advance many more reforms that are designed to promote participation and democracy such as term limits and campaign finance reform. As I wrote in the City Paper "Let us see what term limits will do for our legislators. Without custom-made districts and unlimited fundraising, and hindered by a ticking clock, legislators can stop hiding behind trickery and campaign on their records. "
- Tie Legislator pay to changes in the median state salary.
- Use my taxpayer funded position to fully represent the 182nd District, even on issues such as property taxes, Medicare rules, and streets maintenance where the state does not have direct responsibility.
Public Education
The root cause of much poverty, violence, and economic stagnation is poor public education. Public education that is relevant and engaging can create hope for a brighter future for all of us. We need to focus our resources on improving all aspects of education.
As Your State Representative, I will:
- Support the effort of parents who work to ensure fiscal accountability in the district, a public process in planning, and a parent voice in decisionmaking.
- Develop partnership opportunities between the schools and their neighbors in order to bring more role models and expertise into the schools.
- Promote the accomplishments of our public schools and look for opportunities to partner our schools with new initiatives such as the 10,000 Pages Book Drive which my campaign sponsored this year in order to raise awareness of the condition of Philadelphia's public school libraries.
Health Coverage Reform
Our current health insurance system has resulted in high premiums, millions of uninsured, and a redundant set of stop gaps. Well-meaning band-aids at the State and Federal levels subsidize the current system without solving the root causes. In my professional career I have over a decade of experience in the health insurance industry and an extensive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of our current system.
As Your State Representative, I will:
- Support mandatory universal health care.
Public Safety
To paraphrase Mayor Michael Nutter, `violence sucks the life out of all of us.' As a member of the community I am engaged in public safety through awareness and partnership. Crime impacts all of us and needs to be addressed. Violent crime, especially with guns, permanently destroys families and communities.
As Your State Representative, I will:
- Stress to my peers and constituents that the only long-term solution to violence is inclusive, quality public education and work to adequately fund that ideal.
- Form a committee to evaluate and propose solutions to reduce recidivism including waiving certain hiring restrictions.
- Work with Philadelphia police and public safety organizers including Town Watch leaders in the 182nd District to find opportunities to encourage resident participation for a more aware and active community.
- Propose and support legislation that requires guns to be treated as potentially lethal tools. As such, guns should require inspection and owner training, should be reported when lost or stolen, and their owners should be responsible for their actions.
- Propose and support legislation that makes it easier to investigate and convict "Straw" purchasers.
Transportation
As residents of the 182nd District, we depend upon public transit not only to provide transportation, but also to protect our environment and quality of life. An ineffective public transit system leads to more car traffic and a greater disruption to our neighborhoods, increased pollution, increased noise, and the general detriment of our way of life.
As Your State Representative, I will:
- Work to adjust the representation of the SEPTA Board to reflect the demographics of the current and anticipated ridership.
- Propose and support a resolution requiring all public transit agencies to submit an improvement plan demonstrating how they will use their new dedicated funding to meet their customer's expectations.
- Propose and support legislation to reform the current scattered, segmented, and administratively burdensome funding systems in place in order to build a simpler, consolidated funding source.
- Propose and support legislation to enable localities and municipalities to raise additional revenues, which would be dedicated to public transit funding.
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