values & beliefs

THE ISSUE:

Faith in our government is eroded when special interests drown out the voices of ordinary citizens, politicians seem more focused on personal gain than public service, and dark money floods our elections. Restoring trust requires real reform.

MY STANCE:

Our democracy cannot function when the voices of citizens are drowned out by big money. Restoring trust requires fundamental reforms to ensure accountability, transparency, and a government truly representative of the people.

MY SOLUTION:

• Overturn Citizens United: Support a constitutional amendment to overturn the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision and get big money out of politics.

• Pass Comprehensive Campaign Finance Reform: Advocate for legislation that increases transparency in political spending, empowers small-dollar donors, and strengthens enforcement against violations (e.g., supporting measures like the DISCLOSE Act and For the People Act).

• Limit Stock Trading for Members of Congress: Eliminate conflicts of interest by limiting members of Congress from trading individual stocks while in office.

• Strengthen Ethics Laws: Support robust ethics enforcement and close loopholes that allow former officials to immediately lobby their old colleagues.

• Protect Voting Rights: Fight against voter suppression efforts and advocate for federal standards that ensure fair and accessible elections for all eligible citizens.

THE ISSUE:

Families across Central Florida are being squeezed. The costs of housing, childcare, groceries, and healthcare are rising faster than wages, making it harder to get ahead, no matter how hard you work.

MY STANCE:

Economic security should be attainable for everyone, not just the wealthy. When basic needs are out of reach, families suffer, potential is stifled, and our entire community is held back.

MY SOLUTION:

• Make Housing Affordable: Support federal investments in affordable housing construction, expand rental assistance programs, and explore policies to curb predatory practices that drive up housing costs.

• Lower Childcare Costs: Fight for universal pre-K and significant investments to make quality childcare affordable and accessible for all working families, boosting workforce participation and child development.

• Reduce Healthcare Expenses: Work to lower prescription drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate prices, cap out-of-pocket expenses, and defend protections for pre-existing conditions. Strengthen the Affordable Care Act and move towards ensuring healthcare is a right, not a privilege.

• Promote Fair Wages: Advocate for raising the federal minimum wage to a living wage and ensuring fair pay practices. We need to empower workers and ensure they have a voice in their workplaces and a fair share of the prosperity they help create.

THE ISSUE:

Too many workers face stagnant wages, unsafe conditions, and illegal practices like wage theft, while their fundamental right to organize for better treatment is under attack.

MY STANCE:

A fair and prosperous economy depends on empowered workers. We must ensure workers are treated with dignity, paid fair wages, and have the protected right to bargain collectively for a better life. Safe working conditions are paramount, no ones family should worry if someone will make it home from work today.

MY SOLUTION:

• Protect the Right to Organize: Strongly support the PRO Act to make it easier for workers to form unions and collectively bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.

• Ensure Workplace Safety: Strengthen OSHA enforcement and fight against attempts to weaken safety regulations that protect workers on the job.

• Combat Wage Theft: Crack down on employers who steal wages from their workers through misclassification or other illegal practices.

• Expand Paid Leave: Advocate for federal paid family and medical leave policies so workers don't have to choose between their job and caring for themselves or a loved one.

THE ISSUE:

Millions of Americans, including many in Central Florida, struggle with unaffordable healthcare costs, lack adequate insurance coverage, face high prescription drug prices, and worry about losing care due to pre-existing conditions.

MY STANCE:

Healthcare is a fundamental human right, not a privilege reserved for those who can afford it. No one should face financial ruin or forgo necessary treatment because of cost. Ensuring accessible, affordable, quality healthcare is essential for individual well-being and the economic health of our community.

MY SOLUTION:

• Lower Prescription Drug Costs: Empower Medicare to negotiate drug prices, cap insulin costs, and hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for price gouging.

• Strengthen and Expand Medicaid: Defend protections for pre-existing conditions, enhance subsidies to lower premiums and deductibles, and work towards expanding coverage to all Americans, potentially through a public option.

• Expand Disability & Specialty Care: Fight to reduce barriers for people with disabilities, ensuring timely and reliable access to the specialized medical care, equipment, and support services needed to live with dignity and independence.

• Increase Access to Care: Support funding for community health centers, expand telehealth services, address healthcare provider shortages in underserved areas, and ensure access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare.

• Promote Mental Health Parity: Fight for full parity between physical and mental healthcare coverage and expand access to affordable mental health and substance use disorder treatment.

• Cap Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Work towards capping out-of-pocket healthcare costs for families to prevent medical debt and financial hardship.

THE ISSUE:

Politicians continuously use veteran benefits as a talking point to gain favor during elections yet continuously fail to speak up when veteran benefits continue to be threatened.

MY STANCE:

The bureaucratic hurdles, absurdly long waits for healthcare, and red tape surrounding accessing benefits is unacceptable. To betray the promises made to our service members is to betray the fundamental trust they placed in the nation.

MY SOLUTION:

• Fully Fund & Modernize the VA: Fight for robust, predictable funding for the Veterans Assistance to reduce wait times, expand services (especially mental healthcare and women's health), and upgrade facilities and technology.

• Streamline Benefits Access: Work to simplify the VA claims process and cut bureaucratic red tape so veterans receive their earned benefits without unnecessary delays or denials.

• Expand Economic Opportunity: Champion programs that connect veterans with job training, educational opportunities (protecting the GI Bill), and resources for veteran entrepreneurs.

• Veteran Homelessness: Support initiatives providing housing assistance and comprehensive support services to end veteran homelessness in our communities.

• Prioritizing Mental Health: Advocate for expanded mental health resources, suicide prevention programs, and reduced stigma around seeking care for veterans and their families.

• Expand Disability & Specialty Care: Fight to reduce barriers for veterans with disabilities, ensuring timely and reliable access to the specialized medical care, equipment, and support services needed.

THE ISSUE: Our nation's reliance on foreign oil and outdated energy grids is a threat to both our national security and our economic stability. We are at the mercy of volatile global markets, while here at home, Florida is ground zero for the climate crisis, facing existential threats from rising seas and extreme weather that drive up insurance costs for everyone.

MY STANCE:

Achieving American energy independence is one of the most critical national security challenges of our time. By investing in clean, renewable energy produced right here at home, we can break our dependence on foreign energy, lower costs for working families, and build a more resilient infrastructure. We have the technology and the know-how to build a sustainable future for Florida; we just need the political will.

My Solutions:

• Unleash American Innovation: I will fight for bold investments in renewable energy technologies like solar, wind, and next-generation nuclear power to create good-paying jobs and ensure that the future of energy is built in America.

• Modernize and Secure Our Grid: I will support federal funding to modernize our nation's electrical grid, making it more resistant to cyber-attacks and extreme weather events.

• Build Resilient Communities: I will work to bring federal resources back to Florida to invest in resilient infrastructure projects that can protect our homes and businesses from the impacts of stronger storms and rising sea levels.

THE ISSUE:

When hurricanes strike, federal disaster relief is often too slow, insufficient, and difficult to access, leaving communities struggling to recover and rebuild.

MY STANCE:

The efforts to reduce FEMA's budget and staffing is a direct attack on states like Florida. Floridians know all too well the devastating impact of hurricanes.

A well-funded FEMA means faster recovery for Florida families and businesses, as well as stimulating local economies by creating jobs and supporting businesses during recovery efforts. By strengthening FEMA, we can build stronger, more resilient communities that are better able to withstand future disasters.

FEMA is not a political football. Let's make sure that FEMA is a tool that is used to help citizens when they need it the most.

MY SOLUTION:

• Fully Fund FEMA & Disaster Relief: Fight for consistent and adequate funding for FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund, ensuring resources are available before disaster strikes.

• Invest in Resilient Infrastructure: Support federal funding for projects that harden our infrastructure (power grids, water systems, transportation) against the impacts of severe weather.

• Streamline Recovery Aid: Work to simplify the process for individuals and communities to access federal recovery assistance after a disaster, cutting red tape and ensuring aid is distributed equitably.

• Improve Forecasting & Warning Systems: Advocate for investments in advanced weather forecasting and communication systems to give communities more time to prepare.

THE ISSUE:

For too long, our foreign policy has been dictated by the whims of the military-industrial complex and corporate special interests, not the safety and security of the American people. This has led to endless wars, a bloated Pentagon budget, and a failure to lead with our values on the world stage, undermining our moral authority and making us less safe.

MY STANCE:

As a Navy veteran, I believe that a strong, principled American foreign policy is the bedrock of global security. Our military and our support are among the greatest assets we can offer our allies, but that support must be for necessary defense, not as a blank check for endless conflict.

My position is grounded in accountability and a clear-eyed view of American values: anytime an ally's actions shift from defense to causing a humanitarian crisis, we must not be complicit. If a nation's intentions change, our support must change too in order to remain true to our national values.

MY SOLUTION:

• Condition Military Aid: Our military support is one of our greatest bargaining pieces as a nation. While I support using our national defense assets to help our allies, if our allies then use our supplies to systemically harm or target civilian populations rather than conducting targeted military operations, we must condition and end that support. This is a clear line that applies to all allies, without exception.

  • Nowhere is this more urgent than in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. My immediate priorities are to end American complicity in this atrocity and secure a lasting bilateral ceasefire. To achieve this, I support halting the transfer of offensive military supplies to Israel, saving taxpayer dollars, and leading an independent surge of humanitarian aid. This must be the first step toward a lasting peace. I have not and will not accept any money from AIPAC.

  • In the case of Ukraine, our support must remain steadfast in helping them defend their sovereignty against an illegal and immoral invasion. This is a clear case of providing necessary defensive aid to an ally fighting for its existence, and we must continue to stand with the Ukrainian people.

• Restore Congressional Oversight: I will vote to repeal and replace the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) to end the era of endless wars and restore Congress' constitutional authority over the decision to send our troops into harm's way.

THE ISSUE:

Nationwide, we are seeing a dangerous wave of anti-LGBTQ+ hate, with politicians attempting to pass discriminatory laws that are a direct assault on our community's fundamental right to live authentically and without fear. This is a crisis of equality that we must confront head-on.

MY STANCE:

We are the land of the free, and that must include the freedom for every American to live an authentic life, free from discrimination. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I understand firsthand that the struggle for equality is far from over, and I believe that every American deserves to live without harassment or fear, regardless of who they are or who they love.

The recent wave of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation, particularly targeting our transgender siblings, is a dangerous attack on our fundamental rights and must be met with unwavering opposition.

MY SOLUTION:

• Fight for Full Federal Equality: My top legislative priority will be to finally pass the Equality Act to ensure full, federal non-discrimination protections for all LGBTQ+ Americans. This fight also includes banning the dangerous practice of conversion therapy, codifying marriage equality into federal law, and ensuring every member of our community has equal access to the gender-affirming healthcare, housing, and opportunities they deserve.

• Be an Unwavering Advocate: In Congress, I will be a proud and visible champion for our community, using my platform to push back against hate and to fight for a future where every single person is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

THE ISSUE:

For decades, working families have paid into Social Security and Medicare with every paycheck, trusting that these programs would be there for them when they retired. Now, career politicians are threatening to break that promise by proposing cuts, raising the retirement age, and even attempting to privatize these essential programs, all to fund more tax cuts for the wealthy.

MY STANCE:

Social Security is not an entitlement; it's a sacred promise. Working families pay into this system with every paycheck, making it a critical lifeline for our seniors, people with disabilities, and families who rely on survivor benefits. It is one of the most successful anti-poverty programs in our nation's history, and we must strengthen it for generations to come.

MY SOLUTION:

• Protect Earned Benefits: Social Security and Medicare are promises made to working Americans. I will oppose any proposal that would weaken that promise, including raising the retirement age or cutting the benefits people have earned over a lifetime of work.

• Ensure Long-Term Solvency: To ensure Social Security is secure for generations to come, we should adjust the income cap so that everyone contributes on a more equitable basis. This common-sense change strengthens the program for our seniors, people with disabilities, and families who rely on survivor benefits.

• Modernize and Improve Service: Every American deserves to access the benefits they've earned without unnecessary delays or bureaucratic hurdles. I will support efforts to modernize the Social Security Administration, reduce wait times, and improve customer service to ensure the system is efficient and responsive for everyone.