My Priorities

What I'll fight for as your representative

Our economy should work for everyone, not just those at the top. As your representative, I'll fight to ensure every family in our district has access to opportunity and economic security.

Priority: Lower costs and expand opportunities.

The costs of housing, groceries, health care, utility bills, and other everyday expenses keep climbing while wages stay the same. Good jobs are vanishing. Our families are being priced out of their community.

We need homes that regular people can afford. We need wages that rise with the cost of living. We need Medicare for All, healthy food in every neighborhood, and more good union jobs for workers of every skillset.

Local Impact

📊Monroe County: 23,000+ residents uninsured (3% of population)
📊Housing crisis: Median rent in Rochester up 25% since 2020
📊Living wage: $20/hour needed for 1 adult + 1 child in Monroe County
📊Poverty rate: 40% of Rochester children live in poverty

Medicare for All

Healthcare is a human right. I will fight for Medicare for All because every person deserves access to quality healthcare without the burden of crushing medical debt.

✓Comprehensive coverage including dental, vision, and mental health
✓Lower prescription drug costs for all Americans
✓No copays, deductibles, or surprise medical bills
✓Save families an average of $4,500 per year on healthcare costs

Affordable Housing

Housing is a human right. No one should be priced out of their community. I'll fight for policies that ensure working families can afford to live in Monroe and Ontario County.

✓Build 1 million units of social housing nationwide
✓Cap rent increases and strengthen tenant protections
✓Expand down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers
✓End Wall Street's takeover of our housing market

Good Union Jobs

Every worker deserves a living wage, safe conditions, and the right to organize. I'll fight to bring good-paying union jobs back to Western New York.

✓Raise the federal minimum wage to $20/hour
✓Strengthen the PRO Act and protect the right to unionize
✓Invest in manufacturing and bring jobs back from overseas
✓Expand apprenticeship and job training programs

Affordable Utilities for All

Essential services like water, electricity, and internet must be affordable and accessible. Working families shouldn't face impossible choices about which bills to pay. These are necessities, not luxuries.

✓Protect families from utility disconnections
✓Regulate utility rate increases to ensure affordability
✓Expand universal broadband access as essential infrastructure
✓Ensure clean, safe water for every household

Priority: Invest in public health & build safer communities.

Safety is a public health emergency. Every person deserves to feel safe in our community. We need care, not criminalization. We deserve safety that promotes health and well-being for everyone.

We must build systems of care and compassion. I will continue pushing to transform public safety, end the war on drugs, address the gun violence epidemic, and protect survivors of violence.

Local Impact

📊Gun violence: Rochester had 58 homicides in 2023, 47 in 2024
📊Overdose crisis: Monroe County saw 512 overdose deaths in 2023, down to 292 in 2024
📊Mental health gap: 1 in 5 adults in Monroe County experience mental illness

End Gun Violence

Gun violence is a public health crisis. We must act to protect our children, our families, and our communities.

✓Universal background checks for all gun sales
✓Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines
✓Red flag laws to prevent tragedies before they happen
✓Fund community violence intervention programs

Mental Health & Addiction Treatment

Mental health is health. We need to treat addiction as a public health issue, not a criminal justice problem.

✓Expand mental health crisis response teams (not police)
✓Fully fund addiction treatment and harm reduction programs
✓Decriminalize drug possession and end the war on drugs
✓Invest in community-based care and support services

Priority: Climate action now.

The climate crisis demands urgent action. I support a Green New Deal to transition to 100% renewable energy while creating millions of good-paying jobs. This isn't just about saving the planet — it's about creating economic opportunity in Monroe and Ontario County.

We can fight climate change AND create good union jobs. We can protect Lake Ontario AND build a thriving green economy. The Green New Deal is our path forward.

Local Impact

📊Lake Ontario: Water levels rising, threatening shoreline communities
📊Air quality: Rochester ranks in worst 25% of US cities for air pollution
📊Green jobs: Solar industry could create 5,000+ jobs in Monroe County
📊Transit gap: 30% of Rochester residents lack access to reliable public transit

Green New Deal

✓100% clean energy by 2030
✓Create millions of good-paying union jobs in clean energy
✓Invest in green infrastructure and public transit
✓Environmental justice for frontline communities
✓Protect Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes from pollution
✓Modernize Rochester's transit system with electric buses

Priority: Defend democracy and fight for justice.

Our democracy faces relentless attacks. This isn't politics as usual. It's about survival for our families. We need leaders who prove what's possible when you fight for everyone.

I will fight to expand voting rights, protect our democracy from fascist attacks, and ensure equal justice for all people regardless of background or zip code.

Expand Voting Rights

✓Automatic voter registration for all eligible citizens
✓Make Election Day a national holiday
✓Expand early voting and vote-by-mail nationwide
✓End voter suppression tactics and gerrymandering
✓Restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated people

Get Money Out of Politics

✓Overturn Citizens United and ban corporate money in politics
✓Establish public financing for campaigns
✓Ban stock trading by members of Congress
✓Close the revolving door between Congress and lobbying

Equal Justice for All

✓End mass incarceration and mandatory minimum sentences
✓Abolish the death penalty and cash bail
✓Demilitarize police and invest in community safety
✓Ensure accountability for police misconduct

Priority: Protect reproductive freedom.

Across the nation, reproductive rights are under attack. Make no mistake: this is not just an assault on our bodily autonomy — this is class warfare.

We are not powerless, and we will not stop until abortion care is legal everywhere. Together, we will build the future we deserve.

Reproductive Justice

✓Codify Roe v. Wade into federal law
✓Expand access to abortion care in all 50 states
✓Protect and fund Planned Parenthood
✓Guarantee access to contraception and family planning
✓End the Hyde Amendment and ensure abortion access for all
✓Support comprehensive sex education in schools

Priority: Invest in education for all.

Education is the foundation of opportunity. Every child in Monroe and Ontario County deserves a world-class education, from Pre-K through college. Teachers deserve respect, resources, and fair pay. And no one should be crushed by student debt.

I will fight to fully fund our public schools, make college free, cancel student debt, and ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed — regardless of their zip code or family income.

Local Impact

📊Rochester City School District: 25,000+ students, 89% qualify for free/reduced lunch
📊Average student debt in NY: $31,000+ per borrower
📊Teacher shortage: Monroe County facing critical shortages in special education and STEM

Fully Fund Public Schools

✓Triple federal funding for public schools to close funding gaps
✓Universal Pre-K for every 3 and 4-year-old
✓Raise teacher pay to a minimum of $60,000/year
✓Hire more counselors, nurses, and mental health professionals
✓End school privatization and protect public education

Make College Free & Cancel Student Debt

✓Free tuition at all public colleges and universities
✓Free tuition at trade schools and apprenticeship programs
✓Cancel all student debt — $1.7 trillion burden crushing a generation
✓Expand Pell Grants to cover living expenses
✓Support HBCUs, tribal colleges, and community colleges

Priority: Immigration justice for all.

Immigrants built this country and continue to strengthen our communities. In Monroe and Ontario County, immigrants are our neighbors, coworkers, and family members. They deserve dignity, respect, and a pathway to citizenship.

I will fight to pass comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, protect DREAMers, end family separation, and treat immigrants with humanity.

Local Impact

📊Monroe County: 58,000+ foreign-born residents (7.7% of population)
📊Economic contribution: Immigrant-owned businesses generate $200M+ annually in Rochester area
📊Essential workers: Immigrants make up 25% of healthcare workers in Monroe County

Pathway to Citizenship

✓Create a clear pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants
✓Protect DREAMers and pass the Dream Act permanently
✓End family separation and reunite families torn apart
✓Protect Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and DACA recipients

Humane Immigration System

✓End private detention centers and for-profit deportation
✓Abolish ICE and replace with humane immigration enforcement
✓End workplace raids and protect immigrant workers from exploitation
✓Guarantee due process and legal representation for all immigrants
✓Welcome refugees and increase refugee admissions

How We'll Pay For It: Tax Fairness & Corporate Accountability

The money exists. Billionaires and corporations have rigged the system to avoid paying their fair share while working families struggle. We can afford Medicare for All, free college, and a Green New Deal — if we make the ultra-wealthy and corporations pay what they owe.

This isn't about raising taxes on working people. This is about tax fairness: making billionaires and corporations contribute to the country that made their wealth possible.

The Numbers

💰Medicare for All saves money: $450 billion/year compared to current system
💰Billionaire wealth: Top 1% hold $43 trillion — more than bottom 90% combined
💰Corporate tax dodging: 55 major corporations paid $0 in federal taxes in 2020
💰Pentagon waste: $886 billion Pentagon budget, never passed an audit

Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share

✓Wealth tax on net worth over $50 million — raises $3 trillion over 10 years
✓Tax capital gains as ordinary income for the ultra-wealthy
✓Close billionaire tax loopholes and end tax havens
✓Restore top marginal tax rate to 70% for income over $10 million
✓Tax Wall Street speculation with financial transaction tax

Make Corporations Pay What They Owe

✓Raise corporate tax rate from 21% to 35% — raises $3 trillion over 10 years
✓End offshore tax dodging and tax havens
✓Close corporate loopholes that let 55 corporations pay $0 in taxes
✓End fossil fuel subsidies — saves $20 billion/year

Audit the Pentagon & Cut Waste

✓Audit the Pentagon — never passed an audit despite $886 billion budget
✓Cut wasteful military spending and end endless wars
✓Reduce Pentagon budget by 10% — saves $90 billion/year
✓Invest in diplomacy and humanitarian aid instead of weapons

The Bottom Line

We can afford Medicare for All, free college, a Green New Deal, and everything else — if we make the ultra-wealthy and corporations pay their fair share.

The money exists. We just need the political will to fight for it.