WHERE I STAND ON THE ISSUES
Environment
We need to stop allowing our waterways to be poisoned by permitting them to be dumping grounds for industrial and agricultural waste. Clean air and water are valuable resources of this area, resources that draw people to live and vacation here with the expectation they will be able to enjoy our communities. Seismic testing and off-shore drilling will NOT bring revenue or jobs to the people who live here but WILL damage not only the marine mammals and sea turtles, but also living entities down the food chain; we need to promote alternate energy forms that don’t create a crisis because of a spill or a leak. We need to take care of Mother Earth so that the generations after us will still enjoy living here.
Education
We need to strengthen our public schools and provide quality education for ALL of our children, not just the privileged few. It is wrong to take money out of public education in order to bolster private schools for families who are looking for exclusivity. Some Charter schools provide amazing opportunities for the children they serve, but there should be a way to monitor and evaluate ALL programs before providing state and local funding. Additionally, we need to restore art, music and physical education to the curriculum to ensure our children are healthy and have a balanced skill set.
Economy
We must attract sustainable businesses into this area, ones that won’t pollute our water or our air just to make a profit. Tourism depends on maintaining beautiful beaches and clean water. At the state level, we need to encourage the film industry to return. We need to nullify laws that are discriminatory and hateful so that fair-minded companies WANT to bring their jobs here. Improving infrastructure is also critical to the continued growth of this part of our county and as is support for local business owners.
Equality
One of the key measures of a society is how well we treat each other and especially how we treat those who are different. Passing heinous bathroom bills, supporting hate groups that seek to divide us, branding entire religious groups as terrorists or all immigrants as criminals, merely highlights the negative side of humanity. It is time to reach out to those who are oppressed, to live in harmony rather than fear.