Issues

Delaware ranks below the national average in available affordable housing for the lowest-income renters, according to a report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

In Delaware, we have a shortage of 18,000 affordable and available rental units with

seniors making up 46% of all extremely low-income households.

The pandemic has underscored the link between housing and health and the urgent need to address one of the most critical issues facing extremely low-income families today: the lack of decent, accessible, and affordable housing.

High housing costs and rent are breaking family budgets, forcing people to leave their homes and ripping apart communities. We need to guarantee that every family and individual has good safe and affordable housing in stable, thriving communities. It’s time to rewrite the rules so that everyone has the security that they can afford their housing.

Homeownership can be one key to self-sufficiency for low-income families, building assets for family’s stability and pride for neighborhoods. We need to work on creating affordable housing and keeping the cost of buying a home down. We must also prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity. By investing in programs like HOPE we can put more families into affordable homes. Keeping families in their homes with having right to representation, will help us avoid costly homelessness that harms people’s health and drains our state resources.

We need to organize around people and not just issues. Until we recognize housing as a human right, along with quality education, economic security, and health care, we will not end mass homelessness.

I will fight to keep seniors, veterans and low income families in their homes. Passing the Right to representation for renters. Also getting federal funds for housing through The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP)

Women’s rights are human rights.

All women deserve the rights that allow us to participate fully in our society. This includes equal access to workplace safety, equal pay, paid parental leave, and full access to healthcare. Women have fought for our right to be treated equally and to be able to vote. Learning from the past, we realize that now is not the time to back down.

The women of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s were met with violence and threats while advocating for equal rights. Despite the tremendous progress made in the struggle for gender equality, women still face violence, discrimination, and sexual harassment, which create institutional barriers to equal participation in society. We must continue to educate individuals and groups who erect barriers against women, or who believe women are no longer in danger of losing their rights or their lives.

Survivors of gender-based discrimination and violence face challenges when police, schools, landlords, and other institutions fail to adequately address and prevent violence and sexual harassment. We must address and educate when laws and policies penalize survivors of gender-based discrimination and violence, impeding the ability of women and girls to live safely and with dignity.

We live in a state that supports women’s rights. We must continue to protect those rights by voting for representatives who are in this fight with us. Let us all honor the women who have fought, were cast out of society and lost their lives to create a safe and equitable society for all women to thrive in.

We should always fight for and protect the constitutional right to privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices. It is not the place of legislators to make reproductive choices for citizens, but to ensure that our citizens can make those choices safely and privately, like all other major medical decisions.

Women should have the right to healthcare, including those services related to their reproductive health, such as prenatal care, access to birth control, or abortion. Private health decisions should never be a public discussion.

We are facing a maternal mortality crisis in America. According to the CDC, our maternal mortality rates have doubled in the last thirty years. For moms of color, particularly those living in low economic areas, it’s an epidemic. The data shows that women of color are three to four times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes. These discrepancies in healthcare outcomes must be addressed.

Collectively we must build a future that protects the rights of all women to make informed decisions about their reproductive health, ensures the safety of all mothers, and provides a safe, healthy environment to raise the next generation in.

Healthcare should be about caring for a person and treating their symptoms. In 1973 President Nixon made the healthcare industry into a for-profit business instead of a service, effectively turning patients into customers.

Rising healthcare costs are forcing people to make tough decisions for themselves and their families. Many are choosing not to go to the doctor when symptoms arise or deny treatment altogether.

Healthcare should not put people in financial ruin. We need to work on providing healthcare to all, no matter their financial background. We must treat people with dignity during a time when life seems dark. Providing an option like Medicare for all at a reasonable premium can help improve the mental and physical health of our citizens.

“The authors of the Declaration of Independence outlined a bold vision for America: a nation in which there would be equal justice for all.” —ACLU.

Generations after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we are still fighting for all to be treated equally and with dignity. We have laws for racial and civil rights for all, but they are not always followed or enforced.

Racism is taught from a very young age. Bigotry and systemic inequalities must be addressed on multiple fronts to ensure the civil rights of all Delawareans.

The community of District 14 is vibrant and diverse. We must educate people on the systematic inequalities that affect people of color — from receiving unequal access to education and community resources to being disproportionately targeted for crimes and incarcerated. Everyone must be treated equally for everyone to be free.

Now more than ever, we are feeling the effects of climate change and our fossil fuel-dependent economy.

Our natural resources, like clean water, have been tainted by years of pollution. Renewable energy options like solar and wind power provide many benefits and are an ever-increasing part of our overall energy options.

Green energy has a much lower impact on public health and the environment than electricity produced from fossil fuel and nuclear resources. It emits little to no air emissions. It does not produce harmful radioactive waste and its fuel sources do not need to be mined or extracted from the earth through drilling or fracking.

We need legislation to protect our citizens and land from the damaging effects of pollution and to provide a way forward for District 14.

Sexual orientation and gender identity should have no impact on the rights one is afforded in our nation. Rights protecting members of the LGBTQ+ community are human rights. I will protect the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ members of District 14 by working to support laws with everyone's best interest in mind.

Strong schools are the backbone of a strong community. Our children are our most important assets, we need to invest in them. We are lucky enough to have a strong foundation but the education system has the potential to be vastly improved in Delaware.

As a mother of two, I am familiar with the costs of education, even in public schools. The school list to help prepare our children for the school year is getting longer every year and too many teachers are being forced to buy supplies with their own money.

You may think that spending $200 on school supplies isn't a large expense but that number can quickly add up, putting a strain on a family, especially those with multiple children.

I’ll be a champion for all our students and the resources they need to thrive.

I support:

Expanding universal pre-kindergarten so that every child gets a strong start

Raising salaries for teachers and the vital staff in all our schools

Investing in the arts and after-school programs that keep kids engaged

Expanding apprenticeships and technical training for modern careers

Restoring state support for public colleges to reverse rising tuition prices

Additionally, we need to make sure that every eligible child has access to the transportation necessary for them to get the education they need to be successful. We can create any amount of programs but if we can’t get kids there then the programs will never work.

As your District 14 State Senator, I will work hard to provide our young people with every possible opportunity they need to succeed.