A New Path Forward
My priorities are to...
🤝
Encourage Bipartisanship
With support from members of both major parties, as well as third parties, I’ve learned from the process of building a campaign that the two-party system we live in is entirely nonsense. I am a registered democrat, and I’m running as a democrat, but my values are not that simple; I merely chose to be associated with the party that more closely matches my beliefs, but that doesn’t earn my loyalty, nor secure my vote. It was Washington, our first president, who warned us not to delve into political factions, but those who followed Washington and came before us had failed to heed his word, and now we find ourselves picking the less-deadly poison every single year. We can begin to remedy this issue by opening Pennsylvania’s primaries to allow independents and third-party members to vote for nominees by choosing which primary they’d like to participate in. We must also hold our politicians accountable and demand that they work together to serve the people of the commonwealth, as they were elected to do, and not just their greater party at large.
🏠
Keep the Government Out of Our Personal Lives and Defend Equality
The purpose of government, at least in my opinion, is to create order and provide for the good of the people, so that their prosperity can in turn provide for the wellbeing of all. With that being said, I don’t believe that the government, on a federal nor state level, should be interfering with our rights and privileges as people: the right to love who we want, to consume what we want, to enjoy the media that we want to, to do what we desire or need to with our bodies, to worship who we want and as we please, among many other things, so long as they do not interfere with those same rights and privileges of other people. Most of the social issues facing our country should not be made into political positions that both parties use to leverage support over the other, nor should the lives and rights of any group of people be turned into pawns. These often-personal aspects of our lives must be managed by the individual, not those in power.
🛍️
Support Local Businesses and Content Creators
Whether you’re starting a business from the ground up or inheriting a family business, managing and maintaining your own company is a seriously difficult endeavor; and this feat is often referred to as “The American Dream,” in the stories we’ve grown up with. I bet that your local bakery is tastier and more inviting than the corporate chains that we see in every city, but they’re often struggling and shutting down. This is why the government does, and must continue to, assist small businesses, through means of grants, loans, tax incentives, and other financial aids. Along with that, we must provide the same supportive energy to local content creators. Artists, authors, musicians, photographers, videographers, comedians, actors, and all other forms of content creators alike, play a major role in the beautification of our communities and growth of our culture.
🏵️
Ensure Resources for Veterans and Current Military Personnel
Those who have, do, and will fight for our country deserve more than they are receiving. Our military risks their lives, go extended periods without seeing their families, and train endlessly to protect us. Although most policies involving the Armed Forces are enacted at the national level, we must do what we can to promise quality healthcare, education, benefits, and other forms of support to veterans and military personnel here at home, in Pennsylvania.
🌎
Protect Our Environment and Preserve Our Farms
Whether or not we’d like to admit it, there are many complications in our relationship with the environment, and we’re not doing enough to keep our only home safe. When I was a little kid, although it wasn’t even that long ago, blankets of snow were the default imagery for the entirety of winter seasons, but now, 75° on Christmas has become a casual thing. I refuse to subscribe to scare-tactics, but still, we must be better inhabitants of our planet, and that starts with local policies. Nobody is insisting that you go out and buy an electric car or go vegan, but we must do what we can to find healthy alternatives to fossil fuels, single-use plastics, and other everyday pollutants. This takes funding, incentives, and taking on the major corporations that are primarily responsible for both the destruction of our planet and the funding of many major politicians. Furthermore, our relationship with the environment has a direct impact on the security and quality of our farms. Whether it be the soil that crops are planted in, the water that is used on them, or the temperature surrounding them, by ensuring that our environment is healthy, we are ensuring that our farms are productive. If we don’t act quickly, the cost of reactionary policies to environmental issues will far outweigh the preventative ones; and regardless, I refuse to believe that a choice must be made between a healthy environment or a healthy economy- we can and must do both.
🏭
Stop the Industrial Invasion of Our Rural Communities
We are Cumberland County, and our history is deeply rooted in the rich soil of our agricultural past. One of the biggest issues facing our localities is the industrial invasion of our rural homes. Factories and warehouses of international corporations are too often taking land and moving in where there once were farms or residential spaces; leaving property values to plumet and the feeling of home to fade away. How often do you see condos being built where there was once a field or grove of trees? We must put our communities before the profits of billionaires and keep factories and warehouses out of our backyards.
🚉
Improve Our Public Transportation Systems and Secure Our Infrastructure an
You can easily get on your smartphone and book a ride on an app, but $50+ to get from Carlisle to Harrisburg is asinine. Our public transportation options are sparse, and our infrastructure is crumbling; one of the most common everyday complaints to be heard in Pennsylvania is that our state flag might as well be the "Road Work Ahead" sign, yet potholes still blemish our roads all across the state. We need to fix our roads and railways, and invest in more and greater opportunities for public transportation options.
🎓
Fund and Protect Our Schools and Youth
Most of the politicians that currently hold office haven’t stepped foot in a school in more than 30 years, unless they have kids of their own; but for me, it was less than six years ago that I graduated High School. Our schools need funding and proper security, not book bans and a rated-G history revision; and we need to make sure that, from the beginning, these future adults know that college is an option for them, but not the only option for them. We need plumbers, electricians, and mechanics just as much as we need doctors, lawyers, and businesspeople. We must also pay teachers a living wage and make sure that their classrooms are fully-stocked and prepared, so that they are not constantly spending portions of their own paycheck on classroom materials. Furthermore, we must make certain that children and staff are able to attend schools without the constant fear of an intruder or active threat; enough will never be enough until we have done something to stop school shootings.
❤️
Invest in Mental Health Resources and Abolish the Troubled Teen Industry
My generation is breaking down the stigmas against mental health, day by day, and making it known that our internal setbacks will not keep us from living the lives we deserve; but that sentiment isn’t shared by everybody. One in five adults struggle with depression, and if you’re reading this, the chances are that you likely have experienced issues with mental health before too; and that’s completely ok. I was diagnosed with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder with depression around the age of seven, and I continue to make it through every day with the help of therapy and medication. Every one of us needs access to mental health resources to get the assistance we need and deserve. Have you ever tried to find a local therapist that takes your insurance provider? It’s not a quick nor fun endeavor, and that needs to change.
As for the “troubled teen industry,” many children across the commonwealth, and especially across the country, are taken or sent away from their homes to attend programs that are advertised to “treat” their mental health conditions and behavioral problems. What the parents don’t realize is that these services can define “treatment” however they please, and their children are being abused, neglected, assaulted, harassed, and truly tortured at places that identify themselves as “wilderness retreats,” “boot camps,” “boarding schools,” and many other titles. This is more than a billion-dollar industry that disguises itself as alternative therapy, but it’s ensuring the genuine trauma and destruction of our, maybe even your, kids. We must enact policy to put an end to this issue that almost nobody is talking about.
🩺
Explore Options for Healthcare Reform
One of the most notable parts of my unconventional upbringing is my twin brother, DeKota. My brother has had over 60 surgeries, 50 of which were brain surgeries, and he has died three times and been resuscitated. He lives a happy and good-quality life, despite suffering from cerebral palsy, epilepsy, blindness, immobility, non-verbality, as well as other conditions that I’ve learned to treat and care for from a young age. Medical debt and the American healthcare joke had plagued the lives of my family for so many years, and nobody should have to face what we did, what so many families have faced and will continue to face. Healthcare is a national issue, but we can begin to solve the issue at the local level, so that nobody must choose between their life or their entire life’s savings.
♿
Advocate for Pennsylvanians with Disabilities
Life with my brother has taught me that the disabled community still faces many challenges in today’s world. Lack of ramps or automatic doors, people taking their parking spaces without penalty, exclusions and discrimination in schools and the workplace, even discrimination from healthcare companies. I want everybody of all different abilities to know that I have your back, and I will do whatever it takes to vote in favor of making your life a little easier, or at least not-harder because of your circumstances.