Platform

The number one issue I hear from my neighbors and friends is how unaffordable life is. Frankly, it's the reason I got into this race. Working people can't keep up with groceries, electricity bills, rent, healthcare, childcare, you name it. Wages aren't keeping pace, and too many are working harder than ever for too small a paycheck.

1. Healthcare: Restore the cuts to Medicaid and provide Medicare for All.
2. Rent: Increase market-rate housing, ban private equity from buying up homes, and pass the HELPER Act.
3. Childcare: Repeal Republican cuts to Headstart, subsidize daycare, and expand publicly funded pre-K.
4. Utilities: Bring back renewables, invest in nuclear and natural gas, and crack down on price-gouging utility monopolies.
5. Retirement: Protect Social Security and pass the PRO Act.
6. Everyday Goods: Enforce price-gouging laws, antitrust action, and transparency rules.

In 2023, 20 million Americans were stuck with $220 billion in medical debt, while 16 of the biggest drug companies raked in $684 billion. We spend the most money per-capita than any other developed nation in the world, with lower life expectancies than all but a few. People skip prescriptions and avoid seeing doctors because they can't pay their bills.

Because of this, I support Medicare for All. You shouldn't have to run into a burning building to get healthcare from your government or wait until you turn 65.

I'll also go to bat to bring down drug prices like insulin and beta-blockers, expand coverage, and make sure every town has the doctors and clinics people actually need.

We need to pass a billionaire minimum tax: a baseline tax rate the ultra-wealthy can't dodge. In 2022, the 400 richest Americans paid an average federal tax rate of just 3.4% on their wealth, while ordinary workers paid 14% or more.

The 2017 Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act handed massive breaks to billionaires and big corporations, exploding the national debt and leaving working families to pick up the tab. Repealing those giveaways could raise over $1.5 trillion — enough to lower the debt, expand healthcare, and strengthen the safety net without raising taxes on working people.

The last time we raised the minimum wage was 2006. We've fought three wars since then. We need to raise it, and tie it to inflation.

While CEOs rake in millions and pay wages that barely keep people alive, people like me have worked two or three jobs and still barely paid the bills. It's time hard work actually pays and gives families a shot at not just existing, but living comfortably.

I've seen it up close — unions are what built the middle class. They fought for fair pay, safe jobs, good benefits, weekends, overtime pay, and the 40-hour workweek.

I'll make it easier to join a union by passing the PRO Act, crack down on bosses who punish workers, and make sure every worker can fight for a better future.

The Lehigh Valley has the second most competitive housing market in the nation. We've seen housing prices skyrocket, and families are getting pushed out of the communities they grew up in.

We need to build more starter homes, crack down on corporate landlords and rent gouging, and expand programs that help first-time homebuyers get their start.

The HELPER Act would be a game changer and help millions get low interest VA-style mortgages. I will be a day 1 cosponsor.

I'll always defend Social Security and will sign on to the Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act, which removes the cap on Social Security Payroll taxes and increases the net investment income tax by 1.2%.

I personally have a good pension from 20 years of working for the city of Bethlehem as a firefighter, but I'm one of the lucky ones. Every hardworking American, especially young people, should be afforded the opportunity to get a pension.

I'm lucky to spend time with my granddaughters and help out when I can. But not everyone has a grandpa nearby to pitch in. Families in the Lehigh Valley are struggling to find affordable, quality childcare, and that shouldn't be the case.

I support expanded childcare subsidies, restoring and expanding funding to Headstart, and providing universal kindergarten and pre-k.

I've seen too many kids bury themselves in student debt just to get a shot at a decent life. College shouldn't leave you broke before you even start working. We need to bring down tuition and make sure financial aid works.

Trades matter too. I'll fight to fund apprenticeships, vocational programs, and training that get young people into good-paying jobs in manufacturing, construction, and clean energy.

Washington's full of people rigging the system while working families get crushed: members of Congress day trading stocks while writing the rules, cozy deals with big corporations, and firing inspectors general who are supposed to keep them honest.

I'll fight in Congress to hold people accountable, pass a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, ban members of Congress from trading stocks, and make sure our government is working for us.

In America, we don't send masked men to kidnap people off the street and throw them into unmarked cars.

We need an immigration system that deters illegal entry and secures our border, while treating people humanely and giving law-abiding folks a shot at earning citizenship.

We need energy that works for working families, not just big oil companies. That means creating good-paying union jobs in clean energy, protecting our air and water, taking on the climate crisis, and investing in the industries of tomorrow.

But we need to be serious about capacity building. Nuclear power is clean, safe and underutilized. I'll work to approve new nuclear and natural gas power plants while we build up renewables.

I'm a firefighter who owns guns and grew up around guns. I respect the Second Amendment. But guns are now the leading cause of death for American kids, and in 2024 there were 332 school shootings.

We need common-sense laws: universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole, and enforcing waiting periods so dangerous people don't get their hands on guns.

Public schools and teachers are under constant attack by Republicans, scapegoating some of our most dedicated public servants and threatening their collective bargaining.

I will not support using federal money to hand vouchers to private schools while public schools are being starved. Our teachers deserve respect, our kids deserve opportunity, and I'll fight for both.

As a first responder, I know what it takes to keep people alive when the call comes in. In the Lehigh Valley and Carbon County, we've got growing communities, busy highways, aging infrastructure, and first responders stretched too thin.

That means roads and bridges that let ambulances and fire trucks get there fast, training and equipment for first responders, mental health and addiction services, and defending the collective bargaining right of first responders.

The government has no business telling people what to do with their own bodies. Period. Your healthcare, your reproductive choices, and your personal health is yours.

We need to codify Roe v. Wade in the constitution and pass legislation to overturn Trump abortion bans in red states.

Republicans seem more interested in bullying kids than fixing real problems. I'll always stand up for LGBTQ people by protecting anti-discrimination laws, defending marriage equality, and making sure everyone can live comfortably as themselves.

It's not the business of the government to dictate who people love and how they live.

Democrats used to stand against reckless wars, valuing oversight, restraint, and putting America's interests first. It's time to get back to that.

Russia and China are real threats, and we need a plan to deal with them without dragging us into another endless war. That means supporting Ukraine and our NATO allies, paying attention to Asia, and rebuilding trust with the international community.

We should serve those who served us. I'll work to make sure every veteran in the Lehigh Valley, Carbon County and across the country gets access to quality healthcare, mental health services, job training, and housing.

I'll also work to stop the disastrous mass firings at the VA and bring those people back. No veteran should be left behind, forgotten, or forced to fight the system just to get what they're owed.

The Lehigh Valley is growing, and our transportation system needs to catch up. Traffic on Routes 22, 33, and 78 is eating into family time and slowing down local businesses.

I'll build on the work we've already done to expand the Lehigh Valley International Airport, including expanding parking and runways. There's no reason the Lehigh Valley shouldn't be connected to Philadelphia by passenger rail. SEPTA still owns the right-of-way between Lansdale and Bethlehem, which could be double-tracked and electrified with the right investment.

The issues facing Carbon County are not the same issues facing the Lehigh Valley. They're distinct regions, and too many politicians forget that.

I'll work to curb the growth of warehouses and support local elected officials who want to ensure these corporations give back to the communities they profit off and preserve our farmland.

I'll also hold the EPA accountable and push for stricter federal oversight for pollution like sewage sludge and mine refuse.