U.S. House of RepresentativesCandidate for District 25

Yes, I believe our immigration system is broken. I've seen the effect first hand of our shattered system on the streets of Los Angeles. I want to see a comprehensive immigration reform plan with a pathway to citizenship. Also, I want to see undocumented residents who were brought here given the right to stay. I also want to tackle wage theft to ensure employers cannot unfairly target workers who are afraid to report these crimes to the authorities out of fear for deportation. Immigration reform will make our country stronger. Our nation is a nation of immigrants and we should embrace our past, not demonize many hard-working members of our society.

As a police officer for the past 21 years, I'm used to running towards problems - not away from them. I deal with conflict every day on the streets of Los Angeles and I feel I have the perfect training to go to Congress and get things done to make everyone's lives better. I will represent every resident of the 25th District, not my party or any special interests. I am a member of this community and want to represent the values that this community holds dear and fight for our quality of life.

Rather than continue to be the world's sole policeman, we need to focus on coalition-builiding and building muliterteral efforts to solve global threats. ISIS is a major threat to many nations, not just the United States. As the world's only superpower, it is our duty to help building an international alliance to address ISIS, not just commit our miltary alone. In addition, climate change is a major issue that threatens the entire planet. Even the US military has released numerous studies calling for action to tackle climate change. Finally, cyber security is a new realm where we need to invest in greater protection. I will champion issues of cyber security in Congress in order to make sure our economy and national security is not at risk of cyber attack.

I believe we need to continue focusing on conservation. I favor the expansion of rebates and incentives for Americans who install water-efficient appliances and drought-tolerant landscaping. In addition, I support the expansion of the use of recycled water. In places like Simi Valley and Moorpark, where groundwater is often brackish and not suitable for drinking, I would favor federal incentives and support to build filtration facilities to rely greater on local resources, rather than expand importation of water from Northern California.