Currently, only 1 in 3 three-year-olds are enrolled in a pre-k program and our state’s programs fall short of covering those in most need. Universal pre-school for three- and four-year-olds will help alleviate financial strains for working families with young children and ensure that our kids are prepared for kindergarten and beyond. In fact, for every $1 we invest, our state would receive as much as 4x that amount in benefit! Pre-school remains one of the most cost-effective ways of eliminating child poverty and improving child learning outcomes.

Pre-school is good for kids and good for working families which is why I promise to bring legislation to ensure that every three- and four-year-old is covered and has the opportunity to attend a quality public pre-school program.

Kids are our future. It’s time our state prioritizes them.

From its founding until 50 years ago, the University of California system was free to all Californians. Today, tuition at the University of California costs as much as some private schools, despite the fact that our state continues to be more prosperous than it was decades back. I believe that education is a right and is good for our democracy and economy. I will introduce legislation that invests in our future and ensures that a public college or trade school education is free to any California resident, including our workforce displaced by automation.

Teachers are among the most underpaid and overstaffed workforce in California. If we want to increase the quality of our students’ education, we must reduce classroom sizes, raise teacher pay, and hire more qualified teachers at higher and more competitive salaries. I will work to provide our educators with opportunities for professional growth and networking, and make interdistrict reciprocity and movement accessible. I will also pass legislation to invest more money in facilities, tools, and resources so that our teachers are better equipped to provide our students with the best education possible. 

In 2011, our community was rocked when eight of our sisters and brothers were senselessly killed in Seal Beach with an ordinary handgun. These beautiful lives were lost in a tragic attack by an evil man who should have never been in possession of a gun. But we know that these attacks are not uncommon. Tragedy continues to strike our state and country on an almost regular basis.

The prevalence of guns on our streets is a public health and education emergency. Every day we don’t act is another day closer to tragedy. Mass shootings will continue unless our politicians find solutions. During my time at UCLA School of Law, I worked independently with professors to study the Second Amendment and the Constitutional Law surrounding it. The answers exist if we are bold enough to act on them. 

Bottom line is: I know that we can do better. 

We need to continue to lead the nation with our strong gun laws and work to completely take these weapons off our streets. I will pass laws to end gun shows and the sale of DIY gun assembly kits. I will increase funding for gun violence intervention programs. I will also work to form gun-control pacts with our neighboring states to prevent people from obtaining guns across state lines and bringing them to California. The right to own a gun does not trump the right to live. I will work tirelessly to remove guns and weapons of war from our communities.

Our children deserve better. Enough is enough.

There’s no avoiding it, climate change is the biggest issue facing Orange County. From our rising sea levels, to our increasing air pollution, to the wildfires ravaging our homes, climate change poses a threat to every one of us. We need to see a robust response to this existential crisis in Sacramento, and I am the only candidate in the race for California Assembly District 72 prepared to do that.

The time to act is now.  I will write legislation to combat climate change, prioritizing communities at risk of wildfires and coastal flooding (like Orange County). I will increase funding for preventative land management and resources for firefighters, first responders, and disaster relief. I will also create a statewide Catastrophic Extreme Weather Insurance program to ensure community stability in the aftermath of disaster.

Our largest source of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation. I will work to refresh our roads and bridges and invest in green energy and public transportation. We’ll bring more jobs to Orange County and increase accessibility to clean transportation.

Over half of the counties in California, including Orange County, have received “F’s” in air quality from the American Lung Association. Meanwhile, lung disease continues to rise. In Orange County, more than 1 in 5 children will be diagnosed with Asthma before they turn 18. Make no mistake, this is a direct result of the continuing decline in our air quality. We will tackle traffic and congestion by refreshing our roads and bridges and building better more efficient infrastructure. I will ensure that cities like Garden Grove are not doing road work during peak traffic hours. I will also introduce legislation to ensure clean transportation is accessible to every resident of Orange County. 

As your next assemblymember I promise to prioritize the health of you, your family, and our environment. 

This year, it was reported that water wells across Southern California contained toxic perfluorooctanoic acid (PFAs), a chemical family linked to life threatening illnesses including cancer. Even in small amounts, these chemicals can cause huge damage.  Orange County has more wells with reportable levels of PFAS than Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties combined. This is unacceptable. I will bring about swift legislation to ensure that our water sources are safe, regularly checked and maintained, and will invest in more purification plants to remove all toxic chemicals from our tap water.

Our coast is not only one of the most beautiful in the world, it’s also an economic driving force in our economy. We have seen the damage to our land caused by fracking, and the destruction coastal oil spills cause to the environment, wildlife, and local economies. I will work to protect our coast from polluters and will fight against offshore drilling and fracking.

But it is not enough to end fracking and dangerous oil drilling in our coastal cities without protecting the hardworking people performing those jobs. This is why, I will also introduce legislation to bring jobs in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure to Orange County. As we move towards a greener future, we must ensure our workforce is never left behind.

A quarter of the nation’s homeless population lives in California, and almost 30% of the nation’s homeless veterans live in California. The problem is not getting better, in fact, homelessness continues to rise every year, as does the cost of housing. On average half of Californians spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Because California faces a shortage of open rentals, prices are forced to rise. The issue is a national travesty.

I will address California’s homelessness crisis head-on. I will work to ensure mental health and rehabilitative services are accessible. I will also fight to advance education and healthcare, so future generations have the resources they need to be housing independent.

I will also work to make housing more affordable to ensure working families are not forced out because of rising costs. I will pass legislation to build more housing to stabilize the market for low and middle income communities, ease zoning restrictions, and increase tax credits for working people. I’m proud to be pro-housing, pro-tenant, and pro-new neighbors.

I know we can do better, and as your next assemblymember, I will fight every day to ensure that we end this crisis.

Orange County has the second highest rate of child poverty in the state. Even worse, 1 in every 3 children in our district lives in poverty. This is a moral outrage, but the solution is in our hands. I will work to expand the state Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) and pass a targeted Child Tax Credit that will put more cash back into families’ pockets to support the basic necessities of daily living. I will pass legislation to establish universal preschool for all three- and four-year-olds and Medicare for All which will provide quality healthcare to all Californians. Lastly, I will work to expand emergency child care for foster care families, access to housing for youth aging out of foster care, and rental subsidies for homeless families and families living in poverty.

The Affordable Care Act was a great step in the right direction; it prohibited insurance companies from discriminating against those with pre-existing conditions and allowed children to stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26. However, for many, the cost of healthcare is still far too high, and insurance companies continue to gouge patients with skyrocketing co-pays, premiums, and deductibles.

Its time we lead the nation and join the rest of the advanced world in providing our citizens with healthcare.

We can work to improve Medicare and extend it to all Californians. No Californian should have to choose between paying for rent or life-saving treatment, nor should any Californian go broke because of a life-altering diagnosis.

Medicare for All means increased access to care, greater use of prescription drugs and preventive care, and improved financial well-being, including fewer bankruptcies, better credit scores, and reduced debt. It also improves the financial performance of hospitals and lowers the likelihood of hospital closures.

We can ensure that every Californian gets the care they need without having to make life-saving decisions with their wallet in mind.