My father was in a car accident when I was a child that rendered him quadriplegic and decimated my family’s finances. We experienced first hand the devastation of a healthcare crisis, which Is why I believe no one should have to choose between medical care they need and bankruptcy. I support medicare for all and believe there is a path in Washington state to make it happen.  

The Stranger: Single Payer is Possible

The ongoing health and economic crisis is going to force difficult budget decisions, and it is the responsibility of our State Legislature to ensure a strong, equitable plan for recovery – a plan that protects families, small businesses, and communities. We should take this moment to make the direly needed bold reform to our tax structure.

Washington state has the most regressive tax structure in the nation. Households who earn less than $25k a year pay 17% of their income in taxes while those over $500k pay less than 2%. The state relies on property taxes, sales taxes, B&O and a handful of others but this burden lies primarily on working class families.

We support a more equitable tax structure so all communities get a chance to thrive.

Specifically, we support a capital gains tax but also want to lower property tax, sales tax and B&O  for small businesses. Also, we would examine the more than 650 tax exemptions on the books (which add up to more than the budget) to ensure our dollars are being invested appropriately.

I also support a state bank that would help harvest some of the $2.3 billion dollars of taxpayer money currently being sent to Wall St. in interest expenses.

Our regressive tax structure is the root cause for many issues we deal with in this state and it is imperative it is fixed.

Education has not been fully funded. Teachers need to be paid a livable wage, and more work is needed to close the opportunity gap. We need grant programs to help attract more teachers, especially teachers of color, and funding for classroom resources so teachers aren’t forced to spend money out of pocket for basic necessities like paper.

As the Chair of Wellspring Family Services’ Associate Board we work on issues of family homelessness with a goal of housing 2,000 kids and their families in the next two years. What I’ve learned from this experience is we can’t treat homelessness like a monolith. Family homelessness is different than homelessness due to opioid addiction which is different than mental health issues. We need policy that is appropriate for different causes of homelessness. Also, it is 3x cheaper to keep people housed when compared with getting people out of homelessness. We need to invest in human services to stem the flow of people becoming homeless. Also, our policy needs to reflect that police officers, firefighters and first responders are on the front-lines when dealing with this crisis. Tackling this issue should include their voices and we must invest in the human capital needed to solve this problem which includes compensation and equipment.        

We need to ensure separation between ICE and every other governmental organization. They should not have access to law enforcement, medical, licensing or any governmental records. As the son of refugees who fled an oppressive regime my family came to America because leaders then understood that immigrants were what made America great. I will fight for everyone because it is our shared humanity that binds us together.

Affordable housing and mass transit go hand in hand. Neighborhoods are being gentrified and people in our communities are being pushed further away. We need a robust public transit system so residents can still access job opportunities in urban corridors. The state legislature has an opportunity to encourage development of transit and should partner with local municipalities to streamline the process. 

Seattle Transit Blog Endorsement

We are the only candidate who does not take corporate PAC money nor are we self-financed. I will support policies that make our government more transparent and accountable to the people. I have experience managing multi-million dollar budgets and will be efficient with our tax dollars.

I’m one of the candidates who has a distinction from Moms Demand Action which advocates for gun safety. I would support legislation that raised the age limit to purchase semi-automatic weapons, require training and liability coverage when purchasing guns and mandate safe storage. Also, the majority of gun deaths are suicide so gun safety also means investing in programs to support the social and mental health services needed to prevent deaths.    

I will champion policies to support our Seniors. We must expand property tax exemptions and lower rents for Seniors, protect medicare and medicaid, work to establish a universal healthcare system here in Washington State and increase funding for home care workers so people can receive quality care in the comfort of their own homes.

I 100% support and believe in a women’s right to make decisions about her own reproductive health, and that the government has no place in telling women what they can and cannot do. Considering the increased attacks against women at the federal level, it is up to the states to take lead on protecting the right to choose.

I was extremely pleased to see that the legislature passed the Reproductive Parity Act this past session which requires insurers that cover maternity to care to also cover abortion, and would look forward to working with organizations such as NARAL and Planned Parenthood to make sure we are doing everything possible to protect reproductive rights.

This is an issue that is near and dear to my heart, as my sister and brother are both proud members of the LGBTQ+ community. I remember the elation I felt when marriage equality was passed in Washington state, because my family members finally received the rights to be with those they love. I was also very happy that the state legislature finally banned conversion therapy in Washington this past session.

Despite the advancements made in recent years in protecting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, we have seen a surge in hate crimes against them. I would like to further expand the protections given to LGBTQ+ individuals in this state, in addition the requiring tougher penalties for those who discriminate against them in the workplace.