Veterans
Virginia is ranked second in the nation in the number of Veterans in relation to the general population. There are over 721,000 Veterans in Virginia, 1 in 12 Virginians are Veterans. We need to take steps such as reducing taxation on retirement pay, improving education initiatives, reducing business administration and license fees, and improving health care for Veterans and their families.
Citizens with Disabilities
Governor Youngkin became the first Governor in recent Virginia history to try to end priority one crisis in Virginia. (https://www.wric.com/news/virginia-news/youngkin-vows-to-shrink-wait-list-for-developmental-disability-services/)
Citizens should not have to quit jobs in order to save disability benefits. They shouldn't need to disclose the condition or be restricted from the reasonable accommodations to vote or to participate in other civic affairs. The income ratio of benefits needs to be overhauled.
Education
There has to be parental participation in children's education. Having a working relationship between teachers, understanding curriculum, and mutual understanding of reasonable accommodations has to be done with mutual communication. We must consider passing a parent's bill of rights to ensure that school boards do not hide life changing information regarding your children.
Campaign Finance Reform
Ignoring the problems don’t make things better. There has been talk for years on reform, and most incumbent politicians have not discussed the unique situation we have in Virginia. The General Assembly has formed subcommittees to address the issue, but with nearly no meetings and zero action, it’s just missed opportunities of being idle. I am running to make a change and find solutions that can be agreed to on both sides of the aisle. We can’t fix it all overnight, but we can spark the flame to make common sense reform.
Adoption / Abortion
As a child of adoption, I want to make sure adoption efforts are supported. We need to support families who want to adopt children and we need to support those who wish to choose adoption. I will ensure legislation for safe homes are available for children of adoption. I do support doing everything possible to make sure woman have all the information and the support to make the right choices for them. With adoption, make sure we provide all the assistance we can to help them.
Abortion is a very sensitive issue for all of those involved. I am personally pro-life and understand there are many factors to consider.
Voting Rights
We need to protect voters rights. I support efforts to make voting more accessible and more secure to protect the integrity of elections. We should have common sense voting regulations across the commonwealth to make sure the rights of every legal voter are supported. We need to support our citizens with disabilities better accommodations and support their individual needs. Persons with disabilities should never have to disclose the reasoning for their accommodations. Voter ID is simply common sense, we have to show ID to go to a music festival, buy a drink, board an airplane, make financial transactions, and we need to make sure elections are safe and secure. Data compiled by the NCSL shows a wide range of early voting periods across the U.S., with early voting beginning up to 50 days before Election Day or as late as the Friday before Election Day. Virginia has one of the longest early-voting periods. The average early voting period is 27 days. We need to find compromise to see how early is too early, especially for state elections in the commonwealth.
