Issues
Seniors
Seniors are our fastest growing population. The number of Americans reaching age 65 and older will more than double over the next 40 years, reaching 80 million by 2040. The number of adults ages 85 and older, the group most often needing help with basic personal care, will nearly quadruple in the same period.
Getting daily in-home care for this aging population is often not affordable. Thus, this kind of support work often falls on the family, usually under less-than-ideal circumstances. There are, however, many instances where family is not around and there is no way to provide additional care support.
Our state needs to make this area a priority. Our senior population, that has given us so much, needs lifted up. Let’s work to find solutions that help them age safely in their homes.
The Housing Crisis
Affordable housing should not be a stigma: it is an ever growing national crisis affecting so many in our population. Unregulated investments and soaring interest rates have created a lack of affordable options both in the rental and homebuyer markets. A shortage of smaller family- sized and starter homes are at the core of the problem. Young renters and first-time home buyers are feeling the pain of this toxic market the most. The American Dream of owning a home is slipping away as corporations become buyers, driving up the costs for hardworking Americans.
Our focus has to be on finding ways to increase affordable housing near the workplace. Those suffering now and our future generations must have more options when it comes to their commutes to work and school. Better housing options, more accessible public transportation, and safer pedestrian pathways - that’s what we need.
The situation in central Ohio is especially dire as we continue to forecast a population increase, putting an increased demand on existing housing and new builds. It is the perfect storm that we are not at all prepared for. This, combined with runaway inflation and stagnant wages, are issues we need to deal with head on, and that’s what I’m committed to doing with my colleagues at the Statehouse.
Healthcare
Women’s Reproductive Freedom
One of the highest priority health-care issues is women’s reproductive rights. These decisions should be left to women and their doctors. The government, courts, politicians and other outsiders have no business intruding into these health-care decisions. We must protect women’s right to choose.
Expand quality and affordable health care access for all.
A person’s employment, or their parent or guardian’s employment, should not determine the access someone has to quality health care. We should have excellent healthcare for all, regardless of income level. Healthcare is a basic human right.
Currently healthcare costs are too high for most families without support from their employers. In many instances, medical care is not sought out at all because of the cost.
Ohio must stay committed to a strong Medicaid program. Improving Medicaid promotes not only better health and quality of life, but also drives job expansion. Additionally, an expanded Medicaid program lowers drug costs across the board.
Addiction
Opioid addiction and overdoses are a serious and many times preventable problem. We have to get on the front end of this crisis that is killing too many of our precious community members daily. The combination of a pandemic that pushed us all into isolation and certain drug companies taking advantage of an unregulated system put us in this situation. We need to claw our way out of it. The solution, I believe, will require bold solutions. We have to find holistic ways to connect our citizens with life affirming activities and opportunities.
Education
Public Education is unquestionably the most important product in US Society. If we do not make it a priority in 2024, the constant attacks and attempts to roll back funding by radical groups and legislators will see the next few generations at such a great disadvantage. If our future generations are not set up for success, our society will find itself a shell of what it could have been. It is the key to a prosperous nation, and every child in America deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and be inspired.
We need to look at all the factors that go into a quality education system and be sure we are providing the tools, environment, and funding for our students, teachers and staff to thrive in the 21st century. COVID set us back in many areas, and our systems are stressed to the max. My colleagues in public education often speak to this “tsunami of anxiety” that teachers, students and parents feel about their current public education experience. This stress is made exponentially worse due to the increase in school violence. There is a growing plague of weaponized violence in schools across the nation. We need to make sure that our precious children and those who inspire and cultivate them are protected.
The quality of the public education experience should not depend on one’s zip code. We need fair, fully-funded, and safe public schools for all.
