Why am I running? How would I govern?

I decided to run, because I believe that at every level of government, business, and society we should respect everyone’s time and attention.

In government, this means having elected officials, appointed regulators, and public employees (like police officers, teachers, building inspectors, and city planners) that show up to work everyday trying to make it easier for people to live, work, study, and navigate the world. This includes streamlining the processes, forms, and websites that we all use to send our children to school, obtain a driver’s license, register to vote, or pay our taxes. This also means using thoughtful, human-centered, accessible designs in our streets, sidewalks, parks, public buildings, and educational institutions.

As a state legislator, respecting everyone’s time and attention means listening to everyone you represent of any party or none at all, having lived in the community for a year or a lifetime, and regardless of personal characteristics that are associated with “-isms” in society. It means thoughtfully evaluating each issue and proposal that is brought up for legislation on its own merits rather than simply following instructions from party leadership or partisan rhetoric. It means ensuring that new legislation is clearly written to minimize or avoid unintended consequences and that old legislation and regulations are repealed or replaced if they are not having the intended outcomes or meeting the needs of today’s and — more importantly — tomorrow’s society.

This often means that I won’t have a pre-determined policy prescription for every last issue or scenario. However, it does mean that I will listen and learn about new challenges with openness and criticality. Then, I will ask myself a few basic questions: Is there an opportunity to improve our overall quality of life as a society? Are there any potential win-win or at least no-lose scenarios? Is the current policy, process, or infrastructure the best we can do under the circumstances? And finally, is this an appropriate issue to be addressed by a state legislature (or should it be referred to non-profits, businesses, another governing body, or some other institution)?

In light of the current political climate, where division is being stoked by influencers and leaders and accelerated by attention-seeking social media companies, I want to ensure that free speech is protected. I want to make sure the right to vote in free and fair elections remains a cornerstone of American democracy. I want to make sure that the Rule of Law is still the law of the land — both in writing and in practice!