Despite statements to the contrary by various individuals, PPE has remained in short supply throughout the country. If elected, how will you ensure that every state and US territory is provided with enough medical supplies and capacity to manage the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the next one(s)?

I believe in harnessing and empowering communities. I have personally helped make and give away many cloth masks (better for the environment!), and have inspired others to do so, as well. I would love to explore ways to help local maskmakers supply their communities.

The coronavirus has placed a tremendous strain on the healthcare system, and the rise in unemployment has resulted in many people losing their health insurance, amplifying disparities in access to health care. If elected, what would you do to help the healthcare system and all the people who need it? Would you expand coverage with a public option or a Medicare For All concept, something else, or nothing?

Single Payer Now. It was absurd that this was blocked by both Democrats and Republicans when 68% of bankruptcies were due to medical bills, when insulin started skyrocketing for profit. For-profit healthcare is killing us. It's inexcusable that this issue isn't being championed by EVERYONE during a pandemic.

Do you agree or disagree with President Trump’s directive for all schools to return to a full schedule this school year? What parameters and/or process do you endorse in making decisions involving the operation of public schools in the age of COVID-19?

I believe Democrat Lamont rushed us back to school too early. Without a guarantee of adequate supplies, extra staff, a better plan for teachers other than, "If you get exposed, keep working," which means work until you are sick. Distance learning until we get better control over managing Covid, until more families take precautions seriously.

The pandemic has led to massive changes in our workforce, with many jobs disappearing entirely, at least for now. If elected, how do you envision reshaping the workforce to create new opportunities for those whose jobs have evaporated – for example, in restaurants and bars and throughout the service sector?

Sadly, the Covid pandemic makes indoor dining one of the most dangerous places to be right now. I support helping businesses navigate take out/outside dining until we can create safe, separated areas to dine indoors, such as plastic dividers between tables.

COVID-19 and the resulting recession have increased the number of people who qualify for Medicaid just when state revenues are dropping. Will you support more relief for state Medicaid programs to continue coverage levels and ensure access to providers?

Connecticut is one of the states most heavily dependent on military spending, 2nd District most of all. More submarines means jobs around New London, but less money for the rest of the district. I propose cutting military spending 10% across the board, and redirecting the funds to health care, subsidies for workers and Medicare for All. Increasing Medicaid and Social Security strengthens those families with need.

The coronavirus is going to be with us for the foreseeable future, bringing with it, massive ongoing disruption to all of our systems, from food supply to employment to health care to education and more. From a broad perspective, how do you holistically envision addressing this crisis in the long-term?

Single Payer is a must. We also need elected officials to come together around facts. It's appalling that Coronavirus, one of the biggest immediate direct threats to our well being, has been politicized. We need a government people can trust, and officials who prioritize the 99% over the profits of the 1%. Society has been restructured, over 30 years of ever increasingly fanatical Republicans and Corporate Democrats, to favor the wealthiest over the rest of us. Time to reverse these horrid neoliberal policies.

Many Americans are now calling racism a public health crisis in our country, with policy implications and disparities across multiple sectors like law enforcement, residential zoning, healthcare access, employment, and educational equity, among others. What measures must Congress take to address racism and its impact over many generations in America?

George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the Breathe Act are good starts. I believe in removing racists from official positions/police departments, the judiciary, etc. No one who isn't ready to serve all people equally and fairly is up to the job. This is critical, as no system will work with racist overseers. Police stations across the nation MUST be demilitarized and turned to serve communities. Reallocating funds from aggressive policing to social solutions is part of this solution.

What measures do you support to help protect voting rights this year and for the years ahead, within the context of the pandemic and post-pandemic voting?

1. Automatic voter registration. Everyone, at 18, is registered. People may be given the option to opt out. 2. Voting week, rather than voting day, with access for all. 3. Greater safeguards against voting machines being rigged. Mandates for adequate polling stations according to population, rather than skin color. 4. Institute ranked-choice voting, to give voters greater liberty to vote for the candidate they want, not just the "lesser of two evils."

Do you agree or disagree with President Trump's recent decisions to label certain American cities as "anarchist," and to send federal agents – uninvited by local authorities – into cities such as Portland, Oregon? In your opinion, is this a legitimate use of federal force and rhetoric, or is this an overreach?

Never. Republicans seem to lionize the 2nd Amendment, while ignoring the 1st. People's right to assemble and free speech shall not be impeded. Not with permits, not with secret police, not by local police.

The world is facing an impending climate emergency. With the US spending more than the next 10 countries combined on our military budget, do you think that it is important that we transition some of those resources to combat and build resiliency ahead of a predicted global climate catastrophe? How can Connecticut’s existing engineering, manufacturing, and technical project management expertise be transitioned to address that next emergency before it is too late?

We need the energy behind the New Deal, except focusing on the environment and jobs. Let's have a Green New Deal, with local control, implementation, and maintenance. Currently, we are importing solar panels, etc. While both mainstream parties are dedicated to carbon fuels, giving them outrageous subsidies and tax breaks, neither is addressing climate catastrophe in a real way. Time is running out to mitigate the worst of climate change. We need real, immediate, and drastic changes in how we make and distribute energy, and we do not have the time to wait for Big Oil to profit from it.